The Blood Lands (2014) User Reviews

Moving in

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 16 October 2014]

This is your standard, move to new location, terror starts horror movie. It's really very predictable and at times very stupid (what the characters do), but I guess it all helps keeping the tension high. And in that it succeeds. The movie looks and sounds the part, even if there are bigger plot holes than it should be allowed to have.

The performances are OK, considering what sort of movie we have here. Although I reckon some might have issues seeing the main actress in a "weak" role like that, especially after having seen "The Woman". It's not that she is not able to carry that role, it's just that the role itself is weak. Script-wise that is. Whatever the case, this is bog standard fare, you might even like it

All About Location

[Foutainoflife · 5/10 · 12 July 2018]

This is a run of the mill type of home invasion type thriller. It isn't bad, just same ol stuff. The one thing that really caught my attention with this film was the lead actress. I'm not sure of her name but I know that she was in "The Woman." I thought that she did a fantastic job in that film. I'm not sure of which film came first but I like that she was able to show a great deal of versatility between these two roles.

Watch it for Pollyanna McIntosh

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 13 December 2017]

WHITE SETTLERS is a low grade British horror flick in the same vein as something like THEM (aka ILS) or THE STRANGERS. The plot sees genre regular Pollyanna McIntosh and her husband relocating to Scotland, where they soon run afoul of some pig mask wearing locals who want them gone. The first half of the film is all atmosphere and set-up, which isn't too shabby, while the second half turns into your usual low budget single extended set-piece action-dominated scenario with the main characters attempting to escape from the odds stacked agianst them. I've liked McIntosh in both HAPP & LEONARD and THE WALKING DEAD and she impresses here too, even though the film is pretty predictable and unremarkable in equal measure.

Absolutely horrendous

[jenny-91399 · 2/10 · 16 June 2018]

I don't even really know where to start with this one. I was tempted to switch it off after the first ten minutes but persevered with it. Firstly neither of the two main characters are likeable in any way, between the husband's constant sniping about Scotland and the wife's inherent lack of being able to function as a human being. Within the first half an hour I really didn't care if either of them lived or died. Then we get to the chase scenes, which felt like an age of not much happening. Though the one good part was the woman's attack on one of the intruders where she was successful, unlike many horror characters prior to her, in hitting the guy more than once so that he would not get up again. I'm going to then skip straight to the good part, what we were all waiting for, the reason why these masked intruders were victimising this couple. Prepare to be disappointed, they wanted the house and then subsequently moved in straight away. They also appear to have dropped the two of them off back in London... I can imagine the police investigation will be one of the quickest in history. All in all, a really terrible and pointless film, I wouldn't waste your time on it.

Unpleasant, unoriginal, and racist

[stwmby · 1/10 · 17 May 2018]

Despite the reviews on here, and due to the absolute dearth of decent films on Netflix, I decided to give this one a go. And you know what? Those reviews are spot on..

The plot of this film has been done so many times before, and in almost every case done so much better. Couple alone in the back of beyond hunted by pyscopaths - Deliverance has a lot to answer for.

There is virtually no character development so, crucially one doesn't really feel connected to the hunted - it's just a pointless exercise in sadism.

The horror genre sadly has been twisted over the last few decades into an excuse simply to spill as much blood in the most gruesome of ways.

The premise for the attacks on the English couple who have made the worst mistake of their lives in moving to the wilds of Scotland to live a simpler life is that the locals don't want them there. Put bluntly, this film is racist and an insult to the people of Scotland (and in case your wondering, I'm an Englishman). The final scene in which the young boy is depicted in his Scotland football shirt whilst wearing a pig mask is particularly abhorrent. I deplore the writers and makers of this film for their insulting and obnoxious depiction of a fine country.

Finally, this film must have the worst and most unbelievable ending I have ever seen. Are we really supposed to believe that a group of men will hunt a couple of people all night through the woods; catch them, seriously injure them, then drive to and dump them in the middle of Manchester before driving back to Scotland to hold a barbecue in the couples house??!!

