The Ticking Man (2003) User Reviews

Five thousand one hundred ticks felt like 50,000 (almost)

[hofnarr · 2/10 · 22 March 2004]

SPOILERS

I know I shouldn't be too hard on this film - the music was almost as good as Mike Figgis's in COLD CREEK MANOR and the plot implausibilities requiring substantial suspension of disbelief no more so than in THE BONE COLLECTOR - both of which spent quite a bit more funds than this endeavor.

And I'm sure Mr. Simpson had a good time playing with all the digital video goodies available - but I had a hard time connecting with/ caring about the people in the village.

I didn't particularly find the time limitation all that compelling (perhaps I was just slow on the uptake there) and while I can believe a police dispatcher might continue reading a romance novel to the end of a paragraph or so before answering the phone, I would find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be caller identification equipment of some kind, even in a remote Scottish village - or wherever the nearest police station would be (I probably should've checked the last time I was in Thurso, Mey, and John O'Groats, but I didn't; I may be talking out of turn).

I did find some humor that may (or may not) have been inadvertent - the best was when the Hitman is trying to pick off the two boys and has succeeded in putting a crossbow arrow through the thigh of one of them. The other boy with the gun (who has suddenly figured out how to fire it - with a rather large number of shots - after an extended sequence in which he couldn't get any shots off at all) runs over to him and says "Don't go anywhere!"

OK.

Maybe I had my expectations too high. Maybe I relied too much on an IMDb rating generated by 7 people, 5 of whom also wrote comments for this film and no other ones. Maybe I was just having a bad day.

But I saw a film from Thailand which was 121 minutes long right before this film - and there seemed to be a lot less ticks in that one than the 85 minutes in this one.

But as the Ed Wood character (played by Johnny Depp) says, after being told that a film of his is the worst some person has ever seen: "Well, my next one is going to be better!"

Extremely efficient film-making!

[ivel290 · 20 October 2003]

Saw Ticking man at the 2003 edition of the Montreal film festival and loved it. What a surprise!

It's exciting, thrilling and literally has you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Cinematography is impressive; love the way Simpson used the features of digital technology.

The result is a unique and refreshing thriller that will have your adrelin pumped up. Would definitly see it again if it's released here!

I don't believe it.

[leprutz13-1 · 1/10 · 17 August 2008]

I have never heard of that movie, yesterday when I was going for buying DVD's, I Found this movie and it looked quite interesting. What a mistake it was.

I saw it right away, completely and I thought you cannot have worst actors and a killer that needs some military training to be a professional hit-man. I'v seen movies with lower budget that are much more breath taking than this one. Of course the Idea of it is not bad. But honestly: A wannabe director should learn the meaning of pace and suspense.

I give it a three because I hoped that non professional people would do better than Hollywood nowadays. But I guess I was mistaken.

Gripping, exciting, thrilling and very enjoyable !

[scottydoug · 10/10 · 13 October 2003]

This film is a must see for those who like a movie to thrill and excite them without making it too gruelling a journey. The film grabs you right in the first scene where an underground deal is taking place and a hitman uses a very clever technique to save his own life in the exchange of cash. The film follows the hitman on his next job which is to eliminate the residents of a tiny Scottish village before they can testify against a jailed drug dealer. Fortunately, the killing isn't gory but the cold and calculated nature of the hitman holds the tension all through the film as the scared villagers frantically run from the assassin through forests and over rivers in an effort to escape. The police soon get involved but can they save the day ?

The Director, Steven Lewis Simpson, uses some of the most modern filmmaking techniques to keep the excitement and time criticality to the film and the music keeps the heart beat pumping right until the last scene. Gripping stuff, quality acting and a great film.

From Scotland - and very engaging!!

[JP-ster · 8/10 · 14 October 2003]

I saw this movie as part of the 2003 Montreal World Film Fest, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. A thriller/action movie:

My only reserve was for the pace at the beginning, but after a little while it starts to pick up really rapidly. There's quite a bit of cold-blooded killing (or should as say, unapologetic?): the `good' guys don't all come out unscathed, as is the usual tradition. I believe the whole movie was shot in digital - interesting use of split screen effects (last used in the movie `Timecode', if I remember correctly) and other edits. Good photography (opening scene notably), and a great, driving soundtrack to accompany the action. Actors were good and convincing (keeping in mind this is not Hamlet).

The last part of the movie is almost exempt of dialogue - and features a great, heart-racing chase scene (of the non-car-crashing-exploding kind, thank you).

Cool feature: I liked the crossbow being used in the action. when was the last time you saw one used in a movie (set in modern times)?

So in the end, it's good to know that you don't need bullet-time and multi-gazillions of dollars to make an exciting thriller. Plus, it's shot in Scotland. (Check out the scenery!)

Hoping it gets released here!

Realistically to the Last Detail

[nigelclark · 9/10 · 18 January 2005]

This movie depicts values and reactions of people living in a country which has had strict Gun Laws for 600 years. Apart from the odd shot gun most people have never seen a real gun or a cross bow and have no idea even how to use one. The police are not armed and except in inner city areas are not even trained in their use.They do not have more than a simple 2 way radio in their cars at most. In such an area I can assure the American viewer people do not ever lock their doors. The local Policeman would have no experience of violent crime other than a drunken punch up in a local bar. This is a true to life action/thriller, If you prefer non-reality fantasies you should stick to watching Hollywood Movies. The film has some very interesting artistic camera work and appears to be almost entirely 16 mm steady cam work which if true is all the more remarkable. The actors are not big time stars but as I once lived in such an area where this was filmed were surprisingly real down to small details only an insider would notice. Unlike the majority of Popular Movies it is really difficult to do more than knit pick this film.

The Film Ticks

[info-1710 · 9/10 · 13 October 2003]

I saw this film at the Montreal Film festival, and it was screened I think early Sunday Morning on the last day of the festival. I had seen my fair share of films during the week, this was a surprised "cadeau".

I only went because it was a British film,although Mr Simpson the Director insists to call it a Scottish film. But the film doesn't require subtitles like a recent "Scottish Film"I saw.

The film is exciting, my palms of my hands were wet. I would buy the soundtrack if it was available.

Ticking Man, can and will be a hugh hit if gets distributed. My only criticism was the classical ending

The new "Deliverance"

[Wordwatcher · 21 October 2003]

The Ticking Man is so startling, so effective, that it could have won my very own Prix de Paul at last year's Montreal World Film Festival.

After the screening, several viewers gathered to talk about it. All of them had found the experience overwhelming, although some of them found it hard to describe or even to understand the experience. It was that unusual.

One, for instance, said that he was shocked-he meant morally outraged-by all the violence. Even though more than a dozen people are blown away, though, this isn't really a violent movie in what has become the conventional sense in Hollywood: movies that revel in the gore resulting from explosions and car crashes; those killed in this movie simply fall down as the camera moves on with the killer to a new victim. What counts here is the pace, which is almost incredibly fast. Once the shooting began, I thought immediately of Deliverance, the classic of this `genre' in which four pals paddle down a river in the rural South and are relentlessly stalked and killed by local hillbillies.

Another viewer gave Ticking credit for cinematic tension of the kind that made Hitchcock famous but added that it's `about nothing.' Actually, it is about something. It's just not about characters or even narrative in the conventional sense. It's about the experience of primal dread. Or, to put it another way, it's about the experience of being alive in the face of mortal danger. I was stunned, but also refreshed and stimulated, as I emerged from the screening room. How often do we see movies that can do that these days?