Hurt (2009) User Reviews

Meh...not terrible, but only mediocre

[MsKitty77 · 5/10 · 9 December 2010]

I will start off by saying that I did not hate this movie. It was decent, and not a complete waste of a couple of hours. The acting was good, but if you've seen movies like "The Bad Seed" or "The Good Son", you have seen it all before. The only difference here is that the young girl pulling the trigger seems to have a semi-valid, though a bit twisted, reason to do the things she does. My biggest complaint is that this movie is pretty boring. There is not enough suspense to keep the more experienced movie-goer intrigued throughout the duration of the film. I would even say its slightly predictable at times. Also, it is classified as "Horror" on many websites and it most definitely IS NOT a horror film but a drama, with a little suspense mixed in. It felt very much like a Lifetime movie to me, which though somewhat entertaining, can often be just too tame for my taste. If you want a similar evil child movie, with a lot more suspense and plot twists, I suggest seeing "Orphan"...much more original and disturbing.

Another evil child movie

[IMDBer100575 · 5/10 · 1 November 2009]

I watched this for fun, trying to get the first review in. It's just another mediocre evil child movie.

The acting is good and the evil child indeed gets your blood boiling. But what drives this movie, for me, is the ineptitude of the family. How did they survive the death of their father and stresses of the aftermath and still be so incapable in life? The mood of the movie was good. The pace was slow and for a long time, you wondered what the hell was going on in the movie and then boom! You realize what's wrong with this evil child.

Emotionally, I did get upset and angry. I never got scared, which is what a horror movie should do. So as a horror movie, the writers failed. As a thriller, they succeeded, I think.

What I really liked about this one is the history of the storyline. Most evil child movies just explain that the evil child is bad. This one tries to explain that the child was emotionally hurt and it drove her to be the way she is. Is it possible? I'm not at all convinced that the children portrayed in these movies are capable of half the stuff they do, but hey...it's fun to watch.

If you're bored of PvP'ing in WoW or if there's nothing else on cable TV, you should give this movie a try. However, don't expect something spectacular. This movie is mediocre at best.

Another creepy child movie

[buster_nemo · 4/10 · 6 February 2019]

Not bad definitely kept me guessing what would happen next. The acting was pretty decent too. Worth watching it u have the time!

Family Planning...

[azathothpwiggins · 1 November 2021]

HURT is a combination of family drama, thriller, and eeevil-kid horror movie.

A family relocates to a junkyard (!) home after the death of the husband / father. They soon take in an orphan named Sarah (Sofia Vassilieva), and bad things start happening. Suspicion builds until uneasiness turns into panic.

Chaos and death ensue.

HURT moves rather slowly, using the time for character development and story line. This isn't a maniac-on-a-rampage movie. The body count is relatively low. This is a tale of loss, pain, and vengeful rage unleashed. In a smart way.

Highly recommended for those seeking a bit more fiber in their horror movie experience...

It HURTS to watch this movie

[steven_place · 2/10 · 3 December 2009]

I give this movie a two, but only because the cast interviews make it interesting. The interviews help to lay out the plot of what seems to be a different and more compelling movie. I wouldn't recommend that you waste your time with this movie. The hype of this movie and the reviews on the box are inaccurate, I couldn't wait for it to be over as I kept waiting for it to get better. The cast is good, the plot is good but it lacks the suspense that a thriller should contain. As for comparing it to the Orphan, there is nothing to compare. If this movie was done right, it would have no resemblance to the Orphan because the plot is different, but as luck would have it, it appears to be a cheap knock off with a slight twist.

Hurt doesn't cut it

[Siamois · 3/10 · 8 January 2010]

Hurt is the classic story of a somewhat dysfunctional family taking in a new young member and from that point, things go wrong. Several movies have followed this basic formula but what makes Hurt slightly special is that director Barbara Stepansky wraps this film in drama and mystery. Just what is going on in this family, who is responsible for what?

Unfortunately, Stepansky's attempts to hold out on us are only frustrating, as the "revelations" that come later are not satisfying or surprising to us. As for the dramatic side of this story, I appreciated the attempt but the direction, writing and cast were poor enough that it was impossible to be emotionally involved in his mess.

I still applaud the attempt to mix a traditional horror/thriller Hollywood plot with an indie drama. Some of the shots were nice and the soundtrack (not the film score) was interesting and provided some mood. But in the end, this film is a mess.

been there done that

[scaryoutcome1 · 3/10 · 2 November 2009]

okay! First of this is just your average Been there, done that Evil child movie.

