The List (I) (2007) User Reviews

Potentially good plot was weakly developed.

[ed4becky · 5/10 · 7 September 2007]

I found the plot development weak in this movie. The evil power and it's enticements were not played out in any meaningful way, and some of the dialog was hokey.

I thought at first it was an art film, but felt at the end it was just low budget (not bad, just low budget). Some of the character motivations were doubtful and/or not fully developed.

Malcolm McDowell was at his best as a Southern aristocrat.

Turned out to be a religious film, and walked the 'prayer as magic power' line. I am not opposed to religious messages, but I have seen better ones. I thought the ending a little lame and incomplete.

The girl was cute!

A Christian movie disguised as a mystery thriller

[chrichtonsworld · 4/10 · 6 August 2008]

At the beginning we get to see the start of a secret council of some sorts. It all looks very promising from the get go. With some supernatural elements thrown in, the mystery gets more interesting by the minute. The main character who seems like a good bloke gets into trouble because of his claim for money he is entitled to (temptation) and other factors. You really empathize with the guy and you want to know what exactly is going on. Normally a person in his situation would have several options. Somehow he does not have those options. In this movie there only seems to be one solution even when it is clear it is not his fault. Out of the blue he encounters characters who talk about church,prayer and God. And they provide the answer for his problem. It should be obvious at a point in the movie what this solution is. Now let me say that there is nothing wrong with this message. Since it always is helpful. But was it really necessary to disguise this message. This religious element actually ruined the viewing experience for me. While the message is good,it's simplicity can't escape the fact that in real life more needs to happen to resolve issues presented in this movie. The mystery that is presented to us never gets solved. In stead you are forced to deal with another topic that essentially has nothing to do with the plot. Don't get fooled because of Malcolm Mcdowell. The once brilliant actor is adequate,but if you watch closely you will see that he is not serious at all. He really must be desperate for money. Otherwise what would posses an actor of his caliber to act in a movie like this.

needs to figure out what it's point is

[chodieb · 3/10 · 7 September 2008]

I just finished watching this movie. It wasn't ridiculously bad, but I'm really disappointed with it. I'm not really sure why someone would make a movie like this. It was marginally entertaining, but I feel like the people making it had a lot of disagreements on what they were making. Monday, the writer was in charge; Tuesday, the director; Wednesday, the guy who gets the coffee; etc. It almost seems like they really wanted to make a couple different movies, but only had the time and money to make one.

Someone else commented that the acting was really good, but I'd have to disagree. Then again, if the actors were able to keep a straight face during the filming, perhaps they're better actors than I give them credit for.

The back of the DVD gives the impression that the movie would be a mystery... something along the lines of a historical Law and Order or National Treasure. It starts off like that, but then, out of nowhere it takes a turn towards a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, or... what was that other show that wasn't as good... A bad episode of The Outer Limits.

My main complaint about the movie is that it is just so played out. There's the evil guy with spiked white hair. There's the love interest, who, when she first appears, the wind actually blows through her hair. Seriously. Once you realize it's a Christian movie, the end is also pretty easy to spot.

The cinematography was poorly done, especially in the opening scenes - way to put your best foot forward. It wasn't atrocious for most of the movie, but there was the occasional ridiculously bad shot of an old lady, praying, arms up in a dark room while lightening is striking - the sort of thing that just makes you a little bit embarrassed to be watching the movie.

Outstanding acting by the cast keeps this mystery/thriller moving

[metropolis2004 · 11 July 2007]

The film opens in a manner reminiscent of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, with a record of various events surrounding the creation of "The List." The uncertainty of these events and their relation one to another foreshadows the mystery facing a young lawyer as he pursues the inheritance left him by his late father. As he does, he faces a similar series of mysterious events, deadly but seemingly disconnected. The solution to his own mystery lies in an understanding of the events that opened the film. This film chronicles the battle between power wielded by the greedy and merciless and power wielded by good and Godly people who surround the young lawyer. He is caught between forces competing for his soul and, in the face of uncertainty, must make a decision that will determine the course of his life. This is a quiet thriller, reflective of the challenges and choices that each of us faces in our own lives. The story is enhanced by truly outstanding acting on the part of all of the case members. -- LRD

Please read before watching

[skyrme-1 · 1/10 · 5 June 2008]

Unless you are an Evangelical Christian then make like an Egyptian and avoid like the biblical plague.

