Flora (II) (2017) User Reviews

Independently Rated

[Redpawn3 · 6/10 · 9 May 2020]

It would be nice if people rated the film on its own merits in their own view as opposed to looking at an overall score, and deciding it's too high or too low and then overcompensating. I'm sure there must be a whole treatise on how to rate a movie, or how movies are rated by a voluntary self-ordained community.

That being said, I think this film is underrated. But instead of giving it a ten, I truly feel I've rated it fairly. The trailer intrigued me. Success in the trailer, though many bad films have great trailers. While the film may not capture the true period in props, or 'expected gender roles/attitudes' it does a great job in its consistency. Some of the acting felt like acting, but then again some of The people I encounter in my daily interactions are just as flat and stilted.

There is definitely tension, and an air of mystery, and anticipation. Not every tense moment has an immediate payoff, but that's what adds to the overall atmosphere and surprises when there are payoffs.

There is definitely something of quality here, and I'd certainly recommended it over many other films that fall into its varied categories 'independent, horror, thriller, period piece, debut, 'student effort', lovecraftian, low/no budget, passion project'.

While I spent a ting bit of time thinking about this film before reviewing it, I fully expect it will continue to haunt me. Why do I like it, what could've been better, how might I have liked to see the story played out differently, what happens at the end?

If anyone is still reading, I'll end by saying again... I think my rating is fair and not over or under compensating. It would be nice if people rated films on the film, and not in hopes of countering somebody else's review.

I've seen 'films' that shouldn't even receive a zero or a one for simple follow through in pumping it out and distributing it (even if a vanity project).

This is a pretty scenic -professional looking- intriguing film that allows one to ponder existing and potential themes.

No budget, interesting premise, a solid effort.

[candidoberreta · 6/10 · 27 September 2018]

Let's begin with a caveat: rating this movie as 1/10 is beyond ludicrous. It's an atmospheric little ecothriller, with no budget and uneven acting, but it has its touching moments. It kept me interested all the way to the end.

Meter your expectation and celebrate a fresh teams emergent efforts

[menehune-76806 · 5/10 · 23 September 2018]

What we have here is a new director, a fresh cast and a commendable effort on their part to produce and create something basically entirely themselves. I mean when you see that the actors are also credited as the executive producers and fill several other roles in the production of the film you know it means this is a passion project for them and to me that is worthy of praise and commendation. As in twelve wins and ten nominations worth of praise and commendations including best picture, best director, best score and many other categories from several noteworthy film festivals (don't take my word for it you're already reading this on IMDB just look for yourself)

Will it compare to a AAA blockbuster with A-list celebrities and a massive Hollywood budget? No, but to me they came very close for their directors first real go of it and considering the short list of filmography history for these Actors and Actresses I am actually very impressed with them all. So please, go into this with an open mind and appreciate it for what it is, a young director and a relatively new acting team producing an idea and executing it with passion.

Oh, and many kudos to Nathan Prillman for such an amazing score. I'm looking forward to seeing the director's future endeavors and am happy to see young blood making moves in the industry.

The level of stupidity has no equal.

[serenityjwrr · 1/10 · 20 May 2021]

Ok.

Quick story breakfown.

6 people get out of a working CAR, get into 2 working canoes, paddle downriver for half a day, then decide that the fastest way out of the woods is a 7 DAY cross-country hike to meet a train in the middle of the woods.

( Why wouldn't they just canoe back to their Car?) I went back & rewatched it just to be sure.

Interesting Premise

[bondhuis · 5/10 · 24 March 2021]

Really enjoyed the idea behind this film, and found the biological 'warfare' angle very interesting. But for the life of me I don't understand the decision to frame it as a horror film, rather than s science based story. The music often did a great job of building atmospheric nervousness, but the film failed to follow through. The constant shouting was plain odd.

Believe a re-edit away from horror would yield a much better film.