In my opinion its just The omen and The orphan rip/off.

The acting well the Acting is below par at the best of times. the only one that makes an effort is the daughter. the psycho child, which i wouldn't really say is psycho, more of a child with issue's after the death of her father and the bullying in the orphanage comes across as lonely child and doesn't have the chemistry to make the viewers feel scared or terrified.

this is more of a story driven movie, nd doesn't really have much tension like a horror is supposed to..at best this is more thriller than horror and more drama than thriller.

I wouldn't watch this with high hopes and expect gore galore.

At best i can only give this 3/10 The first 30-40 minutes was too drawn out and can be very boring so don't expect a high tech thriller.

Worth watching

[aqos-1 · 7/10 · 17 November 2009]

First, I disagree with the people that compare this to Orphan. This movie is about a lonely child with completely different motives than the girl in Orphan. In this movie, there is a car accident in which the father of the family dies. This forces the family to have to movie in with the Uncle. They are moving from a nice house to a ramshackle house in the middle of a junk yard. Before his death, the father had taken pity on a young girl being abused by her mother and was applying for guardianship of her. After his death, the lawyer called the wife and asks her if she is still willing to take the child in. After meeting the girl, she agrees. Her daughter is not too thrilled about it, but the brother seems to work hard at being a brother to her.

Better than the three I've rated it but not much

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 15 November 2009]

Widowed mother and her family movie in with her brother in law and his salvage yard. They also take in a troubled foster child. Family secrets and other nastiness set in motion some not so pleasant events.

Well made but not particularly compelling story is the sort of thing that you've seen before. Both the bits and pieces and the central plot seem to have been recycled from other better films. My dislike for the film is neither the cast nor the craft of the film, rather its the plot which spins out in all sorts of directions in the hope of creating some reason to watch the proceedings. I really can't think of one, especially when odds are that you're going to be way ahead of the characters as to whats going on. Take a pass.

The award for worst actress goes to Melora Walters

[deloudelouvain · 3/10 · 12 May 2019]

Everything about this movie oozes low quality and low budget. I have no clue what their budget was but it just shows that it must be pretty low. The cinematography is mediocre at best. The plot could have been interesting with more money and better actors. They made it so that you believe something specific will happen but it turns out different, but that's the good part of this movie. The suspense is very mild as it becomes quickly obvious what is really going on. The worst part is the acting of Melora Walters, if you can call that acting. I seriously wonder what she did to get this part in this movie. It's one of the rare occasions I had to witness an acting performance without any emotions. Every scene is that same monotone and annoying voice, like she's just reading her script without thinking about the plot or the scenes. You could watch her in a surprised scene, a dangerous scene, or a scary scene, every line is exactly the same tone without any emotion. To me it's a mystery how she became an actress. Just avoid this movie, it's really nothing new and a waste of time.

Familiar, but still first rate b-movie thriller

[jaybob · 8/10 · 22 November 2009]

Barbara Stepanksky directed & co-wrote this little thriller with Alison Lee Bingeham. They wisely took plot developments from a few older familiar film PLUS a character from the classic. THE BAD SEED.

The cast is consists mainly of 5 people, mainly they are from various Television & cable shows. It is almost a large one set film,(A near deserted auto Junk yard.)

A recent widowed women, a late-teen aged son & daughter. This three-some move in with her quirky brother (owner of the junk yard ). these 4 nice people are trying to cope when a 13 year old young girl enters there lives..As I said above,. BAD SEED time again.

The cast consists of Melora Walters, William Mapother, Jackson Rathbone,Joanna Bradley & Sofia Vassiliva. All 5 are first rate.

It is a well done minor b-movie, Since there are no explosions or naked scenes It was released direct to DVD.

I think this film deserved a better fate. See it & I think you will agree.

Ratings: *** (out of 4) 87 points (out of 100) IMDb 8( Out of 10)

Formulaic gibberish

[Sankari_Suomi · 3/10 · 2 April 2014]

Yet another movie seemingly created for the sole purpose of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

Follows the standard revenge flick formula with some spectacularly unrealistic scenes, jaw-droppingly stupid characters and plot holes large enough to swallow the Murray-Darling basin.

