The Taking (2013) User Reviews

Awful beginning to end.

[palms-872-684706 · 1/10 · 3 November 2013]

This "film" is simply dreadful. I won't drag this out. Terrible writing, directing, acting. Terrible scenes, production, makeup. They probably had terrible food on set too. There is not one single thing to like in this "film". I felt raped.

Pay attention to the reviews here. You'll see 2 or 3 blazing good reviews. If you notice they know people involved by their first names and it's obvious that the reviewers either worked on the "film" and/or are trolls.

This is one of the worst to come a long in a while. It's so bad that it can't even be made fun of for a laugh. It's bad enough to make you angry.

Incomprehensible mess

[William_Henry_Pratt · 1/10 · 4 November 2013]

If you enjoy watching a lot of shots of the sun partially hidden by trees over and over this movie is for you! Lots and lots of the same shot repeating over and over.

There is no dramatic structure at all to this film. The filmmakers (if you can call them that) sprinkle in some actors running through the woods screaming, running into houses screaming, and driving their cars screaming. Yes this movie has a lot of sporadic yelling, dissolves, freeze frames, and I do not have a clue what it is all about.

It's got some really weird sound design, I think the sound editor fell in love with a 'pitch control' plug in.

I usually don't care for films that drive the narrative through dialogue, but the complete lack of narrative structure here is ridiculous. Visually it's a complete mess. The films of Stan Brackhage and Matthew Barney are more comprehensible. It's just a film with a bunch of actors covered in fake blood walking around the woods or bound to a tree, and did I say lots and lots of freeze frames, dissolves and the same shot of the sun hidden partially by trees? They also slapped in a disembodied voice saying 'Carl' over and over for good measure.

In stead of Horror it should have been categorized as just plain Horrible.

One To Miss - Absolutely Awful!

[stevediver-835-458032 · 1/10 · 3 November 2013]

We only managed to sit through the first 11 minutes before calling it a day. I think we did pretty well considering.

The cinematography and soundtrack were repetitive and disjointed. It looked like they only had one camera to shoot with and so every scene (within the first 11 minutes) was chopped together with the same imagery and sound effects. It was funny the first 2 or three times, we even joked "I bet they show the sky again" but they kept on doing it! The result wasn't eerie or sinister but it did give my wife and I a headache.

I don't feel its fair to comment on the acting as I only watched 11 minutes of the movie and didn't see any.

As for the reviewers that gave this such an astounding review. Well done! You got me! (for 11 minutes anyway).

For everyone else - AVOID AVOID AVOID!

The worst movie of all time

[dafjunkholder · 1/10 · 6 November 2013]

I have never written a review on IMDb before. This movie was so awful, so pointless and utterly devoid of artist merit that I felt compelled to write one. I'm a huge fan of experimental, avant- garde art-house films, but this is like something that a class of 6th graders put together. In addition to the utter absence of a plot, characters, narrative structure or even a point, the sound design is so awful that it's literally unbearable. Someone needs to explain to the "Director" that loud screeching noises and unintelligible distorted voices are not, in themselves, even remotely scary or interesting. I cannot emphasize enough how bad this movie is. I've seen a lot of bad movies, and usually there is at least SOMETHING to redeem them; this movie misses even that low bar. Avoid at all costs.

Worst film I have ever seen.

[Hwjfojcs · 1/10 · 7 November 2013]

I never had the need to make and account and submit a review until today. I am amazed on what a train wreck I just witnessed. These two have destroyed... no... TAKEN not only my day but countless others. You will not be forgiven.

This was such an absolute failure.

I forced myself to watch it all the way through and now I have paid the the ultimate price.. and that price was to be part of the few that watched it all the way through.

Chinese Cringe - look it up...

AVOID THIS. I REALLY MEAN IT.

Really?