A Science Stinker

[rick-76871 · 1/10 · 16 February 2019]

This plot had real potential, but it missed the mark by a mile. The botanical science is simply not believable. Add to that, marginal acting and a not-so-subtle, distorted social message and you have a real stinker. I am a big fan of good biological-horror films ... this is not one of them. From the get go, it's VERY obvious who the writer(s) have ordained to survive this forest of death, and it's the one character who is truly the most unlikeable. My advice is to watch re-runs of the original X-Files series! P.S. Please bury that annoying whistle.

impressive debut

[arisp_cn · 7/10 · 15 October 2018]

Despite being the debut for this director from Toronto, FLORA has an interesting story and honors the era of early horror literature (Agernon Blackwood, Weird Tales Magazine etc) and it's surprisingly well done, despite the limited budget. In 1929 a team of scientist discover a closed ecosystem with a strange kind of fungus that eliminates any kind of animal life (including humans) and their race for survival begins. For people with a true knowledge of the horror genre (and I mean those who prefer its roots in literature and not those looking for brainless blockbuster atrocities), this is a hidden little gem.

They could have titled it "Attack of the killer pollen"

[peterp-450-298716 · 3/10 · 30 October 2018]

Rudyard, there are no people living in this forest. Do you see any animals? There's no flora with any color, nothing to allure insects!

Are you someone who prefers to spend his free time in his perfectly tended garden? Is your lawn as if a delegation from the International Golf Federation could arrive any minute to ask if it could be used as a "green" at a next golf championship? Do you spend hours in your garden staring at freshly planted and potted flowers and plants? Are you an expert in fertilizing, scarifying, digging, pruning, grafting and draining? Well, I guess this film is really suitable for you. Because "Flora" is actually nothing more than a nature film that every botanical film viewer will be excited about. Do you know which film quote always came to me? "Run, Forrest, Run!". Only here the main characters are running away from a forest. They might have used the following alternative movie title: "Attack of the killer pollen". That about covers it.

"Flora" certainly isn't a bad film. But for those who don't see themselves as purebred nature lovers, this film may seem terribly boring. What they managed to do, is to show a decent image of the 1920s. I found the props and atmosphere perfect. All the pieces fitted. The oldtimer, the costumes, and the used music. Perfectly chosen. Everything seemed innocent and frivolous in those days. The naivety and insufficient knowledge are portrayed in a proper way.

The resources available to the six scientists are fairly limited. Plants are cataloged in notebooks. Illustrations are made with the use of a whole array of colored pencils. No electronic worksheet and digital camera as one would use in the present time. You won't see the main characters wandering around with a tiny headphone connected to a compact MP3 player. No, here they are lugging around with an impressive gramophone with a huge horn. Before you know it, an old-fashioned foxtrot echoes through the forest after putting on such a fragile record.

Praise for the creators of this indie-horror. Because despite the extremely limited budget, film-technically it looks fab. Even the for me unknown actors made themselves meritorious in the field of acting. Admittedly, sometimes there was a touch of overacting. And they tried to bring drama in a forced way. But this was certainly not irritating. Unfortunately, it was all fairly superficial with a painfully slow pace. It seemed after a while that the entire film consisted of exploring the surrounding nature. And yes, the discovery that no living organism can be detected in the surrounding area can easily be called troubling. But it's never really exciting.

Trust me, I'm not someone who only associates horror with gory slaughter and diabolical entities. And also, a forest in a horror movie isn't automatically linked to a lonely, deserted wooden cabin. Or a wandering, bloodthirsty creature that suddenly shows up from behind a tree and rips you into pieces. So all the praise to try a different idea and for once think out of the box. However, I don't think this symbiotic fungus that kills every human and animal life is something that ensures it to be a movie with nail-biting suspense. All in all, the starting point of the film wasn't bad when you talk about originality. But apart from some beautiful nature shots and moments in which the dialogue seemed interesting, it's all relatively boring and monotonous.

More reviews here : movie-freak.be

Great work from an amateur team, but amateurish

[siderite · 6/10 · 13 December 2018]

Trolls may enjoy giving a movie one star and pundits feel really smart for explaining why this film is boring, but nothing has any value out of context. The context of Flora is that it is a student film, with amateur everything trying their best to make a good movie. And it is not great, but it's not that bad either. The premise promises a lot more than the movie delivers, but consider how many big studios tried similar theme movies and failed miserably.