Awful - why oh why does IMDb list the most favourable reviews at the top of the list - it was due to one of these that I have just wasted the end of what started out as good evening on this claptrap.

The plot premise started out strong enough - I was drawn into the film and was interested right up to the point where the Bible sermons took over. What a waste.

This film has so incensed me that I have registered with IMDb for the first time just to complain about it - I hope at least that by doing so I save someone else's evening.

Hay - what a Christian act on my part ;-)

Steer clear

[timpreston · 2/10 · 27 September 2008]

The IMDb plot summary in no way describes the essence of this film. It should have read 'Be prepared to be catapulted back to the prison of the 3rd pew from the back of your family's church at 8 years old, listening to the preacher drone on about God's will while all you can think of is getting back home to your Lego'.

It starts off well intentioned, building intrigue by planting some real and surreal clues such as Renny's 'how did the cut on my thumb heal so fast?' moment. It then slowly morphs into a Christian jamboree, sacrificing its plot completely in a wash of evangelistic-induced babble. I believe I counted the use of the word 'pray' about 53 times in a five minute span near the end. After the 31st, I tried to twist the context of the word to its synonym, 'prey'. Sadly, this little mind game of mine made the film at least bearable for the last 20 minutes. Plus it made me laugh whenever a character would say 'prayer' ('preyer' to me) as it became totally zany. Indeed, even my Catholic wife sunk in her chair from boredom, almost to the point of ending up on the floor.

For all the salivating Christians who ranked this film 8-10 stars, I suggest sticking with your theology-reinforcing safety standards like Circle Square, The Ten Commandments, anything from Narnia, Jesus Christ Superstar and the like. Stay away from more cerebrally challenging subject matter in films such as Jesus Camp, The God Who Wasn't There, What Would Jesus Buy, or the soon-to-be released Religulous.

Maybe Robert Whitlow's book is better.

The story line seemed interesting... it's really, really not.

[Of_Many_One · 1/10 · 22 August 2008]

It started out with an interesting premise. I always like Civil War stuff and ancient secret societies. The more the film progressed, the more I realized that this was a B movie at best. In the latter half, it quickly became a C movie, then D, then F, then "I wish that this wasn't a rental so that I could put it in the microwave!" I can't say that the acting in all cases was awful, just most. The writing, however... I never read the book. Maybe the book is well written. The screenplay was written by a 10 year old. It was ridiculously shallow, the dialog drab and uninteresting, the characters about as interesting as a 5 pound bag of fertilizer. I really hated this movie, as did my wife. I am a Christian and I have no problem with movies that promote or support Christianity. This movie did a great disservice to the cause. Awful, terrible, worthless. If you liked it, I strongly recommend Superman 4.

My video store needs a "Religion" section

[reedrichardsdick · 1/10 · 13 October 2008]

...then they will have a proper place to file this crap. Sorry, not a "mystery" as claimed, it is religious mumbo-jumbo. I kept waiting for the "unimaginable evil" that was promised me, but the "evil" in this flick would only be unimaginable by a five year old with learning disabilities.

I can't believe that they actually managed to find some bigger name actors willing to be involved in this embarrassment. Unfortunately it has forevermore changed my opinion of them, and I will likely avoid anything they do in the future. I'm also a little cheesed off that I now have a writer's name and director's name to memorize as I'll be avoiding anything they do like the plague from now on too.

It's really unfortunate that all the religious fanatics posting on here and saying that this movie is 10 out of 10, etc. will get their reviews posted first. This could lead to more people getting tricked, as I was, into believing this movie was something other than religious preaching.

Well, it's off to the video store to get my money back for false advertising. Too bad they can't give me back the 105 minutes I wasted watching this thinking that it was actually a Hollywood horror/supernatural film.

Really Bad

[kenalbertson · 1/10 · 31 May 2008]

This movie has no redeeming features at all. I have the sense that the large number of good reviews are primarily from people who had something to do with making the movie or, more likely, people who subscribed to the heavy handed message contained within. I have seen this happen on IMDb with similar awful movies. The entertainment value is nil.

My reactions varied from boredom to confusion to annoyance at which time I stopped the movie unfinished. I did watch most of it though or else I would not have chosen to review it.

