The Seamstress (2009) User Reviews

So Much Going for it yet still fails miserably

[Ashman711711 · 2/10 · 26 July 2012]

Imagine you're watching one of those cooking contest shows, they give the contestant a beautiful Filet Mignon and then they proceed to make a cheeseburger with it. That's this mess of a movie.

It seemed to have all the elements of making an excellent horror film yet fails so so badly. The concept while not original was still good, the setting was great- small island off the coast? spooky looking ghost. a curse of some sort, and Lance Henriksen.

Instead what we get, the angry confused, unlikable daughter trying to find out what happened to her father. Oh yeah she has "vision" dreams but this isn't ever expanded upon. pretty flat characters with similar acting. a back story/ curse/ that's never truly explained. "They Changed the rules". yeah? well how? this isn't explained either. The run time is pretty short I think around 76 minutes yet it feels much longer than this. another minus, it never seems to know if it wants to be a drama/mystery, a supernatural horror, or just a slasher type movie. with more focus on the backstory and less time spent on the character which didn't really need any development and this could have been one hell of a good movie. I stress could have been....

Where did it all go wrong...

[ultraextreme · 4/10 · 19 September 2009]

Oh dear, this started out quite promising really. Sure its well trodden ground these days, teens ship out to an island in search of a missing man, an island supposedly cursed by a schoolteacher who was killed gruesomley by an angry mob for a crime she didn't commit. So far so teen-slasher-romp. It even starts out with a half decent gore scene, but things just get worse and worse. The 'teens' are pretty unbelievable as human beings despite playing pretty defined stereotypes, although this is more of a script weakness than an acting one. Their behaviour is unintelligible given the situation with no firm moral direction, at times they behave as if finding a friend hanging from a tree with their eyes and mouth sown shut is the ultra terrifying situation it would be in real life, but then in the next breath they are all splitting up in a dark forest as if it's nothing, I know this is nothing new in a teen horror, heck its a STAPLE, but its just so contrived in this movie.

As the film approaches its predictable finale things just become a bit laughable, genuinely i can only assume they ran out of money and everything starts to fall apart, the characters do completely bizarre things, the twists make no sense, the conclusion makes no sense the film ends up making no sense. Really poor.

4/10 and thats being generous for the odd decent scene the film dishes out, oh and in a teen slasher there is SUPPOSED to be at least one topless hottie, nope they don't even get that genre necessity right

Let down

[aqos-1 · 3/10 · 9 October 2009]

This movie seems to be a movie where they shot the action scenes and forgot to shoot the rest. The real back story for this movie is barely explained. In case you want to watch it, there were children that were being kidnapped, tortured and killed with their eyes and mouths sewn shut. There was a school teacher that boated in every day to teach the students and she was accused as the killer. Some of the locals took it upon themselves to deal with the situation, killing the teacher and her husband. This is what you need to know going in to the movie for it to lay the foundation for the majority of the movie. A group of young adults goes to this island in search of one of the girl's father. It consists of 3 males and 3 females, probably in their early 20s. Upon arriving at the island and setting up camp, they are met by someone that lives on the island and he tells them to stay on the shore. Of course, they don't. They threw in, for some unknown reason, a person that is apparently a chronic masterbater. I guess this is a new twist on naked females. No, there is no nudity, but when someone asks if you're masturbating and someone else mentions it, you have to guess he has a problem with it. Of course, the group does not stick to the shore and mayhem ensues. Poor story, good actors.

Huh?

[kiawa77 · 3/10 · 19 June 2010]

I am always thrilled when there's NOT a SyFy Original on the SyFy Channel (or something made by Asylum), so I had hopes for this one. The actors were actually relatively decent, and this started out with some promise despite the oddities of the guy who apparently chronically masturbated (they felt the need to toss that in the movie as if it were some kind of major enhancement...)

But let me sum this up for you: some young adults running around the woods at night getting killed off one by one. Near the end, curse lifted, and all is well. Yay! If there were a real plot to this or something less contrived, then perhaps it would be more memorable or more watchable. But what we have here is a meandering pseudo-horror flick that makes you raise an eyebrow now and then between yawns.

