The Isle (2018) User Reviews

big disappoinment

[rupie · 4/10 · 25 June 2019]

I caught a moment of this flick on cable and was intrigued. After checking out the positive reviews here I recorded it on my DVR to watch in its entirety later.

The movie does draw you in at the beginning, with the standard "sailors beached on a desolate isle." They soon realize that strange things are afoot here, and we are given to understand that supernatural events are transpiring.

However, the movie then loses its forward motion. You can only have so many ghostly appearances, frightening nighttime walks in the woods, and otherworldy voices singing before your attention starts to flag. The movie lacks the arc of suspenseful tension that you find in Hitchcock's movies. By the long-hoped-for end one is yawning.

Skip it and watch reruns of Gilligan's Island.

Decent atmospheric, NOT HORROR

[vnssyndrome89 · 5/10 · 2 July 2019]

Why is this movie listed in the horror section? It is NOT HORROR! It should be listed under drama/suspense, but not horror. If you go into it (as I did) being misled, thinking it is a horror film, you might be sorely disappointed. I wasn't because I love atmospherics. I love movies & TV shows where the setting is as important as the story and characters. In fact, good atmospherics create another character out of the setting, (sometimes it is the most important character, as was the case here). This desolate, godforsaken isle, is as much of a character, as the rest of the disconsolate souls that are stranded here. Why are they stuck here? Why are they trying to convince the newly arrived shipwrecked sailors, to make this isolated place their new home? Everyone here seems to be in on the same secret, can the sailors figure it out in time? And will they all make it out alive?

If you like a spooky setting, with more suspense than gore, then give this movie a try. If you're looking for blood & guts, look elsewhere.

Nope, do not watch

[alice_lash · 3/10 · 27 February 2019]

My friend made me watch this because it was supposedly good according to RT, but we both regretted our choice very much. Visually, The Isle looks great. There is some nice scenery here and there. It isn't horror nor thriller, it stays slow and works on building the mood and remains slow throughout the whole feature. Way too slow for its own good. I'm all for building atmosphere, but there just isn't anything here. The story is subpar and the characters don't draw you in. There is clearly a lack of funds here, which doesn't bother me, but still, it shows and it hurts the overall production. The narrative is weak and the film as a whole feels flat and drab. The actors could definitely use an acting class or two. I give it a few points for the nice location, but that's it. We both did not like this movie at all and it made us sleepy, if anything.

Misleading rating

[FoxyHapparel · 1/10 · 5 March 2019]

This film is not horrible, but it's amateurish, bad acting, and even worse special effects. Low budget film that tried to bite more than it could chew. I'm not sure what movie the one-sentence reviewers were watching, giving it a 9/10. The only reason I ended up watching this was because of the rating on this site. After closer investigation I noticed most of the one-sentence reviews were from the same user. It seems to be a trend now that low budget movies are getting buffered by people attached to the film to make it appear to be a quality film. It's pretty frustrating as a movie watcher to think you are going to watch a good movie only to end up with this cheap, low budget, low quality movie. I had to make an account just to warn people about the movie. Not horrible but not worth a 6 as it stands right now. And definitely not comparable to The Witch as some reviews made it sound like! It is nothing like it and not even close to. Both movies are slow, but the Witch was good, The Isle is just simply boring. And nobody is saying it's the filmmaker's fault if the movie has a low budget, but it has to be taken account to in a review!

Too slow and boring

[belgenbee · 2/10 · 27 February 2019]

The production was very low-budget clearly even from the start, the acting is wooden and it feels like watching a play at a theater. The story at first interested me a bit, but after 20 minutes, I realized this was not going to be a good movie. I gave it my all to stay awake and watch the whole thing, but it never really got better. It was boring and hard to watch because of the low-budget. I know this is not horror and I did not go in thinking it was horror, but I still found it very slow even for a period drama. It's just not compelling. And I usually like indie films, but this is just bad. I'm sure the people who made the movie wanted to do something good, but sorry, it really needed more work to even be remotely enjoyable to watch.

Yesssss! Smashing stuff...

[garykingstonfilm · 7/10 · 12 February 2019]

I can finally review this! I saw this at a film festival in the UK last year and was totally blown away by it (it NEEDS to be seen in a cinema by the way), and have had to wait until it came out in America to finally be able to say what I thought of it. AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE UK RELEASE TO SEE IT AGAIN!

As you can tell I'm excited about this film. It is SO refreshing to see filmmakers take a chance in genre, and come out with something so beautiful, so sad, and so enjoyable.

