Citadel

source: Citadel

Unfathomably dull and boring. "Citadel" is one of the more pointless and irrelevant movies that I have seen in a while. You just sit there throughout the movie and think "why?" The story is about a family that live in a condemned building, where the Tommy (played by Aneurin Barnard) see his wife stabbed down by hooded strangers. Their unborn baby is miraculously saved, but the wife dies. Alone with the child, Tommy is given a strange warned by an odd priest (played by James Cosmo) that 'they will come for her'. Tommy's fear intensifies and grows more extreme as his home gets invaded by these hooded strangers and they seem to be haunting his every trail. There were no thrills to this movie, and the storyline was just downright silly and a waste of time, in my opinion. I just didn't get the meaning of this movie. The things that the movie has working for it is the production value, and also the performances put on by Aneurin Barnard and James Cosmo, particularly the latter actor. And also the pace in which the movie tells it story and progresses, it is quickly up in gear and the movie stays in high pace. "Citadel" is an odd movie that doesn't appeal to a broad audience. I am sure there there is a segment in the audience that the movie will cater and they will find great enjoyment in the movie. I, however, wasn't fond or entertained by this movie in any way.

This film was a pleasant change to the usual horror/thriller movies of late. The story was refreshing and the atmosphere was tension building. I was pulled in to the plight of Tommy and his little child. The first scenes were quite intense and almost shocking, but not overly so that it puts you off. I felt myself drawn in to how Tommy would deal with what had happened, and as a dad I was wanting to know how the baby would be taken care of. Because of that the movie had taken on a more personal note with me, I felt for Tommy and cared about what was going to happen with his relationship with his baby. There are some interesting scenes throughout the film, and even though you know that this really couldn't possibly happen you do think that the movie is taking a swipe at how society is treating it's children in some area's. It's not your usual thriller, it uses the drama building storyline to an advantage. If you're over seeing mindless bloody style thriller's, this is a good movie to see instead. I give it a solid 7.5 out of 10.

I do normally take a look at other reviews of the films I watch, just to see if other people got something that I missed. Here, I think I must have been watching a completely different film. If you check out a lot of the online reviews of 'Citadel' then you'll be told it's one of the best modern horror films ever. It just bored me. It's an Irish horror film about a young man who witnesses his wife being murdered by demon children, leaving him an agoraphobic. He later meets up with a - slightly bonkers - old priest and they team up to fight the aforementioned demon hoodies. It's an okay enough idea (I've seen worse), but I didn't find any of the characters interesting or likable, plus the children weren't that scary (well, no more than their identical clones you see hanging around every off license up and down the country). Yes, it was presented in a reasonably different way which made it clear they were trying to steer away from the Hollywood style of film-making. But, at the end of the day, it didn't take away from the fact that it bored me. Others obviously disagreed. Fair enough.

Citadel is one of the most underrated films of the year. Atmospherically it has everything a horror movie should! Ciaran Foy brilliantly moves and pans the camera in-sighting a feeling of paranoia, which in a film detailing an agoraphobic is simply inspired. When Tommy Cowley's life is turned upside down by a random attack on him and his pregnant wife he not only is left to raise his infant daughter alone, he is also debilitated by extreme agoraphobia. Tommy spends his time hiding out in his apartment and attending intense therapy sessions. When the same gang that attacked him before comeback and seemingly intend on kidnapping his daughter his fears are only heightened. Tommy must now conquer his fears to save himself and his newborn daughter. The film and story line move quickly with hardly any wasted time or breath. I strongly recommend for all horror fans and fans of psychological horror, this one certainly won't disappoint!