[evazeroki · 1/10 · 6 November 2013]

You know what's funny? I watched exactly 10 mins and 42 seconds of this movie before I paused it and searched it on IMDb. In this comment section I found that 11 mins was about average for quitting.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of movies that do horror differently, and I am very open to artistic development of motion picture. But seriously, this tries way to hard to copy something good and still fails the test. I've been more interested in the beginning of children's movies than this movie, and I can say with full confidence that I have never sat down intending to watch a certain movie and quit like this. In fact, if I start watching a movie, it really bothers me if I don't watch it from the beginning and don't finish it, regardless its really good or really bad. Even to the point of not even going to the theatre if I am more than 5 mins past the start of the movie; I consider myself a cinemaphile. But this is not cinema, it's a crummy redbox rental that just sits on your table for 3 days and that you give the company money to take back.

So doge, wow, so amaze, such honesty, please stop

[charbx-creation · 1/10 · 3 November 2013]

The two first troll reviews made my day seriously. This movie is not even worth downloading or watching stream, just burn all the original copies of it and throw the ashes in a pit in the middle of a desert.

Stop making movies like this, thank you, just by watching the trailer i knew this movie would be a joke filmed with a potato and carrots actors.

Wasted 9 minutes of my life on this majestic blaspheme to the art of cinematography.

Reported.

Seriously, i can't even breath anymore, this is too funny, reading the two first comments bellow make this while thing a pure joke, i really hope for them these are troll comments and not member of the production of this Potato movie trying to make it look good even if they won't food anyone. Certainly not IMDb community. :')

Garlic Bread -laugh-

Artsy fartsy crap!

[besimms · 1/10 · 4 November 2013]

Okay...so I gave this about 10 minutes and thought "What the hell is going on?".

I understand that the idea was trying to make an "art-house" horror flick. but the only thing that was made was - me being nauseous with all the image flicking in bad editing! If I was epileptic I would of had half a dozen seizures within the first 20 minutes! (That's right, I endured for a while longer after reading the "Critics reviews")

The sound track was pathetic. I flicked the movie after 30 minutes of enduring what I can only refer to as crap!

Please do not waste your time watching this rubbish. The writers themselves should be tied to trees in the forest and left there...

Avoid this movie like a plague!

[ScottM2753 · 1/10 · 8 November 2013]

I've seen a lot of movies in my time - a lot of fantastic movies and a lot of 'B' movies, and a lot of 'Cult Classics'... this is not one of those, by ANY stretch of the imagination! In fact, I think this may be the worlds first 'Z' rated movie, it's that bad! I only managed to sit through the first 15 minutes, and that was a struggle! All the time being very thankful that this was a very cheap rental, so I didn't have to worry about a lot of money wasted on this trash! TERRIBLE cinematography, TERRIBLE acting (what there was of it during those 15 minutes), TERRIBLE sound quality. In fact, the sound was pretty much over-driven for much of the time I watched this, doing nothing more than giving me a splitting headache.

Seriously, take my word for it, or read a few more reviews about this.... movie (I have a hard time calling it that to be honest), save your money, save your valuable time. It is NOT worth it, at all!

A Stunning Art-house Horror that deserves to be seen

[deeno71 · 9/10 · 26 March 2013]

The Taking has a logline of - Two strangers must discover a way to escape a sinister family who wishes to sacrifice their souls to an evil presence. Reading this you would imagine a fairly standard run-of-the- mill horror film, but that is probably as far from the truth as possible.

The film centres on Carl (John Halas) who is trying to find his fiancé and best friend after they have had an affair. But Carl ends up being taken prisoner by a strange family in a remote farmhouse. Carl attempts to escape but is recaptured and is tied to a tree and told he will be sacrificed in three days time and his soul taken. He is then joined by Jade who has experienced a similar capture and is tied to the next tree, she is coming to terms with the death of her young daughter just 42 days previous.

Carl starts to come to the realization that the reason they are there is more to do with the harbouring of revenge on those who have wronged them and they are trapped in something far worse than a remote farmhouse and their very souls are at risk. They are both forced to face their own demons in a series of horrific visions and encounters.

Well that is the basic premise and synopsis and I am keeping it vague as not to give any spoilers as The Taking is one of the most intense and exciting film experiences I have had in years.