That being said: imagine a cross between Lovecraft and The Ruins or maybe The Happening. This film is not it. The premise, though, comes really close. It is set in 1929 and the people caught in an area devoid of all animal life an fighting for their lives are scientists (well, students). When a member of the expedition starts dying in horrible ways, the others don't turn one against another, shout "let me out of here" or run around like headless chickens; they try to solve the problem with science. Unfortunately, being 1929 and the story being written by artsy people, that doesn't do them a lot of good, but the atmosphere was nice, the clothing gave the film an fresh look (even if the girls didn't act like 1929 girls at all) and the plot was original. They even used an old 20s car!

I would say that the film failed, but it was so close to something marketable that I can't help feel for its makers.

Terrible movie

[pipo- · 1/10 · 4 November 2018]

The first 5 minutes looked promising but the whole movie went to hell after that, nothing but a whining screaming boy throwing a temper tantrum (except he looks to be in in 20s), everyone screaming at each other these people cant even make a proper decision, after about 30 minutes of the same scene and more arguing I started hitting the fast forward button.

Avoid at all costs, this movie is a mess with no story, no interesting characters, horrible editing, drawn out scenes that could of been cut (really the first 40 minutes could have been cut).

I have a headache now, where do they find these actors cause they have zero talent and should really find another line of work, with the exception of the nurse lady, Chinese guy, and guy with beard they were decent.

It's a toxic world

[ralphv1 · 8/10 · 13 April 2019]

There's some gorgeous location filming here, in addition to very effective and evocative set pieces. The cast did a very good job portraying the immature, often irresponsible students of the jazz age who are forced by bizarre circumstances to become responsible for themselves and each other. Juvenile panic is replaced by scientific investigation. In this film are echoes of Lovecraft, Faulkner and Hawthorne, harkening to a time when the wilderness was unknown and a realm of peril, terror and evil.

Not Bad

[chipsdipsanddorks · 6/10 · 12 May 2021]

I like sci-fi, but for a group of newbies, this film was pretty good. The acting was good and the writing was good too. Kind of similar to The Happening, but on a very very low budget.

As one of the characters says, "this is not good. Run!"

[garcianc2003 · 1/10 · 10 March 2019]

During one of the early scenes in Flora, the characters are huddled around a campfire taking turns exchanging banter (as a lazy-writer's way of exposition) and getting drunk. One of the characters holds up a patch that says "Victorin University - 1929" and the camera focuses on the patch for a few seconds as if it were some form of product placement or a home shopping network sales pitch. An so it goes on throughout the movie. it seems like the writers were trying to explain every aspect of the movie to the audience and the actors themselves. However, the actors did not seem to get it either. The patch was a "surprise" design by the character showcasing it, but later in the film we see that everyone is wearing one already...

Nothing in this movie works. The acting and writing are so bad that it made the movie entertaining as an unintentional comedy. It was like an SNL parody sketch of Annihilation or The Happening.

Whoever was in charge of costume looks like they searched the internet for "1929 fashions" and made enough sets to hold the movie until all the characters were in jumpers. The 1929 period seems to have been chosen as a convenient way to remove technology from the plot as a potential plot hole, yet the little technology in the film was poorly researched. For example, a character holding a record player on his lap while rocking to the music should cause the player to skip; the breathing masks the characters used (and that are still used today) would prevent characters from speaking normally and also use oxygen canisters that only produce oxygen for an hour or less - the Navy uses a version of these masks called OBA (oxygen breathing apparatus) that I have worn too many times to care.

The ending is nothing short of pretentious. There was nothing the director or the writers did to support any conclusion, implicit or explicit.

There are so many more plot holes and inaccuracies in this movie that they are not even worth mentioning.

Werewolves... Vampires... Wendigos... Sasquatch...

[tmccull52 · 4/10 · 31 January 2020]

Killer... fungi?

I've seen wilderness survival horror films with vampires, werewolves, various iterations of the Wendigo and the Manitou, menacing Sasquatches, and extraterrestrial killers, and now we have killer pollen?

What's next? Homicidal tree bark? Maniacal, bloodthirsty pollen?

The actors weren't great, but they weren't terrible, either. The atmosphere and setting were well depicted, and the costumes and equipment were era-authentic. I just could not get excited or worked up about killer pollen. I was sorely tempted to turn this movie off after about 20 minutes, but I watched it through to the end.

I should have gone with my first instinct.