This film should be avoided at all costs!! Stuff the IMDb rating - I give it 0/10

Thanks for reading

And the award goes to.....

[orionhi · 1/10 · 12 September 2021]

The Blood Lands for the worst movie on any streaming service. What was the point of this? Who were the bad guys? Why? This movie has no point. Are we to believe the Scotts are still mad about a 400 year old war? Don't even waste your time watching the preview . I could go on and on about the utter nonsense of this movie but I've already wasted enough of my life on this garbage.

Completely underrated again on IMDb... Why? We will never know...

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 3 June 2015]

Due to the low ratings I didn't expect much from White Settlers but then I read a couple reviews and so I thought I'll give it a go because most of the time the low ratings for horror movies on IMDb are an absolute farce. I saw so many good movies that were rated below five stars that I don't believe anything anymore on here. And for this movie it's again completely underrated. The movie starts slow but once the creepy things happen you are in for an old school suspense thriller/horror. The actors might not be well known but they certainly did their job good. For a low budget movie it has certainly nothing to envy from big budget movies. I'm glad I didn't believe the ratings again here on IMDb because I truly enjoyed this movie. Certainly worth a watch if you like creepy masks and suspense.

What a waste of time

[nomead-183-926394 · 3/10 · 26 January 2015]

Well , I thought I would give this film a chance as its a brit flick and I am British.

You can tell straight away that the locations are not in Scotland.

So anyway I waited and waited for the film to unfold and hope that some kind of story would unravel.

Instead I just lost 70 odd minutes of my life that I will never get back.

My advice is give this film a miss.

Im only writing more lines to finish the ten lines needed to post.

The film only deserves my review so maybe I can save others the time I wasted watching it.

well-made if a bit ordinary...

[venusboys3 · 7/10 · 7 June 2015]

Except for the ending this is pretty much a well-made by-the-book home invasion horror tale. It looked good and the performances sold it. I was annoyed early on by the main characters... they're just the sort of rich city folk who move out to the country because it's 'charming' and proceed to ruin everything for the locals. The husband in particular seems like a self-centered jerk. Then bad stuff starts happening to them... and, though I never really found myself caring what happens to them, I did find myself rooting for the woman to at least make a good show of defending herself against the anonymous threat.

The real clincher is going to be how viewers take the ending. It's what sets the movie apart, it's the most interesting element... but it's also likely to rub many 'horror fans' the wrong way. For me it made sense and lifted the entirety of the movie to a higher level than if it had just... gone where I thought it was going.

If ever there were a case of money laundering this must be it

[saul-695-887385 · 1/10 · 27 June 2018]

If you need to launder a lot of cash in a hurry one of the best ways to do it is to make a movie and that is the only sensible reason I can think of for this particular farce to have been brought to our screens. As soon as it starts you will know you have seen the same film with different characters hundreds of times before. There is no plot here that a 5 year old could not figure out in just a few minutes. It's a complete bore fest from start to finish....oh wait...there is no finish. The writers obviously figured why waste time on it. Best thing you can do is watch the first five minutes then scroll to the end. You will have missed absolutely nothing and saved yourself an hour and twenty minutes.

Too much too soon

[s3276169 · 30 August 2015]

White Settlers or The Blood Lands (I personally think the second title is more appropriate) is really a case of too much, too soon.

The atmosphere of isolation and creepiness set up so beautifully early on in this film is extinguished prematurely. Its a case of too much, too soon, with restraint inexplicably giving way to what can best to described as "impatient", rather clumsy storytelling.

Its a shame too, as this title had considerable potential.The characterization is good, the overall premise is sound, the cinematography is excellent and the lead actors do a fine job. Five out of ten from me.

A worthy addition to any night of horror viewing!

[pete-974-688158 · 9/10 · 25 October 2014]

White Settlers is a cracking British horror/thriller. At under 80 minutes it's a tense set piece of a film that takes just enough time to set up the characters before ripping apart their idyllic world and plunging them (and you) into a night of terror. White Settlers has a simple plot and no pretensions to be anything more than a thrill ride and is all the more effective for that (though the ending is certainly thought provoking but no spoilers).