I would like to take this opportunity to protest IMDb's requirement to write at least 10 lines in each review. I think it is sad when more thought is required to write the review of the movie than was given to making the movie itself.

totally worthless

[godwottery03 · 1/10 · 14 September 2008]

didn't know anything about the film or that it was based on a best selling book.Tried guessing from the opening scenes what it would be about,best guess,buried treasure and a death list.That lasted about 15 minutes when i got the sneaky suspicion that the film was crap.I'll not bore you with how bad the plot and acting were but anyone who gave it more than two stars must work for the film makers.I watched until the hero jumped into his corvette to rush to the hospital.He had his on his suit,shirt and tie arrived at the hospital in jeans and a t/shirt.Couldn't even get the continuity right. I got the Christian theme,hard to miss it .

This movie stinks. P-U. Hold your nose before you hit play for this one

[bigheart353 · 1/10 · 5 November 2008]

The deceptive cover, title and very small hidden print of Power of Prayer tricked me into renting this movie.

It started out really well and pulled me in. I REALLY liked it. Between 1/3 and 3/4's of it, the film started throwing in things that were not set up and made no sense. My first thought was, "This is not written by someone who knows how to tell a story." I ended up re-watching parts of the movie, thinking I had missed something.

By the time I reached the last 1/5 of the movie, it was all BORING, ANNOYING, RELIGION THUMPING DIALOG that made no sense, said nothing, and was annoying to listen to; I turned off the sound and did a fast forward to the end.

Don't waste your time with this flick.

Beware of DVDs labeled Whitlow Films and Level Path Productions.

And I'm a practicing Catholic.

my family loved it!

[monkeymomm3 · 9/10 · 6 July 2008]

After reading some of these comments I don't know what the big deal is.

This is a nice family film with Christian/faith overtones. Big deal. The movie tends to be nothing else.

I am not a religious person but we still enjoyed it. My four kids kept up with it and it was refreshing to see a nice PG rated movie that had no bad content in it and was still a quality film.

I loved McDowell in Time after Time and he is great in this. It also gave Pat Hingle a nice role too.

We loved it.

Took one star off for the lead's accent.

I Like It!

[seres2371 · 7/10 · 13 December 2008]

This movie is a pleasant surprise. Usually, when you watch a Hollywood movie, you get ambushed by cursing, violence and perversion. Not with "The List". It is about time that audiences got ambushed by decency.

The story is of a young attorney whose father dies. They had had a strained relationship while the father was alive, but the son's exclusion from inheritance was a surprise to him. The sole remaining item of inheritance is part of a "Covenant". The son comes to learn that his father did him no favors.

Someone commented that this was a "thinly veiled Christian film". I don't think there was any veil at all. The fact that it is a Christian film is its greatest asset.

While this was not a high budget film, the story was good and entertaining. I am glad that I ordered this Video-On-Demand.

Simply the worst 'movie' i have ever seen.

[Stevepbs · 1/10 · 30 September 2008]

How sad there is no option to post a mark lower than 1. I watched this piece of nonsense and could barely believe what i was watching. Every single part of the film was awful. Music, acting, direction, story, everything, simply everything. I actually found myself laughing out loud at various points in the film. I particularly loved the bit where our hero is dashing through the hospital in soft focus slow motion, and knocks the clipboard out of the nurses hand, because, .............well. Just because. Product placement? Crucifix's (crucifi?) everywhere. If you are of a Christian persuasion and very easily satisfied, you may like this movie. If you do like this movie, you really need to get out more.

Movie compiled of southern stereotypes and religious hokum

[debbie-26 · 1/10 · 15 December 2007]

Truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Start with every southern (and some just literary) stereotype you've ever seen:

Greedy southern aristocrats with legacy affecting today's descendants, black mammy who raises the white boy (and hums spirituals when troubled), pious mother praying for her spiritually lost son, cold distant father, beautiful blonde girl in latest fashion driving a beat-up old pick up, mysterious spirit guide who leads the main character to the right questions, blood oaths of fealty, selling one's soul for money, power mad despot, heavenly guidance via opening the bible at random and finding the right verse, Confederate decendent's obsession with THE WA-AHR, self sacrificial death to save another, William Falkner worship while writing crap, folksy black lawyer with spiritual knowledge and most of all, the same old southern accents that only exists in the minds of movie makers and yankee authors.

Add in hokey religious mysticism and lots of praying and you get one long, slow, stupid boring movie. The only people who will find this interesting are religious fundamentalists who haven't seen a movie since "Gone with the Wind"

Overwrought acting, idiotic plot, and hysterical music made it one boring movie.

A Religious Drama about the power of prayer...