You have beautiful bright colours , really sharp blood reds mixed with the gentle greens and earthy browns from the wooded surroundings. It is visually stunning and the swift camera work , often oblique angles and lightening fast editing makes this just a joy to watch.

Then mix in the absolute star of the show , the sound. There is no real score here , what you have is an all out attack of your senses. The sound is entrancing , it will be silent then leaves gently blow leading to a barbaric cacophony . You have almost audio explosions that mirror the increasing visual stimulus. The audial and visual mix is joyful, simply wonderful.

It is not so much a story but more an experience , from the start The Taking wraps it's dirty little fingers around your neck and starts to squeeze , it increases its grip throughout the film until 76 minutes later it releases and you are left to think what the hell just happened? Well in my opinion what just happened was a serious assault on my senses which left me feeling almost bereft but hugely fulfilled, I felt like I had almost lived the entire film and that is something BAPartists should be roundly applauded for.

I cannot praise this film enough , the acting is fantastic with John Halas totally nailing it. There are parts of the film where *The God* speaks and the words are subtitled on the screen as the voice is a huge distortion of sound , the distortion is reminiscent of the band Sunn O))) , and anyone who has seen them live will know what I mean. The distortion fits so well and is very unnerving yet subtly beautiful at times.

I must say that when viewing this I had to go and get my *good* headphones , as the TV was not doing justice to the insane audio. I really hope at screenings and festivals that this carries across as well as it should. For me this film is best watched alone in a darkened room with headphones cranked up and just go for it!

The Taking was shot on the Canon 5D Mark II in Northern Virginia right outside of Washington DC on a budget of $13k .

BAParts have really done something special here, years of planning and entirely self funded and I am privileged to have seen this so early on and to have been given the opportunity to review it. What Cezil and Lydelle have created here is stunning and huge praise to them for having the balls to buck the norm and just go for it. For a first feature this is far from a safe venture, in fact it is a statement of intent from BAPartists and a big middle finger to the boring and predictable filmmakers out there.

This is a massive recommend , part horror , part art-house and fantastic 9.5/10 .

Dark & Unsettling & Trippy

[jlx02000 · 6/10 · 11 December 2013]

One Dark film. Evil abstract & artsy piece of work. The whole film I found unsettling to watch especially with the deep satanic voice that runs through out the film. Though it didn't receive good ratings I found the film interesting and found myself watching it again. Fans of films like "The Begotten" & "Eraser Head" will enjoy this dark sinister piece of film work. This film is not a popcorn & candy floss film. Gloomy and condemning. I look forward to seeing what's coming next from both Lydelle Jackson & Cezil Reed. Menacing, not one for the ladies. If you watched a lot if film as I have you'll find this a interesting watch.

Difficult to watch for more that ten minutes

[Toltex · 1/10 · 2 November 2013]

I only managed about 10 mins then had to switch it off, its all flashing imagery, strange symbolism and weird sound effects. IMHO 77 minutes is far too long to endure it all, perhaps it would of been more bearable if it was a short Film. This won't go down well, with your average Horror audience and unless your a film student, critic or well into art house, this probably will annoy the hell out of you with all the sound effects and flashing imagery, and will go straight over the head of most Horror fans. So if you are into horror don't look at its rating and think that you might enjoy this, do yourself a favour, save your money and go and rent something that you will actually enjoy. I give it 1 out of 10 and that's only because i cant give it a zero. When i wrote this its rating was a lot higher, i think about 6.5.

Awful. Managed to sit through the first 24 minutes

[derdon1607 · 1/10 · 29 December 2015]

Horror is my favorite genre and normally i always watch a Movie to the End. This is the first time i couldn't, i managed to sit through the first 24 minutes.

By the way, this is my first review. I'm writing this one because i can not believe what i just saw.

This Movie makes you angry. I've seen a lot of Horror Movies and some of them were really really bad but this one is absolutely painful.