Not as bad as the previous user has stated, and seeing that he is Irish, you would think he would have a bit more encouragement for Irish funded films. Granted it is certainly not perfect, but the scary scenes are genuinely scary and the film does provide a jump here and there. The lead performance was strong enough for an upcoming actor and I liked the idea of a weak main character. The bargained price Brian Cox priest character was a bit too much though and the scenes involving him really took from the film. Overall very watchable and with more of a budget this could have been a whole other film....which is probably a bad thing

As I was surfing the internet looking for some of the best horror movies of 2012 to watch, I came across this movie, Citadel which is an Irish Horror Film. I am not easily scared by Horror Movies especially when the plot is stupid or so absurd that I know for sure it will NEVER happen in reality but this movie made me hold on to my seat through most of its runtime. I am a regular Movie fan. I don't know about technical stuffs of films but all I can say is that the overall feeling of the movie, the ambiance, adds up to the suspense of every scene. The acting was believable, the mutated demon kid hooligans' (It's really unclear what they are) make-ups were pretty scary and their movements were believable as well. You will definitely feel for the main actor in this movie who plays Tommy, a father who is dealing with Agoraphobia after he saw his wife beaten to coma by those demon kid outside their apartment room. First half of the movie is more dramatic with some scares here and there. Husband agrees to disable the life support of his wife who was already 9 months in comatose and finally let her Rest in Peace. He took care of their daughter alone while dealing with his condition and those pesky demon kids that wanted to take his daughter away for some reason that I don't want to tell since I don't want to spoil you too much. Second half has most of the suspense and scares. This movie made me think if it is just his imagination playing with him and he's actually doing the killings like in those psychological thrillers? Is this caused by a trauma? or are those things real? The concept is kind of mainstream nowadays with the psychological/mutation/demon kind of thing but the story is somewhat original, I can say, since this is my first time seeing such story in a Horror Film and it worked, it got me scared. No major twist in the movie except for the confession of the Priest that he was the father of the twins who, together with their mother suffering from some kind of mutation, he abandoned in the building where those demon kids were lurking and Danny was actually saved by the Priest from the hands of the demon kids. Of course, in almost all movies there were flaws ... If the demon kids were mortals (as evident of Tommy killing one of them) why didn't they call for help from cops or brought a gun perhaps for their mission to be easier? And why did nobody reported about those Demon Kids? Where were the Parents of the missing kids? Why were the authorities not informed about this mutated demon kids' rampage in the area? I like this movie a lot because of its story. I'll give it an 8/10 rating. You should see this one, and I recommend you to watch it alone 'cause watching a Horror Movie, with a pretty good plot, together with a friend is a No-No especially if your friend is an avid fan of stupid slasher horror films with stupid storyline.

Aneurin Barnard (last seen in ELFIE HOPKINS) is Tommy, a young man living in a cancerously decaying inner city tower block with his young expectant wife. Just as they are about to move out of this hell hole to a house, Tommy's wife is attacked by a trio of hooded, feral youths whilst he is unable to intervene, and ends up in a coma for nine months. Life support is switched off and Tommy now has to raise his child alone. This would be bad enough, but now the demonic hoodies want Tommy's baby and begin to stalk the pair. Added to this is the fact that Tommy is now crippled by agoraphobia, anxiety and panic attacks which leave him a shuddering, shaking, crumbling mental and physical wreck barely able to function. This is a superb horror movie, full of dazzling and nail-bitingly scary creative flashes. The shrieking gang of haunting hoodies are glimpsed in the reflective surfaces of car doors, electric kettles or dashing past in the background. They are depicted as a genuinely menacing and frightening phenomenon, possibly supernatural, possibly genetic mutations – maybe even manifestations of Tommy's disintegrating psyche. They grow in number and emerge more frequently from the shadows as the film progresses, ever more confident in pursuit of their quest. The visualisation of the desolate slum-land is brilliantly realised and the shocks and scares are cleverly orchestrated. Barnard gives a performance that is a masterclass of pathos and human frailty. One of the best on screen representations of a character ravaged and decimated by fear and grief ever witnessed – yes, I'll go that far. So, the ex-IRA fallen priest with a solution involving plastique and North Sea Gas is a loud and blustering caricature; and the "love interest" rings a bit hollow – what would a gorgeous and sexy black nurse want with a disturbed, gibbering loser like Tommy? Put that aside and what you have is a lean, atmospheric, nervy and incisive little chiller that deserves attention. This is the sort of film the genre can't have too many of.