Pollyanna McIntosh gives an excellent performance in another physically demanding role and is well on the way to establishing herself as a star of the horror genre. If you haven't seen The Woman or Let Us Prey you should definitely add them to your Must Watch List.

White Settlers is beautifully lit and shot throughout so it's no wonder the film won the coveted Best Cinematography award at the prestigious Screamfest Horror festival in the US. Much of the film is set at night and it is gorgeously atmospheric.

White Settlers director Simeon Halligan heads the team behind Manchester's annual Grimmfest horror film festival and the eagle eyed will spot a hat tip to the festival during White Settlers. Both White Settlers and Halligan's first feature Splintered (also well worth a watch!) were made by Manchester-based Not A Number Productions. It's great to see the British horror scene so healthy, long may it continue.

White Settlers - definitely recommended for your next night of horror films :-)

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 7/10 · 1 December 2016]

A husband and wife buy a weathered old house in a remote part of Scotland. You won't believe this, but they hear strange noises during the night – noises they initially put down to 'being in a strange house'. Familiar the story surely is, but this is better told than most.

The two main characters, Sarah (hugely impressive Pollyanna McIntosh) and Lee Williams as Ed (who is a bit of idiot) are realistic and have a genuine chemistry. As with real life couples, you do wonder why one puts up with the other, but they are believable. The isolated Scottish location is very creepy, and the production itself provides a real sense of growing unease that manifests itself well when the creepy noises are attributed to invaders real and brutal. As the estate agent warned, the land is the site of a gruesome battle between the Scottish and the English … There's a refreshing lack of the sort of jump-scares that have become standard in films of this nature, and the effects are all physical and therefore, real. No noticeable CGI here. And yet once the threats became tangible, my interest dwindled a little as events became typical slasher fare.

The ending is what caused raised eyebrows. Looking online, I am relieved my weren't alone. SPOILERS – having been scared, chased, battered and tied up the couple are dumped – bloodied but otherwise unharmed – by a city centre. Their attackers have moved into the vacant house, and are enjoying a few pints with their families. It seems, going by a line of dialogue earlier, that the 'English scum' are responsible for the death of a family member, and so presumably all English are scared away from purchasing any properties in that area of Scotland. I wonder how McIntosh, who is Scottish herself, feels about this event. Running close to racism, I am surprised the makers of this otherwise enjoyable film decided to take this route.

What a waste of time !!!

[kirkieboy666 · 1/10 · 10 June 2018]

This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen, it is completely pointless and the ending is abysmal.

The whole context of the story makes absolutely no sense and there is no explanation of why any of it is happening.

If I could I would have given this movie 0 out of 10, nothing redeeming about it and I'd strong suggest stating away from this xenophobic nonsense.

A sexist, racist chase sequence with an implausible ending

[robertleiser · 1/10 · 25 July 2018]

Two unlikeable Londoners decide to relocate to Scotland. They're shown a house by an estate agent with a Hollywood Scottish accent - presumably because no Scottish actors are available to play Scottish parts - and decide to buy it.

On the day they move in, the female lead (who else?) fuses all the lights while trying to wire a plug, and then begins their terrorisation by Scots in animal masks, whose visceral hatred of the English doesn't appear to need any explanation.

If you're still sitting comfortably after these helpings of sexism and racism, you're then treated to an extended chase sequence; about two thirds of the movie's' running time. Just to rub in the low intelligence of the female lead, having killed off one of the attackers, she only stuns the next one, then drops a knife on the floor beside his hand, while standing above him looking the other way. That never ends well.

Nor does the film: Having spent the night pursuing and torturing the English invaders, the attackers finally close in on them, and the movie cuts to the pair of them lying outside a Manchester tram station, with bemused onlookers. Meanwhile, back at the house, the attackers have scrubbed up, doffed their animal masks and are throwing a party, the suggestion being that everyone lives happily ever after.