This won't be for kids, sorry, Millenials, it's a slow film that you have to think about and understand life, and film and it's history, to fully appreciate it. But for those who like a little more from their films, then you're going to love this.

I wish it had had a bigger budget, but I also know that money is somewhat tight for British films at the moment. If they'd had more money, I think they could have spent more time on certain areas, but this is no fault of the guys who made the film. This is just what Britain is like at the moment, and to come out with any film, especially one as beautifully put together as this one, is a feat in itself.

If you're into clever films that harken back to the 70's almost (when people knew how to make films), then this is for you.

A really amateurish production

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 3/10 · 13 February 2019]

This film was painfully stretched out to 96 mins that should have been a short film. I get that this was a low budget production, but even for a C-grade film, everything about it was amateurish. The directing and editing was terrible, the score was way too evident throughout, the acting decent in some parts, terrible in others - but I'm guessing that was the director failing to direct his cast. The concept story itself was interesting, but the screenplay dragged this films pace to a snails speed and felt like 2+ hours. It's clearly obvious all reviews above a 7 are all fake/paid - as they are the only review, or 2 or 3 others on the same day. It's an honest and generous 3/10 from me.

Beautiful filmmaking

[brycecherry · 7/10 · 11 February 2019]

I cannot praise this movie enough. Ignore the haters, of which there are only a couple as they seem SERIOUSLY DELUDED, and rejoice in this visual poetry of a movie!

I don't like horror, and was made to watch this by my husband, and was blown away by it. That may be because it's not what I think of as horror, all blood and screaming, but a stunning work of filmmaking brilliance.

The acting is sublime, especially from the women, the direction and cinematography so well thought out and put together, and the sound and music is from another world.

This won't be for everyone. My kid brother is not going to want to watch it, but for those looking for something original, cerebral, subtle and haunting, this is going to blow your mind. Gently...

Highly recommended for those looking for a break from the norm.

Someone's cheating the ratings

[djdec1 · 3/10 · 16 February 2019]

Absolute shocker of a film. The rating of 6.5 was enough to convince me to watch it, and although ratings can be wrong (I have seen some very good 4/10's in the past) There is no possible way on earth that this is a 6.5. I feel i'm being extremely generous with a 3 star. I'm still considering making it a 2 as i write this review.

Bad casting, bad acting (I mean, really bad acting) even the costumes weren't believable. The only saving grace was the occasional nice view and half decent camera work.

It's a stinker, folks. Watch it if you want......but don't say i didn't warn ya.

THE ISLE... A MUST WATCH!

[lukedayhill · 9/10 · 22 July 2019]

The Isle was a FANTASTIC watch, totally gripping and thrilling from start to finish with outstanding performances from Tori Buttler-Hart and Alex Hassell

The storytelling is fascinating and the merge of Thriller/horror is truly edge of the seat stuff. It Was also amazing to hear the Directors vision first hand at a Q and A session in London and to have an insight of the up and down rollercoaster that was making this picture.

I've been waiting for this and was not disspointed

[scottyholroyd · 7/10 · 11 February 2019]

I love this kind of movie, it's brave, it takes on modern ideas of what the studios are pumping out, and it delivers on every level.

Tremendous acting, direction, intriguing blends of ideas and genres.

It's not a horror as such, more a drama with ghostly subplots. It may not work for some, and my only complaint is that they needed a bigger budget, but I'm so happy that this exists and is getting great reviews and exposure.

Turn the lights off, and getting ready for a slow creep that gets into your bones and stays there long after the movie ends.

Not very good...

[coolphantom666 · 1/10 · 27 February 2019]

Wasted my time on this because of the score.. Has potential and starts OK but I could barely make it past the 1 Hour mark... very hard to stay interested in the sluggish pace of the movie without doing something else at the same time and without skipping ahead of some scenes... really wanted to like this, but unfortunately one of the worst production I have seen this year... good luck in the future.

Look, I love slow-burners, but this is terrible.

[KawaiiKiwi · 2/10 · 11 February 2019]

I too was misled by the fake ratings into watching this utterly boring low-budget movie. The acting (except Alex Hassell, he is okay) is simply atrocious (especially the ''crazy lady'', she is laughable); it's even worse than some made-for-TV movies. The whole film feels and looks like a student project, the period clothing, the camera shots... The music is not bad that's the only thing I will say. However it is not tense enough for the scenes that are supposed to be ''scary'' (note: there's nothing scary about this movie, I would say the genre is Drama-Mystery and that's it, definitely not ''Gothic Horror'' as advertised).