**This review DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS** Citadel is a bit difficult to put into one category. I'd define it as a psychological thriller with a bit of horror tossed in. The film is well shot and the story moves along at a good pace. I got the sense the film aimed to keep you tense without scaring you too much outright, and if that was indeed their aim they accomplished it. Pros: The main character Tommy played by Aneurin Barnard is very well done. His acting is superb throughout and helps make up for a few of the film's shortcomings. The sense of tension throughout the film holds very well and keeps the viewer interested in seeing things through. The film's exploration of Tommy's agoraphobia is powerful without being overpowering. The fears Tommy has are realistic. If you have ever dealt with someone who has gone thru traumatic events, you know that in some cases reasoning and rationalizing are no match for the fear and anxiety that can develop. The film throws in "slightly supernatural" villains but does so in a way that they do not outshine the real villain, which is Tommy's phobia. The monsters shown on screen are a well-done complement to the the terror that is within Tommy's mind. Cons: The priest character is a bit cliché. Towards the end of the story, the twist involving the priest doesn't really add anything to the film. You can see it coming a mile away. It only made me think they were trying a bit too much to be clever/shocking. If they had left it out, i think the film would have been better off. Overall I give Citadel 7 1/2 stars. It's "quite good" but not quite "very good." Definitely worth watching a time or two.

I was teetering between 6 and 7 here, and settled on the latter because this IS a genuinely scary and disturbing film. We've definitely had a shortage of that lately in this genre - so it was nice to have some moments where, even at 39 years-old, I felt a little uneasy. "Citadel" has many strengths and a few weaknesses. I'll touch on a bit of each while trying not to give too much away from what is a basic storyline. Now, it didn't have to be basic. I think where the film misses is diving a bit further into the villains of this frightening tale. The back-story there is a bit vague to say the least, and the rest of the story doesn't do much to clear it up. I'm sure that the budget constraints limited the production in certain ways, BUT I think all involved deserve more kudo's than criticism. After all, the intent with these types of films is to scare, and this is as "uncomfortable" as I've been watching a film in quite some time. Think of a darker, scarier spin on Harry Brown. "Citadel" actually borrows quite a bit from "Harry Brown". The film is extremely brooding - never really stepping into the light for more than a few seconds. I think it's definitely a strength. The film does have it's own sense of Style. You have the feeling during this film that you are completely alone. There is no help coming, and you'll have to fend for yourself. The film is without question under-rated at present on IMDb. I pulled up the rating on my phone after renting it from the redbox, and due to time, I nearly put-off watching it altogether. Glad I fit it in. I've seen 62 films from 2012 so far, and this is definitely in the top 20 for now. It's one of the better entries into the horror genre over the last few years, and could have been incredible if they would have just finished the film. The ending needed a bit more carnage and revenge to put this over-the-top into the "true-gem-of-a-sleeper" category. They were so close... literally a few heads being axed-off and an explosion away from sheer low-budget glory, and a 9 ranking. Why do I get the feeling we'll see an American version of this that spends 10 times the money but has no sense of style or scare value? The acting is way above average for this type of thing, and it's that acting and the mood that keeps it afloat. The lead and the priest are great. There are only 4 speaking roles in the whole film! 4! Rather than nit-pick the plot and the ending(which are easy targets) - let's step back and enjoy some of the strong characteristics of this film. You might like this if you liked:Candyman(better), Winter's Bone(better),The Road(about even or ever-so-slightly better), Eden Lake(about even or ever-so slightly better), The People Under The Stairs(even), and The Brood(even). If you want a sleeper horror film to rent - it's usually a dangerous proposition. That's one of the many reasons why I can recommend this one. Far from perfect, but boy this little low-budget Irish entry packs quite an uneasy punch. 67/100