Annoying sound from the beginning, no plot recognizable and acting? Can't say, nobody was talking at all. What a mess of a Movie.

Don't waste your time on this piece of ....!

Unequivocally the "worst movie ever"

[fluffchop · 1/10 · 18 July 2017]

When IMDb used to have a forum section for each movie, people would often make the clichéd "Worst movie ever" post. I challenge anyone who ever made such a post to compare whatever movie they were writing about to this one.

There are no redeeming features in this film except for the tittle and genre. It is across the board awful. The dialog is atrocious. The score is horrible. The script is nonexistent.

I can't fathom how this could ever have been made let alone distributed. It can only be because it's a great title for a horror film. Anyone who actually watched it would just be dumbfounded at what they had just seen.

By realising why its so bad, you can appreciate good films in a new way

[rabbitmoon · 1/10 · 11 November 2013]

I think most house cats would be able to edit a film more efficiently than this, by trying to sit comfortably on the software keys and then licking them.

In all fairness, if most of us tried to make a film, it would probably turn out looking as bad as this. Whilst watching, I kept thinking what I would have done differently, and in thinking like this I soon began to appreciate just how difficult making a good film would be. E.g. good acting is something we all take for granted in polished films, but when you see terrible acting, and try to think why its so terrible, you realise just how subtle great acting really is.

If I was the maker of this film, I would feel slightly ashamed at the awful reviews it has on here, and I wonder to myself how on earth I managed to actually make a film and get it listed in the first place.

Beating you over the head with suck

[Heislegend · 2/10 · 11 December 2013]

A lot of people on IMDb like to throw out hyperbole like "worst film I've ever seen". I've said it before, but if you can point to just one movie as the worst, you're clearly not watching enough crap. So what does that mean for The Taking? Well, it's not the worst, but it's probably in my top 20.

You're no doubt asking yourself "Can it really be that bad?" and surprised that you're concerned what a stranger on the internet thinks. It's not the wooden and unpleasant acting that does it. It's not the painfully bad "special effects". It isn't the complete lack of any comprehensible story. It's not the fact that the movie tries to come off as surreal by using horribly juxtaposed images and grating sound in an attempt to create a tense atmosphere. These things are all certainly true, but it's the way the movie combines these aspects into such a colossal pile of failure that almost has to be seen to be believe. Think I've overstating this? About halfway through the movie I caught myself thinking about what I had to do at work the next day. I was watching a movie, a medium that only exists to take your mind off of your own existence and live vicariously through a character or set of characters, and was thinking about something as mundane as work. I'm not even sure how bad a movie has to be before that takes place because it's never happened to me before.

Seriously, this is garbage.

The Mechanics and Metaphysics of the Soul...

[danny-boy-112-369951 · 7/10 · 27 February 2014]

While wrong-turn backwoods horrors are a-dime-a-dozen, this film explores something more than mere murder and mayhem. The creepy grand matriarch of a motley band of misfits has some metaphysical mojo and a yin for your yang, making a powerplay for your very soul. You float in a wooded bardo, the naked expanse between an unrelenting sun shining into every hidden corner of your psyche with incisive intensity and a dark moon which threatens to swallow you whole. In three days, you are to be sacrificed, but first your very being will be pared down using the sharp edge of your own fears and desires, layer by layer, to your innermost core. Gooooood times.

The film uses a slow, smoldering burn to build the existential horror of the protagonists' predicament, with flurried sights and booming, dissonant sounds a la Lars von Trier's "Antichrist." While certainly not as masterful as von Trier, the film is an encouraging and refreshing feature debut. Given the use of the anglicized version of Carl Jung as the name of a main character, the film is also reminiscent of Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton's "Yellowbrickroad," for its depiction of a spooky forest pulling double duty as a vast Jungian jungle of the collective unconscious in which the mythic archetypes of our collective psyche must be fought or fled from.