[imdb321-1 · 1/10 · 31 May 2008]

Without giving too much away, the movie tells you about a lawyer who gets sucked in by the Dark Force, after he's introduced into a club that's been looking after Big Money that they've inherited since the civil war.

And the people of this club are Really Bad. First they give him money and a Corvette, but soon they deceive him and make him zap his girlfriend via their Magic Ledger. The lawyer looses everything.

But wait, there's Good People around the lawyer that are aware of The Power of Prayer. Yessiree! And guess what, with their prayers they're so much more powerful than the Really Bad people. And the lawyer breaks their spell by telling them they have this power over him no longer.

And his girlfriend gets better instantly and The Really Bad People loose their power. Woohoo! God vs. Really Bad People 1-0! Cue credits.

I'm not kidding. This movie is really that bad. Unless you're a devout Christian, you will want to skip this religious drama.

Not worth the time.

[unmaskedpoet · 1/10 · 31 May 2008]

This was really quite a poor film. I had somewhat higher expectations. The acting was on par with what you would get from a TV drama. I applaud the effort to produce a contemporary film regarding the power of faith. Unfortunately effort is not enough. The plot holes are huge, the suggested forces of good and evil are shown in simplistic and cardboard characters. I won't even go into the whole glossing over of the slavery issue and the simplistic and for me somewhat objectionable portrayal of black women. I shivered at every stereotypical scene of her comforting and sacrificing for her poor Reny. They even gave her an Aunt Jemima outfit. The more I think about this film the less I like it and I can only assume the 3 actors of note in this film owed the director a big favor. Either that or someone has compromising Polaroid's. I suggest you spend your time doing anything other than watching this movie.

Even Jesus Hates This Movie

[thefunk200 · 1/10 · 5 November 2008]

Things I learned from "The List".

A decent cinematographer, a hot girl who can act and Malcom McDowell couldn't stop this movie from sucking.

Blockbuster won't give you your money back.

Even when he reads the script and says "Ugh! Really?!", Malcom McDowell still tries.

Chuck Carrington desperately needs acting classes.

Hire a writer.

Jesus hates me too and punished me by making me pay $ 5.50 to see this movie.

When making a movie, you don't need an ending. Just leave everything unexplained, unresolved an uninteresting enough so that the audience falls asleep BEFORE the ending. Genius.

Any random landlord can cure death just by drawing a cross on a window. So make friends.

Your maid can sing you back to life.

Chuck Carrington still needs acting classes.

Your roommate will hate you and make fun of you if you bring home this movie.

Apologies will not be accepted.

Very disgusted

[pjnbarb · 1/10 · 30 December 2008]

I believe in keeping religion out of government and out of the movies. When I want a sermon, I'll go to church, but I don't want one from a movie. I don't mind some supernatural themes, (after all, religion is about as supernatural as you can get!) but this movie had so much preaching in it that I was really annoyed. The landlady reminded me of witches that of seen in other movies. The bad guy even looked like he had horns.

And what a silly ending: the hero went into the meeting and yelled at all of those old men, and that broke the spell. If only life were that simple. I think that when movies are that stupid, they ought to be distributed with a warning: DANGER! PREACHING CONTAINED HEREIN!

More Christian propaganda disguised as entertainment

[helbock-1 · 1/10 · 1 June 2008]

To paraphrase Ghandi, "I admire your Jesus Christ, but I don't think much of your Christians." The first half--or more--of this film presents itself as an interesting historical mystery involving the American Old South and a secret men's organization. While not particularly exciting, the storyline is at least mildly interesting, until we reach a point when Judeo-Christian symbols and mysticism begin to creep into the film and suddenly the whole plot is taken over by religious claptrap including miracle cures and unexplainable developments.

As a viewer, I was left with an impression that I had just watched a 2-hour infomercial by one or another of the Christian sects that have proliferated due to the tax-free benefits given them in most Western nations. Why do people who produce such tripe disguise their REAL intent in doing so? If a movie-maker indicates up-front that the film is a religious fantasy, that's fine. I'll ignore it as not my cup-of-tea, and move on, but this underhanded, sleazy approach of disguising their product as honest story telling is highly objectionable.

Bad movie

[chilin · 2/10 · 30 May 2008]

From the fonts at the start, to the insane unexplained plot jumps, to the crow barred in Christian mumbo jumbo - this film reeks of many levels of death. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE RATING. I don't know how this film has received the rating it has, the acting is terrible, people appear in it at random and with very little understanding offered to the viewer to why they are there (the mysterious church ghost was probably the most insane). It really is a terrible film. I don't know what's wrong with Malcolm Macdowell these days, he used to make good stuff.