The story is slow and uninteresting, even after an hour nothing was really happening that would make me want to keep watching. The plot is completely uninvolving. Three men are stuck on an island with a few weird people who seem to be hiding a secret. The ''big reveal'' ends up being predictable and overdone in countless films. Characters are boring and after a while I just didn't care anymore. I think they tried to get that HP Lovecraft feeling, but completely missed. I love slow burners but this was a pain to watch.

They filmed on a beautiful island but the guy handling the camera didn't seem to know how to get a good shot (or maybe it's the bad editing's fault). All around it just feels like a cheap production with nothing to redeem it. There's also an overuse of fog to hide the fact that they couldn't afford special effects, and it just ends up looking like a Goosebumps episode from the 90'. You don't need fog and smoke everytime you want to show a ghost on screen.

I would definitely not recommend this. Don't be misled by the high ratings bought by the production. I simply have no respect for producers buying votes. You can easily tell which reviews are fake. If you really want to watch it, go ahead, but bring a pillow just in case. I would give it a 1 to counter the fake ratings but the soundtrack was okay-ish so I'll give it a 2. And kudos to whoever made the trailer, that was actually a pretty good (but misleading) trailer for a bad movie.

Just bad.

[jenkkaw · 1/10 · 26 February 2019]

It's not the worst movie ever but definitely not even close to being good. Definitely not a 6. I could see some people giving this a 3 or 4 at most, but I don't understand giving this any more than that. It could have been a nice Short, but not enough budget for a full-featured film. It's a really dull story and the movie feels like it's 3 hours long. There is not much happening. It's slow... foggy... not well acted... bad costumes... and you see the ending coming a miles away. It's been done several times already in several better quality movies. Not recommended.

I enjoyed it a lot, but....

[rocknrelics · 7/10 · 25 July 2020]

This is a beautiful looking film, bags of atmosphere, but why is it beyond filmmakers these days to use dollies and tripods? I don't understand this fashion for everything looking like it's handheld shots. It cheapens the look of the film a little for me.

Apart from that gripe, this is a belter, a slow burning, but never boring tale, it draws you in, and you want to know what happens, keeps you interested throughout.

It's also a shame this isn't on blu ray, it would benefit from the format for sure.

A solid 7, without the slightly shaky cameras, would have been an 8.

Lackluster Snoozer

[usadainpink-84708 · 1/10 · 19 February 2019]

The score and some reviews seemed great so I watched this last night and I must say I am extremely disappointed and I lost my time. The story had some potential, but it fails to keep you interested with a bad script that drags on with many scenes. The acting was hit or miss, some were decent (but not very good still) and others were terrible. There aren't a lot of characters in the movie but they can't carry it properly. The setting looked fine, it's a deserted island so it does the job. Music score was decent. The action... well, there is no action. There are a few ghostly scenes but nothing scary (it's not horror, the trailer does not define the movie properly). Obviously the budget for this was very low, which I don't usually mind, but here, it was blatant and distracting. It made it extremely tedious to watch. Like I said, the story maybe could have been decent, but the poor script, dialogues scenes and the humdrum acting all together make this a very poor movie. I would never want to watch it again. Basically, it's a bunch of sailors who shipwreck on a island and want to get out because the islanders don't want to tell them what's going on and what happened, so they talk, talk and talk, look around, talk some more, then some flashbacks happen, flashbacks again, they talk, look around, they talk and that's pretty much that. Honestly, it was just boring. Skip.

I agree with Stephen Fry - Outstanding

[gerrycabot-38218 · 7/10 · 12 February 2019]

I loved this, and I've seen it twice now. Which, by the way, makes you see even more because there are so many little subtleties, so rare in this day and age, that I missed lots! That didn't take anything away from the first viewing, but added loads to the second.

I understand why some, not many, but some, people don't like this, because if you go into this thinking it's a horror, you may be disappointed. But they don't say it's a horror, although I think the U.S distributor seems to have advertised it that way, and if you think of it as a thriller with supernatural layers, then you're in for a great time.

It's intelligent, beautiful filmmaking which is not often seen these days. I agree with Stephen Fry when he said that this kind of film is rare, and thankfully some people still have the balls to do it (I'm paraphrasing slightly!). The creepiness is subtle and will slowly get you if you let it, and not be expecting a ton of jump scares (there are a few but Butler-Hart is a good enough filmmaker not to have to rely on them like some of these forgettable horror flicks).