This is an intelligent person's horror film, rather than the tired, skull-effingly boring formulism that typifies the vast majority of today's additions to the genre. My only critiques are (1) that the old woman's dialogue, which I'm fairly certain the audience is meant to be able to understand, is often post-processed to the point of inaudible oblivion, and (2) some of the dialogue's verbiage from other characters sounds a little pedestrian and lacking in polish, incongruent with the contextual gravity of the scenes in which it is spoken. That said, originality and departure from formulism go a helluva long way with me, as does the film's ability to provoke deep thought about dense existential subject matter. So I give it 6.5 stars out of 10.

As is so often the case when a thinking person's film gets bad reviews and bad ratings, it is for no other reason than so very many people will just not get it---or rather will not expend any more thought trying to "get it" than is necessary to process the short-attention-span, re-hashed dross that relentlessly churns out of the Hollywood conveyor. (Speaking of short attention spans, those giving just 1 star in their reviews all admit they were too impatient to get beyond around the 15-minute mark.) YES, it did have a plot and well-defined, if cryptic, narrative, and YES the film had a point, a compelling one at that. So when can bad reviews on art-house films safely be ignored? When they are suspiciously rock-bottom 1-star reviews that go beyond simply, "This film wasn't my cup of tea," to the spitting of angry venom, yet with a complete lack of any specific citations of supposed failure---a petty tirade which is nothing more than a thinly disguised declaration that, "This film made me feel stupid, so I hated it." All art-house films are plagued by these. Ignore them.

So, if you want gratuitous gore or torture porn with no dramatic underpinning and no existential substance, and if you want a director that will spoonfeed you neatly appointed plot points and resounding narrative resolutions, then look elsewhere, as this piece surely leaves the drooling masses wanting and wailing. If, however, you like a directorial and writing style that doesn't capitulate to formulaic demands for right-angled scene construction and all literary exposition through spoken dialogue, but instead tasks the viewer with finding meaning from the cinematic language and the consideration of mythic archetypes, then look no further.

Whoops! Sorry, I've got to dumb that down for the drooling masses, don't I? Fear what you don't understand? Movie bad. Want refreshingly original filmmaking that tries something new? Movie good. Want big-budget blood, boobs, and booms? Movie bad. Want cinematic subtlety singing a sinister serenade? Pass the popcorn.

Oh Come On... watch the entire thing at least.

[supatube · 4/10 · 12 March 2014]

I was expecting hell on earth. I was waiting for the worst piece of cinema ever. I expected junk. And that was not it. It's existential story telling and is more about interpretation than vapid force feeding of the plot. So obviously some might despise because they're not familiar. Although experimental filmmaking is definitely not everyones style of story telling, I can still name a few horror films that were worse: "House of Wax", "Boogeyman", "Alone in the Dark", "The Devil Inside", "Texas 3D", "Ice Cream Man", "Troll 2", "Human Centipede", "Paranormal Activity 2 and 3 and 4 and 5", "Nightmare on Elm Street Remake", "Fear Dot Com", "When a Stranger Calls Remake", "Black Christmas Remake", "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Wicker Man Remake", and all of Rob Zombie's films - none of which cost less to make than "The Taking"

Don't get me wrong, there is still a large part of "The Taking" that is difficult to sit through, irritating to listen to and hilarious at points that leaves it far behind experimental films such as "Eraserhead", "Naked Lunch", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "The Pillow Book"but the filmmakers have taken a leap in a different direction compared to many larger budget horror films on offer. And for that reason I am eager to see where they go next.

The fat naked man was great... the thud of that fall was hilarious - oh, its after 10min, you didn't see it? Shame, it was the best part of it all.