I guess it's back to Dinocroc Vs. Supergator next week....

Campy fun ruined by half baked story

[TheCornProject · 3/10 · 19 September 2009]

Common is the horror genre today where logic & plot development take a backseat for special effects. The Seamstress is one such example of a film that chose to rush the development of a truly chilling story & replace it with a whole bunch of uninspiring supernatural backwash. I refer to this film being 'half baked' on a number of levels. First of all, this film is around 72 minutes long (don't believe IMDb's 85 minute version). It is barely feature length & most likely would of been more suitable not as a film but an episode of the TV show 'Supernatural'.

Not only this, but Jesse Miller's inexperience behind the camera as director is quite evident. His experience previously in the editing department shows up in this film as he seems better at cutting the film to pieces rather than effectively developing it. The premise of the film in hindsight is very simple yet due to the fact that the film is abysmal in its length the plot is consistently rushing through key points that may help the viewer unravel the mystery. I found myself as a critic needing to watch the film twice because many key points hidden in cryptic maps & slurred/low volume dialogue (especially Kevin McNulty's character in the later stages of the film) eluded me. The contextual matter in this film is important to the viewer because most of the time the dialogue is referring to the past.

From what I gather the film follows a young woman by the name of Allie Platt (Kailin See) looking to work out the mystery behind her father, Donny's (David Nykl) disappearance. The establishing scenes at the beginning of the film make no effort in trying to hide his horrible fate at the hands of a sadistic killer. We follow her as she goes on a cross country quest to discover his whereabouts all the while experiencing haunting visions of her dead father. In her childhood town, Sticks Creek she meets a creepy mechanic (Kevin McNulty) who gives her the address to a reclusive man by the name of Logan (Lance Henriksen). A man who seems vague in his responses when discussing just what happened to Donny.

After a heated debate Allie; who blames Logan on her father's disappearance confides in her friends. They discover the location of a remote island that her father talked about in his notes & decide to visit it. On this island is where the story begins to meet its conflict. As the teens snug around the fire talking about the tale of an innocent woman (AKA The Seamstress) brutally killed by a vigilante mob, Allie begins to wonder if the story is more than just a myth. As the hapless teens are slowly picked off & turned into grisly pieces of artwork, the mystery of Donny becomes ever so clear. Did he somehow play a role in the events that occurred on that island 20 years ago? A question that comes begging for an answer as the final act draws to its climax.

The 'campy' side to this film is somewhat the greatest redeeming factor to it. Not only does it cater for your horror/gore fanatics who take delight in watching teens get sliced open but it also has a solid ensemble of actors such as Kailin See & Lance Henriksen, who alone add to the tension as well as general atmospherics of the piece. In my opinion that whole 'campy' feel overrides my general dislike for this film which could of been in a whole new ball park if for 10 minutes the viewer had time to understand the fundamental concepts of everything. This in my opinion is a film not worthy of a cinematic release & will probably pass you a thousand times on your way down the horror isle when it is eventually released on DVD.

1.5/5

ALL SEVEN OR THE ONE

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 13 December 2018]

The film opens with Allie (Kailin See) trying to piece together clues of her father's murder. She comes across all kinds of weird supernatural stuff and symbols. The movie then shifts gears from a scary supernatural story to an up beat slasher film as a bunch of young adults go to an island. It is here on the island that the plot is explained about the cursed seamstress who sews shut the eyes and mouth of her victims. If you watch a lot of horror films, you will most likely be bored with this one as it brings nothing new to the table. The acting lacked. The plot wasn't bad, but the drama and filler material, as well as the dialogue was weak. This is evident during an early scene where Allie confronts the sheriff (Lance Henriksen) over the murder of her father. Might be tolerable as a low budget rental.

F-bombs, sex, brief rear nudity.

Nothing impressive or outstanding on this island...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 11 November 2016]

I was under the impression that "The Seamstress" was some sort of slasher movie when I sat down to watch it. But it turned out to be more of a paranormal thriller with slasher elements. Not sure that it really lived up to what I had thought it to be.

