The Tall Man AKA The Secret (2012)

 
The  theme of the 'wronged mama bear,' where every mother's worst fear is realized, stands as a common trope in horror and thriller films, and "The Tall Man" is no exception. This is better than "Flightplan," thank God, and puts a new spin on the worn theme of the child being snatched from the arms of the protective parent. Above all, it sports a pretty wicked twist, one that is unpredictable without being totally out there or ludicrous.

   I never would have picked up this movie if it weren't for director Pascal Laugier's previous film "Martyrs." The trailer to "The Tall Man" looked to be in kind of lame standard thriller-ish territory, so I decided to avoid it. When I finally got to watching it, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a well written, directed, and acted movie.

   Content-wise this isn't even in the same ballpark as "Martyrs," although I did see it got a nice 'R' rating from the MPAA. "The Tall Man" stars Jessica Biel as Julia, a nurse who seems to serve as a friend, neighbor, and basically a helping hand to everyone in the small town of Cold Rock, Washington. The children of Cold Rock are being abducted by a mysterious force known as the "The Tall Man," disappearing without a trace and baffling the local police force.


Julia has a son, David (Jakob Davies,) and periodically visits local woman Tracy (Samantha Ferris) and her teenage daughters, Carol (Katherine Ramdeen) and silent Jenny (Jodelle Ferland.) Tracy's boyfriend Steven (Teach Grant) impregnated Carol and menaces Julia when she comes to the house to check on the infant. He oozes class.

   When David is taken from Julia, Julia will do anything to get the boy back. The cool thing about this movie is that it takes you one one way and then- *BAM*-it steers you in a completely different direction. I won't tell you if the crimes of 'The Tall Man' are supernatural or not, because what would be the fun of that?

  Suffice to say it's fresh and exciting, Biel makes a adequate scream queen, and Jodelle Ferland is great as always. Jacob Davies (as the son) can't really act and settles on being mildly perturbed, but give him time. The supporting cast is good too. Samantha Ferris and Colleen Wheeler, as the mother of one of the disappeared kids are the standouts.

   One of the problems with the script is that Julia seems at parts to be too much of a 'supermom.' Between battling an attack dog and clinging to (and being dragged by) a abductor's van, it's a wonder this woman has the energy to get up in the morning. Altogether, though, this is a sadly underrated and overlooked horror/thriller.
                                              Rating-
                                                    7.5/10

Martyrs (2008)

 
 There are no words to describe how f**ked-up this movie is. I have not seen "A Serbian Film," which is supposed to make "Martyrs" look tame in comparison, but I truly do not know how it's going to top this. I've seen "Antichrist," "The Human Centipede II," "American Mary," but nothing like this. This movie is spirtually and physically sickening, which is exactly how the filmmaker,Pascal Laugier, intended it.

   Okay, I'm probably just riling up you gorehounds, so I'll cut to the chase. To say that this movie is nauseating is not to say it's bad. It's actually very well-made and well-acted from start to finish. Actress Mylène Jampanoï does a great job as the frightened victim turned infuriated perpetrator, and Morjana Alaoui is also terrific as her enamored friend.

   Although Anna (Alaoui) harbors a lesbian crush on Lucie (Jampanoï,) her sexuality isn't a huge part of the plot. Instead, the movie is about the giving and receiving of physical punishment (not the least bit pleasurable; sorry, BDSM enthusiasts,) and just how far the rich and selfish will go to secure their own peace of mind, with no regard to the people they hurt.

   Maybe comparing the premise of this movie with current class issues is a long shot, but damn it, it sounded smart to me at the time. Lucie is inexplicably held prisoner as a child and subjected to physical pain. Young Lucie (Jessie Pham, in a performance worthy of her grown-up counterpart,) runs away and ends up in an orphanage, where she meets Anna (played as a child by Erika Scott) and forges a close bond.

   Anna seems determined to help Lucie no matter what squirrels reside in her attic and continues to be a faithful friend and companion when Lucie grows up and, P.O.-ed and dangerous, takes a shotgun to a couple she believes participated in her torture and their teenaged children.

 

 This movie is super brutal and fairly realistic, and establishes itself as such in the home invasion scene. Unlike a American movie, Lucie runs out of shotgun shells and needs to reload, and the reaction of the family radiates terror, but perhaps, not surprise. The movie a sick (let me rephrase that- sicker) turn after Anna is captured by Lucie's tormenters.

   The ending is a 'What the Hell?' moment and will leave you thinking about what it all means. The cinematography is very professional and overall well-done. The scenes involving Anna's entrapment last a little too long, frankly. How many times can we watch a woman be smacked around and degraded when it doesn't advance the plot?

   The movie makes the decision to focus on young Lucie rather than her captors in the flashbacks, which is a good cinematic choice considering Lucie is traumatized by the experiences and initially doesn't remember her victimizers. In many of the later scenes with Anna, we see her abusers very clearly, constrasting with with the earlier scenes with Lucie.

   I thought this was a very well-made movie, but only watchable for people with very strong stomachs. It's not a popcorn movie, and neither does it intend to be. I liked it, but I don't think I could watch it again anytime soon.

                                Rating-
                                       7.5/10