True horror fans might want to watch this, I mean we love "Army of Darkness", we do, but its far from stellar story telling, so why not give the avant-garde, indie horror filmmakers a chance? Because it sucks nonetheless, but I'll watch it again over "House of Wax"

Bad Bad Bad

[debshatton · 1/10 · 10 November 2013]

Im sorry.. I love Horror Movies...and I am all for New talent coming along, even making movies on small budgets..and I have seen many good ones....But, THIS..... Dreadful start ...couldnt make head nor tail of it...had no idea what was going on...Acting...Bad...and i mean, Bad. The music was dire, and all the shaky camera shots ( trying to be arty i assume, but failed ) was making it very hard to watch. The blood effects, were bad too. sorry, i wouldn't even waste your time watching this... even i didn't make it to the end...i had totally had enough of it and the bad music . Seriously...I dare you to try and make it to the end of this drivel. There is nothing Original in this story at all..which is a shame for people trying to break into the Horror genre, or just movie making in general. This looks like it was made on a university Campus during Halloween week. Epic Fail. And I really do not like to see new up and coming movie makers Fail, but, honestly this did.

Don't bother wasting 1 minute of your time

[mandcsharma · 1/10 · 27 November 2013]

This is a waste of time, I would be ashamed if I had anything to do with this movie. It borders and then surpasses cheap ridiculous rubbish that isn't worth the time of day. I lasted 8 minutes, the Sound Technician needs to be beaten with a very large stick and the director needs to find better things to spend his pocket money on. This is complete rubbish and not worth the 8 minutes I so generously gave it. BE WARNED THIS IS NOT A B MOVIE MORE LIKE A Y MOVIE! Why did they even bother! Don't download it, watch it or hire it, I read the reviews 8 minutes into the movie and I am completely in agreement with all the negative comments, as far as horror movies go this isn't a horror movie. My 12yr old daughter could do so much better than this with an iPhone. I wish there was a score less than 1 that I could give it. Possibly one of the worst excuses for a horror movies I have ever seen and a complete waste of time.

who did it and why...

[onlyeternal · 1/10 · 16 December 2013]

This movie was amazingly awful. I watched the whole thing in shock wondering "why." Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. AWFUL... I didn't understand any of it from beginning to end. I feel cheated out of my time. I love horror movies and I've never in my life seen one like this before. Flashes of confusion, half of the time u can't tell who did what to whom. Who's idea was this? Who believed this would make it? Don't waste your time or money on this film. These people need lots more practice before trying this again. My rating is inaccurate because there's no negative options (like -10). Long story short- this film will frustrate and confuse you and eventually upset you...

17 minutes of blood everywhere!

[rushknight · 1/10 · 26 January 2014]

If my review was written like this movie was directed:

"Growwwlll dark forest sandy flow BLOOD OMG BLOOD on trees and faces and knives tangled in chains with BLOOD run for your life rivers flow at dusk while blood and chains make growling booming sounds as they wrap around bloody trees and tautly pull the sun through the trees, but bloody lips and demons chasing green grass singing. Pain feels like rivers with chains and blood. Growl for our demon masters! Use the knife! The knife in the farmer! Oh no more blood! Is it dark? Giggle. The devil is talking in porridge made chains. Oh bloody bloody blood! Attack and prey. Run. The trees have blood, the river and growling. Why? Why? Because our demon lord craves sunlight with cornstarch."

I think I've said enough. I don't wanna give anything away!

Sometimes you just have to trust the reviews

[br_dynasty · 1/10 · 28 December 2013]

Wow this was terrible.

I lasted more than some of the other viewers. I lasted almost 40 minutes and then just shut the piece of crap off. I felt my time was better spent writing this review than sitting through that last half of the movie. I don't even write reviews. This is my first one. If a movie makes me create an IMDb account just to write a poor review then the movie has to be horrendous.

I only watched this movie because it WAS rated so poorly and I felt like I needed a good laugh in the morning. I've seen better "movies" on Tosh.O's Viewers Upload segment.

The Plot made no sense if there was even a plot at all. It was confusing and all over the place. What the heck was this even about? There wasn't even much dialogue. This movie would have been better if they just made it a silent movie. It still wouldn't have made any sense but at least we wouldn't have had to listen to the crappy music, ghost voice and cheesy sound bites.

The constant flow of random images and still shots that made no sense or ties to the story at that moment. Random shots of trees, spiders and people that pop up every minute or so. The same still shot of the forest kept repeating every time they tried to make an eerie transition. The ghost voice, it was so bad that I laughed every time I heard it.