I do enjoy horror movies, and that is why I sat down to watch "The Seamstress". Well, and also because Lance Henriksen was in it. Although I didn't know that he didn't have much of a lead role in this movie; which was a shame and a disappointment.

The story in "The Seamstress" is about a group of young people out at sea, when they get into trouble with their boat and become marooned on a small island. Warned against going inland, the youngsters do, of course, venture inland to explore the island. But a ghastly woman haunts the island, and soon starts to victimize and terrorize the marooned youngsters.

Right, well the story was adequate for a horror movie, although it didn't really offer anything new or innovating. There is essentially nothing here that hasn't already been seen or done in other horror movies.

The acting in "The Seamstress" was adequate, but I can't really claim to pick one performance out in particular as being overly memorable, if you don't count Lance Henriksen in here. It is always a pleasure to see Lance Henriksen in a movie, and his usual dark charm was here as well.

The effects in the movie were good enough, although not memorable. And the creature design was okay as well, but again, not really something you are likely to remember days after having seen the movie.

"The Seamstress" turned out to be a rather generic and mundane horror movie. I did finish it though, because I wanted to see if it got any better, and also to see if Lance Henriksen really didn't have a bigger role than what he ended up having.

All in all, five mediocre stars out of ten stars from me. "The Seamstress" is not an outstanding movie in any way. And once you have seen it, chances are slim to none that you will ever pick it up again at a later time to watch it a second time around.

I actually liked it-

[Virus666-182-754045 · 10 October 2011]

So everyone seems to say that the story line was over "used", well aren't they all? We have to start somewhere, and that's repeating what others did while giving it our own little twists. Personally I'm not one for a lot of gore and intestines and naked girls. I get really sick and tired of seeing boobs in my suspenseful horror movies. That's not something you "have" to have in there.

Those scenes make watching horror flicks with my family very awkward. Some horror movies scare the living hell out of me but this one only surprised me and kept me on the edge of my seat. I like my horror movies this way. I even like how it started with Allie looking for her father and a group of her friends coming along.(Predictable, but I like it) The only thing I found a little off at first was the two getting married. I was like "Well, that's a twist" but that's okay. Though that was an awkward place to purpose. I have to say though, I didn't expect for them to kill someone off so fast. Was a nice change of pace, and Allie having those random flashes made the scenes more suspenseful.

At the end where the Seamstress touches 6 and 7's faces and causes them to have flashes was a little odd, and I couldn't exactly make out what was going on in the flashes. I was a little lost on the counting too, how many were there to begin with and I'm sure I lost track a bit.(I do get confused easily) But I can always watch it again to find out. Because ya know what they say, each time you go through a movie you'll notice more that you hadn't noticed before.

And on that line I'll have to say I WILL watch this movie again. I don't watch horror flicks often because I don't like tons of blood and torture. Which is why I'll NEVER see the Hostile movies(even though the storyline is awesome). Or anymore pet cemeteries(got a soft spot for animals) because I saw the second one and that damn dog appeared beside my bed, and I wasn't asleep. Yes, I was seeing things, that's what happens when you're traumatized.

But anyway- I actually liked this movie, I like it enough to say it was awesome. The whole plot was good, and there wasn't a lot of filler scenes to get the story going. I also liked how the group of friends were like your typical friend groups, keep it simple stupid. I really enjoyed this movie! I also thought it was kinda cool that I was able to say, "Watch this, if he sticks with her this whole movie he'll live." And I was right! Predictable but awesome! If you like movies the way I do, you'll definitely wanna check this one out at least once.

I give it an 8/10

Island of the bored out needle ghost

[p-stepien · 2/10 · 28 October 2011]

Whilst trying to solve the 20-year-old mystery of Seamstress, a serial killer, who sew victims eyes and mouths together Donny Plachtt (David Nykl) is half-buried alive, mutilated and then brutally murdered. His daughter Allie (Kailin See) receives his last message and embarks on a search to find out what happened to her father. On the way she indulges into the scribblings of her old man full of mysterious gibberish about the Seven. Soon afterwards together with five happy-go-lucky friends she boards a boat without any radio station to an island with no phone signal and without a loaded gun to track down the murderous Seamstress. Go figure!