Because the victims wouldn't tell the police or anything would they?

I've never liked the statement "Based on real events" in movie intros, as it's never clear to what extent. In this case I can only imagine that it's based on the real life event of two people driving to Scotland, as everything else presented here is completely implausible.

Wow that was awful

[errorllc · 1/10 · 30 November 2017]

Nothing and I mean nothing is good about this film. From start to finish this is bad just awful. The acting is atrocious, the action or fight scenes are less believable then wwf fighting. And to put the cherry on the crap pie. The ending makes absolutely no sense. They bought the house do the kidnappers think they're just gonna go oh well they don't want us there let's just abandon are 100k+ home and pretend we didn't buy it. And we'll never tell any police at all, within one day these capters would be arrested and put in prison easily. Do not waste your time.

Die Die Die, don't f**king watch, pour gas in eyes, light match

[atterack · 1/10 · 22 August 2015]

nooooooooooooooooooo, waste of time, can not stress that enough, some reviews state it is good but i think they were by the writer, either that or we were not watching the same movie, it assumes too much, i found excitement in watching my coffee brew afterwards, apparently i need 10 lines to tell how bad it was,um? this sucks, the scrip for the movie was not even ten lines, i think they should have shot it with a poleroid to save on film, some things you can do with your time (and god forbid money) are roll in jam and sit on an ant hill, eat ground glass, visit the Alabama culture museum, burn your money, burn your TV, learn to play the piano, buy legos and step on them, cover your gentiles in bees, stick golf balls up your rectum, or just watch something else, the only 2 hours i wont waste the time to fight to get back, 1.5 for the movie and .5 to write this review

Dreadful Racist movie that dares to call itself a horror flick

[surfinmurphys · 21 September 2015]

Is this some sort of joke? Apart from being totally anti-Scottish (and I'm not even a nationalist, so that's saying something), this nasty piece of work doesn't even bother to explain why the pig-masked men were targeting the house. Unless, of course all Scots hate English people. Oh please! I can't even believe it was filmed. Everyone involved should be massively ashamed of themselves. I honestly don't think I've seen a worse movie - ever. The writer should be prosecuted for racism - but worse than that, he's just a very, very poor author. Obviously, I hope he gets a severe kicking the next time he visits London! ha ha ha

White Settlers

[a_baron · 7/10 · 2 December 2017]

This had the makings of a brilliant film, unfortunately it is failed by a resolution that is no resolution at all. Mr and Mrs City Slick decide to relocate to a remote area of Scotland, well, she does. The property they buy has a history, and the viewer is led to believe there may be a supernatural connection. When it materialises, very soon, the menace turns out to be terrestrial in the extreme.

The countryside is not a quiet place, even if no one is around, and on their first night there alone, without electricity thanks to a mishap by her, she hears noises, first outside the house, which turns out to be a pig, then by what appears to be a noise from within. By this time he has had enough, being thoroughly exhausted after a day of heavy DIY, and more than a little nookie, but he goes to investigate, reluctantly, and does not return. Then we see another pig, one on two legs. Actually there are several of them, invaders wearing pig masks. What do they want? It isn't what they want so much, as what they have to offer, a night of sheer terror. Alas, as stated, there is no proper resolution, and the ending is very weak, though nowhere near as tragic as it could have been.

Racist nonsense.