A refreshing dud

[Rickinator69 · 5/10 · 20 May 2019]

The historical premise, music and cinematography were refreshing. But the acting was stale and the film had no real thrills, chills, suspense or even much conflict. I'd rather watch the far superior Annihilation, or The Ruins.

Or The Day of the Triffids. Possibly even The Happening.

In the Low-Budget movie category, this was well done

[LastDiveBernie · 7/10 · 3 June 2021]

As others have written in their reviews, this is a well-done movie in the low-budget category. It was entertaining, with a plausible (though not original) storyline. I won't compare it to another, big-budget, big-actor movie as that would be a spoiler.

On the plus side: very nice cinematography.

On the not-so-good side were a couple of (minor) plot issues, and one of the main characters wearing jeans and not looking at all as if he were even **trying** to look like he's in 1929, when the movie takes place. Even though it's a low-budget movie, surely fixing this small (but glaring) detail would not have derailed the accountants. All the move so since this character and his outfit are the focus of the very opening scene, including in the trailer!

Music

[charma_craven · 6/10 · 18 June 2021]

Music was hauntingly beautiful in the opening scenes as they are canoeing to their destination.

Imaginative Film, Out Of The Main Stream Thriller

[deager · 8/10 · 11 May 2019]

Not sure why all the low ratings on this very interesting low budget thriller out of Canada. Going in you should understand some of the production values are not going to be up to giant budget standards, no big CGI monsters swooping in, no perfection of the 1929 time period. This is a movie that uses your brain to see what is happening, to think about the why of the scare and the danger. That is what the script offers and pulls off and what makes this a tight, imaginative thriller. The basic theme is nature versus man and how our group of young, intelligent students can figure out what is happening and why and finally how to survive. There are moments that we have to overlook some of the scripts short comings - like when they sew their very nice survival suits out tent canvas. Overall The acting was good, with the best being those in the main roles. The directing was very good with the director working from his own scrip. Photography was excellent capturing the vastness of the wilderness as well as the claustrophobic feel you can have in the middle of such vastness. Sure there are flaws, but this is a thriller that is imaginative and intelligent in its telling. Worth the time to watch.

Why the Low Ratings?

[dncorp · 7/10 · 24 September 2018]

Many will rate this Adventure, Drama, History movie low because they expected an Action movie.

History,

As children these University Students would have been taught a lot about "The War to End All Wars", World War 1, and the use of Chemical Weapons and Biological Weapons as weapons of Terror during World War 1.

As children they would have survived the 1918 to 1920 Spanish Flu that killed most between the ages of 10 to 40, leaving only children and old people.

1927 to 1929 U.S. Democrats would cause the sequence of Events leading to the U.S. 1929 to 1939 Great Depression, that with the actions of the German Democrats (Democratic Socialists) would cause the Global Great Depression.

I'll Never Look at Salad the Same Way Again

[louise-52291 · 7/10 · 30 May 2020]

It's clear from the get go that this is a student film, or at least an indie financed by friends and family. There are no familiar faces, or special effects that require more than a passing familiarity with make-up. But that being said, the story is intriguing, and the setting is gorgeous. Other reviewers have noted similarities with The Happening, and I would add a resemblance the the X-Files, specifically "Darkness Falls."

In short, an enjoyable film that bodes well for the the filmmakers.

Not your usual romp through the forest

[domivel · 7/10 · 22 April 2020]

Some monsters are big and some monsters are small-very, very small-and those can be the most frightening of all. Movie kept me nicely tense worrying about who was getting it next and how. Good acting! Beautiful scenes and well-done costumes and effects make-up with enough period artifacts scattered about to help me transcend my living room. However, some scenes and scene transitions were confusing, some of the characters were not well defined, and rather detracted from an otherwise worthy effort.

Great Indie film

[knights-20764 · 8/10 · 30 September 2018]

This was a great indie film that kept me interested from beginning to end. Loved the lo sci-fi style and wish there was more like it. Definitely worth the watch!

Decent survival movie. Worth a watch.

[frankblack-79961 · 7/10 · 9 September 2020]

This was much better than expected. Acting from a few of the cast wasn't great. Others were decent. Kind of an Outbreak type survival film. I would watch another film by this director if he makes one.