Somewhere within the confines of ineptitude there was actually a decent story hidden in between the poor sound-mix, atrocious plot-holes and moronic script. The location itself (a secluded forest island) offers apt atmosphere, while the specter with killer intentions is sufficiently creepy. Even if you blindfold yourself to ignore the countless logic gaffs of characters (it is a slasher horror), but the total randomness of the murders, which ends up uresolved, features as a plothole causing systemic failure. The whole movie system collapses with a inexcusably rushed finale (did the budget run out?) patched up with some laughable SFX. The cast itself can hardly be put to blame, as in general they do decently with the material afforded to them, albeit apparent sound issues make make dialogues hard to decipher, including some key parts which are drowned out by background noise.

Waste of Electricity

[saint_brett · 1/10 · 17 August 2021]

The start of this movie is like taking a hotdog out of tepid water and dehydrating it in an oven then sprinkling hundreds and thousands on it for decoration - it makes no sense whatsoever and has no idea what it wants to do, or be.

You're dropped in a Blair Witch scenario, then introduced to Weylan from a "Just Cause" setting, then introduced to a group of teens you don't give two hoots for. How's that for building a platform in the first 5-minutes?

Not to mention the horrible camera work and slipshod camera edits. (Or the over dramatization of the lead actress. Trying a little too hard in the drama department are we, darl?)

I cannot get invested in this silliness.

Of course they take off in a boat with no reception next.

Marvelous.

Wow, they're gonna tell a campfire story now of ghosts from the past. (Friday the 13th anyone? Is there a detection of I know what you did last Christmas here, too?) I'm not being entertained here.

These characters are so secondhand and watered down and cliche ridden and is it any wonder I only paid 3-bucks for this DVD? Do I really own this movie?

I'm only 26-minutes into this and this is where my review ends.

I'd rather have dental surgery without a local than proceed any further with this meaningless tripe.

'Bout as scary as a haircut from the 60's.

The worst directed movie I ever saw

[Siggi963 · 1/10 · 22 January 2010]

This movie is the worst directed and cut movie I ever saw.

Although like watching B horror movies, this movie is a disgrace for the genre. The basic story is still OK and has potential for a B horror movie. The actors performance is also OK for the type of movie. But the cut and the rhythm of the movie is just terrible. Scenes alternate without any logical sequence and worst of all without allowing suspense or thrill to develop. Anti Hitchcock. Individual scenes are good and well filmed but the whole is just the most terrible thing I ever saw and I am a movie junkie.

This is the first DVD I ever bought which I trashed right after watching it. I am sorry for those people who performed well, but the end result is just crap.

Good visual sense and the fact it moves at a good clip make this a good but not great little film

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 18 October 2009]

Young woman returns home to meet up with her friends and try to work out what had caused her father to disappear some 15 years before.Her search leads her down a dark path to an island off shore where a long buried secret activated a demon of revenge. Short Horror film (its about 75 minutes) is full of clichés but also has a nice sense of itself. there are some creepy killings, a nice visual sense and several solid performances including one by Lance Henriksen as an old friend of the girls father. For what its worth I liked the film. Its not the greatest thing in the world but it does what it does and gets off before it wears out its welcome. Probably not one of the best horror films of the year, it is one of the more watchable ones and is something that I can recommend with out any real reservations.

Not that bad

[SanteeFats · 6/10 · 12 April 2014]

This starts a little confused and strange. Things do become clearer by the end. Cursed by an innocent teacher who is burnt to death by seven local men for the grizzly murders of twelve kids the daughter of one returns to the area after her father goes back and disappears. Several of her friends rally around her for support. They really shouldn't have as they start dieing one by one once the whole group is stranded on the island where the teacher was killed. I liked this movie because there was not the usual blood, guts, and gore. There is gore but not really gratuitous, just in keeping with the story plot. Turns out that two of the victims, a married couple, are stilled tied to the island. They are the ones still killing. To pass on they must kill the real Seamstress which turns out to be one of the seven men who burnt the teacher. He is killed by them so they get to go. The curse is not lifted though until the daughter kills the last of the seven murderers. This ends the movie, at least for now.