The film initially shows promise with its metatext of pubescent erotica, polygamous sex and Freudian longings, but lacking proper development these elements became increasingly irrelevant and ultimately fail to satisfy.

I rate 'Hurt' at 9.99 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a solid 3/10 on IMDb.

The mom whispers the entire time

[SSJAWSUM · 3/10 · 16 April 2023]

I know it's a trade mark of maloras to be soft spoken but this is ridiculous. I can't hear a friggin word she says. The whole cast is incredibly underwhelming. You can tell the actors want to give better performances but were held back for some reason. The plot is straightforward yet somehow the tension is lost in translation to the viewer. The really climactic scenes are so forced it's cringey. Most of the issues the family face are solved with no exuberance but there's things that are just tossed aside as "na we're not going to review that". I had mediocre hopes going in and yet I ended up still greatly disappointed. Turns out, I'm the one who got HURT. (See what I did there?)

Well, at least it doesn't look like it's filmed on an old smartphone.

[TokyoGyaru · 2/10 · 25 December 2021]

I was a third of the way through and decided to just skip to the end. This family is unlikable and pushy. I don't know how he changes as a character, but I was on the uncle's side a third of the way through. The mom's whispery baby voice is annoying. Not only was she and her kids annoying, but the mom decides to bring an extra kid in, a stranger, when it looks like they can barely make ends meet at a junkyard. Also, having skipped to the end while watching this, it's very anticlimactic.

Also, I got Orphan a bit in some aspects. Reading other reviews after the fact, I see other people noticed it too. Once the I saw the teeth thing and then jumped to the end where she's wearing makeup, it clicked (maybe there was more in the middle too). But whereas the actors and characters in Orphan were done rather well, with strong performances from everyone, even the children (but especially Vera), I couldn't care less about this family. Don't rip something off unless you're going to do it better or as good. At least they didn't make a carbon copy, but it's still not better or even on par.

At least Jackson Rathbone actually emotes in this. But seeing him in this lets me know he didn't improve as an actor since then. Also, he has awful hair in this.

Wasn't painful to watch at all!

[Topaz1922 · 8/10 · 27 November 2012]

I loved this movie! Despite the reviews, and the fact that the concept is a familiar ad re-visited one, I found this movie enjoyable and worth watching. If yo are a fan of "The Bad Seed" and "The Good Son", you would definitely appreciate this movie.

The summary of the movie automatically made me prejudge on of the main characters in this movie as the psycho but as the characters' lives start to slowly unravel, it was no surprise as to who the villain was and how the fate of the others would turn out.

From the get go, before any turmoil begins, it is pretty predictable as to how everyone would either meet their doom or become unhinged. This is the only reason why I did not give this movie a 9. However, despite this minor predictability issue, this was a movie worth watching! I could watch it again!

VERY GOOD LOW BUDGET THRILLER

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 8 May 2019]

This is a very good generic type of thriller. It is not as good as "Shutter Island" or even "The Uninvited", but is still worth a look if you are into thrillers. A man dies in an automobile accident. His wife, son and daughter go and live with dad's brother, in a desert "auto recycling facility" known as a junk yard. This is just temporary until the settlement check comes through... Mom is diabetic and has issues with her husband's death. The brother-in-law is a bit creepy and is in love with his dead brother's wife. The kids are somewhat normal, whatever that is for teenagers. Before he died, dad made arrangements to take in a child from an abused home. Mom, after meeting the child, agrees to continue with the foster care. The teenage girl has an instant dislike for the new girl, Sara, and Sara has an instant liking for the brother. There is the expected twist to the story, in fact it is hard to call it a twist, and there is also an unexpected twist, for which there were clues laid out.

The acting was good, plot and dialogue were also sound. No nudity, no real sex, and the F-bomb gets dropped a few times, most likely done to ensure an "R" rating as the swearing seemed a bit out of place.

A great horror movie

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 9/10 · 11 March 2017]

This is a very scary movie. It has great story line. It has great acting. It has great special effects. It is scarier then The Shinning and that is not easy to do. This is a very scary movie. 5.3 is a good ratting. But this is such a great film that 5.3 is underrating it. I give it 9. Because it is very scary. This is scarier then A Nightmare on elm street and that is not easy to do. This is scarier then Friday the 13th V a new beginning and that is not easy to do. This is scarier then Halloween resurrection could ever be. Do not watch this movie alone it is very scary.