What they did with the small budget is outstanding. My only complaint is it would have been great to have spent a bit more on the CG fog, but I also know that the budget wasn't huge and they spent it more wisely on location and music and costume.

Great film, and I'll be watching it again when it comes out in the UK...

Bad all around. And boring.

[elizrug · 2/10 · 13 February 2019]

I don't understand how anyone could give this movie a high rating.

Was it for the scenery? We don't see the scenery. We see tree silhouettes, and partial brick walls, with the occasional rocky and seaweed-strewn inlet.

Was it for the acting? This was the crappiest acting I've seen in a long time. The older blonde actress was painful to watch.

Was it the costumes? The very blonde dead woman has hair extensions that are clearly visible when she is seen from behind when she is talking to a guy on the path.

It was boring from start to finish. We almost didn't want to finish it at all, but pushed through. I'm embarrassed because I convinced my teen daughter to watch, saying it was decently rated, so should be good. I even came back to change my rating after thinking about it again.

Great reviews - Not Wrong

[aceshapiro · 9/10 · 12 February 2019]

It's a great movie if you know what you're in for. A clever, slow-burn, thriller that looks and sounds stunning. Great acting and very satisfying to all the senses.

I'm an old-school movie guy, I also produce movies, and can see the quality of this despite what I'm guessing is a low-budget.

Wholly recommend to the discerning viewer, and not to those who don't understand the meaning of discerning.

And that's no bad thing; the best movies throughout history always had people who didn't understand it at first.

Watched it again and upped my score!

[jamesgouldsnr · 7/10 · 11 February 2019]

I've seen Butler-Hart's wok before and was impressed with what he could do with what seems like very little money so was eagerly awaiting this.

I was not disappointed. In fact I watched it a second time and upped my score from 8 to 9 because with every watching it just gets better. It's a slow-burn subtle movie which I fear may be above some people's intelligence levels.

And I love that! We used to make movies like this all the time and then we became flooded with just the same old nonsense over and over again.

But this gives me hope that this bold kind of movie making still exists. There are very few jump moments, which I loved, and you really get to know these people and feel that you are truly on this spectacular island with them. Most of the horror elements are near the end, or so I thought....until the second time I watched it and realised I'd missed a whole bunch or really subtle, very clever, moments.

If you're after women running through woods being chased by a dude in a mask, this is not for you. But for those with more refined taste, you're going to love it! TWICE!

Don't believe the high rating.

[kjjames81 · 3/10 · 11 February 2019]

So I saw this last night and after seeing the high rating I thought that this film was going to be great, it wasn't.

The acting was okay. The story was okay, not used to it's full potential. No horror or jump scares what so ever.

Now should you see this film, well if you want to see a wasted chance of a great story done bad then this is it.

Don't believe the hype this film is not good. As people have stated before about false ratings is done by people associated with the film.

I wasted a whole evening watching this.

Another Crap

[masud-nishat · 1/10 · 11 February 2019]

Whenever I watch this kind of movie I use to think why movie makers still dare to produce such crap and why people like us always get trapped! I believe I've watched far better movies 30 years ago!

Unintentionally comedic

[umimelectric · 1/10 · 13 February 2019]

Dubious acting to the point of unintended hilarity, poor storytelling, and the worst offense of all: made-for-tv-movie style production that you'd turn on halfway through on a boring Sunday afternoon. Amateurish and dull.

Awful acting

[Delpez · 1/10 · 10 February 2019]

After reading some reviews about how haunting and strange this movie was I thought I would check it out. Big waste of time as the acting was awful, almost like a bad local play at times and the story was all over the place. Give it a miss as I couldn't make it to the end.

Such a great old time movie

[brycecherry · 7/10 · 12 February 2019]

The reviews liken it to The Wicca man and The VVitch and I couldn't agree more.

It's more a thriller than horror, but nowhere do they say it's a horror so don't know why people are complaining about a lack of blood and scares!

It's really creepy, the story is great, and it's really well put together. If you like movies you have to think about, and that are stunningly beautiful, then The Isle is for you.

If you want jump scares and the usual terrible script go and watch one of the many Insidious movies (which I enjoy, but this is on a different level).

You have to have some patience with this one, but the rewards are there for those who have it!

This will be a movie that people watch and talk about for years, and it's cult status will just continue to grow, unlike the more traditional horror movies which are around for maybe six months...