[emale000 · 2/10 · 29 February 2016]

Wasn't sure what to expect, but just minutes in I was thinking that if I'd met the male lead's character in real life with his patronising stereotyping I'd have made him disappear sharpish (just joking :). Scots don't 'hate' England, nor the English. To suggest otherwise is nasty and divisive. Funny story (debatable), but years ago I went with the mrs down to a town in England, famous for it's Ladies College, and as soon as I opened my mouth I heard a whispered 'Scottish pigs' from along the bar. They eventually discovered the mrs was born there, and everyone was nice & friendly then. Hatred works both ways, there are stupid people in every nation. (PS, those are not spelling mistakes, that's the way you're meant to spell English :)

Suspenseful

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 7/10 · 17 March 2021]

I turned this on without knowing what it was about so I thought it was going to be a ghost story at first since they bought a house the previous owner died in. So it was a surprise when what I thought were ghosts making the noises were real intruders. It was suspenseful and I enjoyed it except for the tired plot device where the victim whacks the intruder on the head but doesn't care to finish the job. What made it even more silly was that the wife had the sense to make sure in an earlier scene so why didn't the husband?! An axe was right there!! The ending kind of confused me---all this was just so the deceased owner's family could reclaim the house?! Seems so silly to go through all that, especially since the victims can now report everything to the police and arrest the squatters living in their home since they were let free. The whole ending made no sense and was completely illogical. Still recommended if you like suspense though and it kept me entertained. I just wish the people who make these movies would show the vistims acting like normal people and fight to kill the attackers instead of giving them taps on the head and standing there like idiots. Or when they're running for their dear lives through the woods, yet they stop to let the killers catch up with them. Did the stupid woman really need to stop and change the dressing on her cut hand while the pig heads were chasing her with an axe? I sure wouldn't lol. After that I was hoping they'd kill her for being so dumb. Still 7 stars and worth a watch for suspense lovers.

Terrible

[serpentseye · 1/10 · 26 March 2017]

Yet another predictable, been done a thousand times, no story, no depth pile of rubbish. I am so sick of these films, like I say, been done a thousand times before already and soooooo much better. Utterly pointless film, you'll figure it out in the first five minutes and don't sit there hoping for any 'surprises' there aren't any. Ridiculous ending, actually, the film is just full of holes. I endured it to the end and it was then I decided to write this review, I want to save others from the pain!!!!!

Don't waste your time watching it, watching paint dry is more entertaining.

A tense and creepy Brit horror/thriller.

[sjopia · 8/10 · 20 October 2014]

I attending the final showing of White Settlers at the Plaza Cinema in Liverpool last week. The movie was a great little indie movie. All the boxes ticked for me. Good acting, great location, tightly executed story. You can feel the heart and soul poured into this movie, from the tight direction from Simeon Halligan to the pounding sound design, which nearly blew me off my seat at times. White Settlers shows some quality acting on display here, starring the wonderful Pollyanna McIntosh, last seen in the Lucky Mckee's brutal indie horror flick, The Woman. All I can say about this movie, without telling you exactly what's in store, which is just boring in my eyes, is if you want a no nonsense, tense, fear inducing night at the flicks. This is a must see for all horror and thriller fans. Go see it now and show your appreciation for British indie horror.

Tense and creepy, loses it a bit at the end.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 15 March 2018]

It's a good watch, I get the annoyance of many of the Scottish reviewers, but at the end of the day it's a film, designed to shocj and entertain.

InitilalIits nice and jolly, it's fun, then comes the switch. It's that switch that kicks the film into life, and is ultimately the high point of the film. As the terror switch is flicked the film is tense, gripping and intensely watchable, it's very realistic. Sadly as it develops past that it loses its way a little, becoming a little pedestrian, which is a shame.

The acting is very good, the production values are strong. It's a good film, it just falls flat after a high peak.

Worst Movie Ending...EVER

[wbriggs-62627 · 2/10 · 4 November 2015]

The creepiness starts out almost right at the beginning but quickly devolves into your basic chase movie. The characters and masks are spooky enough but if you hang in until the end to find out what happens-don't. Nothing ends up making sense. It seems the end should be about the middle of the movie and have I just missed something? I had no idea the Scots hated the English so much. What they do just because they bought a house in the Scottish countryside puts hate higher on the list of English/Scottish relationships than I thought existed.At the end why are the people at the house? Who was the kid and is he like an "Omen" kid or what? Where does the couple end up? Do they go back? And on and on and on....What a waste and incredibly frustrating if you do get to the end.