This was just a terrible movie which was poorly written and directed. Actually, this was just a terrible movie in every which way you can think of. Can we even call it a movie? A movie has a plot with a beginning and an end that flows nicely. This was just a mish mash of still shots, live action scenes, bad sound effects and music all mixed into one big bowl of crap.

The people who made this movie are probably celebrating and high five'n each other because they made a movie and got it released on DVD. Its like bragging and boasting that you are dating the ugliest girl in school. You don't brag about something like that. You hang your head in shame and try to think of ways to kill yourself.

Overall this movie sucked. Flat out sucked. The writers, directors,editors and camera men shouldn't be allowed to write a script, step foot onto a movie set or touch a camera ever again. Your attempt at making a decent movie failed and your credibility in the movie industry is forever tainted.

Two people meet in the woods in very bad circumstances.

[MikesFilmTalk · 9/10 · 20 April 2013]

Written and Directed by the team of Cezil Reed and Lydelle Jackson aka BAPartists, The Taking is a dark frantic journey into the depths of evil and fear. This is the team's first foray into the feature film world and it is a great start. Shot in 2012 it will have it's world premiere officially announced at next weeks A Night of Horror Intl Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.

Main Cast:

Alana Jackler ...Jade

Frank Bliss...Marilyn's Killer

John Halas...Carl Young

Lynnette Gaza...The Grandmother

Olivia Szego...Marilyn

The Plot:

A man and a woman motivated by revenge want to murder the people who have hurt them. In their separate searches for deadly revenge they wind up in a forest inhabited by a strange family who want to sacrifice them to their God.

The Message:

In a somewhat "biblical" tone, the very act of thinking about murdering someone instantly puts you (and your soul) in jeopardy.

The Twist:

Looking into the light is not a good thing.

The Verdict:

This film looks stunning. Shot on the digital Canon EOS 5D MarkII, the film has the look and feel of a big budget feature. The imagery is spectacular and the combination of sound and light keep you off-balance.

The style of the film felt like a cross between Shin'ya Tsukamoto films (Bullet Ballet, Haze, Tetsuo) and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. While the film does't have the roughness of Raimi's first feature it does have the frenetic pacing and almost overblown torture of the lead male character.

Actor John Halas made me think of a young Bruce Campbell minus the schlock. He really threw himself into the role of Carl and he made me believe that he really was going through all those difficulties. Alma Jackler as Jade also turned in a sturdy performance as the grief-stricken mother of murdered daughter Marilyn.

The special effects looked great. I have never seen more convincing looking blood in a feature film. Very realistic and the wound prosthetics and make-up looked brilliant as well.

As first features go, Reed and Jackson have pulled out all the stops to bring us a feature that will immerse you in a visual cacophony that can leave you reeling. This incredible imagery combined with the overpowering sound of "the God" and it's minion will leave you feeling like you've been through the world's worst LSD trip. Very powerful stuff.

It's a very watchable film, although a bit hard to follow at times due to sensory overload, but I could not stop watching it until the end credits rolled.

I'd give this film a full 4 stars out of 5 just for the brilliant originality of the plot and the stunning imagery and sound. I am looking forward to this daring duo's next feature.

Truly awful

[joannechapman21 · 1/10 · 23 November 2013]

This is the first review I have ever written for a film but today I have had the pleasure of seeing two of the worst films ever. The taking being one (the other the secret village which I will review next) and feel compelled to warn all. This is truly awful nothing appears to happens there are lots of flashing shots at random things and not a lot of dialogue but the acting somehow still seems to be bad. The make up and costumes obviously came from fancy dress shop saw better at my Halloween party this year and as for the demonic noises very annoying. Please don't waste your time watching this drivel the $ 650,000 spent on it was way to much and would have been better spent elsewhere on something worthwhile. Other reviews say 11 minutes is the point you pause and see what the IMDb reviews have to say I must say I got to 12.58 minutes so I must be a little more tolerant. Please don't watch I wasted my time so you don't have too be warned.