Joey's mum from Dawson's Creek is in it, her acting has actually gotten worse. She's one of the big-hitter's in the film.

If you have recently been saved by Jesus then this probably the film for you but in all likelihood it's going to make you pick up the bottle or needle again just to recover from that level of monotony - and I don't think he would blame you either.

To quote from the film "both God's friends and enemies underestimate the power of prayer" - well I pray that another movie like this doesn't waste my time again.

Amen

mcdowell shines

[candle7927 · 9/10 · 2 June 2008]

I got the chance to watch this film at a festival in Florida with Malcolm Mcdowell in attendance. After the film there was a near standing ovation. Malcolm did such a great job and you could tell by his comments that he really was proud of the film.

To us in this audience it was clear that the film had a "faith" message from the beginning. I think going in to the movie knowing that helped.

I thought it was beautifully shot, well directed (director was at the festival too and was a really nice guy - Malcolm seemed to love him) and really well acted. Does walk the "power of prayer" message. So be warned. Good film though.

Gives new meaning to the word "Bomb"

[vze2tppv · 1/10 · 28 July 2008]

I was almost two-thirds through with this unbelievably bad film before I thought to read user comments. Do not be sucked in by the seemingly-worthless-but-really-valuable-inheritance premise. It goes nowhere, but very, very sloowwwlllyy -- and, even more sadly, ineptly. A couple of really distinguished actors and several supporting actor pros stopped by long enough to pick up what must have been small paychecks (it's unfortunate that for most readers, this film will be only time that they will get to see one of the great Broadway actors of the 50's and 60's, Pat Hingle, in a silly role). They carried really amateurish TV types who unfortunately happen to be the leads. The camera operator knew his business as the film is in sharp focus. But you may not find this a plus. The editing is incompetent; continuity almost doesn't exist. Ultimately though, the script looks like a first draft in the hands of a novice director (the less said about the latter the better). My time in writing this and your time in reading this far will only prove worthwhile if my effort keeps you from wasting as much time as did I in sitting through 67 minutes of this bomb.

Oh my, this was awful

[jfrorie · 2/10 · 26 August 2007]

I heard a lot of good reviews on this and since it was filmed in the Carolinas, I figured we'd give it a whirl.

The Good: It started off interestingly enough. The mythology concerning the Civil war and the List origins and history was pretty entertaining. The cinematography was top notch and had the feel of a quality production. Malcolm McDowell was little over the top, but then again maybe his character would have been as well. Old south breeding tends to alter one's worldview.

The Bad: Chuck Carrington and Hilarie Burton, who play Renny and Jo, gave uneven performances and might have flourished with better material. The supporting cast ranged from unremarkable to absolutely dreadful. This was Gary Wheeler's first attempt at direction and writing and I get the feeling the job was too large for him. Several character motivations were totally forced as if massive sections of the movie were lost on the cutting room floor.

The Ugly: Late in the movie, the tone completely changed. It flipped into a preachy Christian bent that probably assumed the audience was a deeply religious. I don't have a problem with religious themed movies if the subject mater is presented properly. This wasn't. I was bored.

My best guess is that this movie will be embraced by the same people that enjoyed "Left Behind". For the rest of us, move along, there's nothing here to see.

Good premise - horrible development and ending

[robnaro · 1/10 · 15 March 2009]

This movie has absolutely no substance. The intriguing premise of the movie is apparent early on and is good enough to keep interest through the end but never gets developed. The viewer is left waiting to see how the list works and what power and influence it brings. The reward for the viewer is the nonsensical supernatural powers the book possesses which are ultimately countered by a combination of prayer and the main character definitively and literally saying "no" to the power of "the list". What an utter and complete waste of a decent premise. There was no resolution to the battle between the members of the list and the main character. They both just went their separate ways. How ridiculous. It would be like the end of the Godfather coming when Michael Corleone storms in front of the Solozzo and McCluskey and says "no" while his family is at home praying (queue curtain). No where does the movie even attempt to explain where the heart attack powers the list has come from or why they stop working. The producer and writer for this movie should mail everyone who wasted money on this movie their money back. Do yourself a favor, read the blurb on the back of the DVD case and make up your own story based on the premise. I guarantee your story and ending will be better than the one in this movie.