Sam Was Here

source: Sam Was Here

Moviecut—Sam Was Here

This movie is great. It's confusing, suggestive, prophetic (?) Hearing the eighties techno soundtrack alone is worth watching the film. The protagonist and antagonists are convincing, really well acted. The cinematography is equally enjoyable. It's a journey with a salesman into a small isolated town, it's strange, intriguing, frightening and exhilarating. This movie is so unlike the common repetitive stereotyped lesser films of the horror/suspense genres

I am most likely going against the grain in my review here but I really liked this movie. I took a chance on it despite some bad reviews and am glad I did. That being said, I can see why a lot of people don't like this movie. It does not explain much. In fact it doesn't explain anything really. But that is part of what I liked. Movies today leave nothing to the imagination as everything is completely spelled out. Besides, how many times have you watched a film and said "I hate that ending" even when it was concluded at the end. Yes, this film does leave the viewer to do a lot of concluding on their own. Still, I loved the scary and very eerie atmosphere. Not a whole lot happens until the very end and yet even early on I could not stop watching. Everything was so eerie that I had to keep watching. I could really put myself in the almost lone actor's shoes and feel the fear and confusion he was feeling all through the movie. I do recommend trying this movie even though I know many will not like it. For some like myself, I think you will really like it!

Well, it was one of the best psychological horrors of the latest years - excellent cinematography, brilliant soundtrack and the strong performance of Rusty Joiner. Now, seeing all the bad reviews, it is clear that there is a misinterpretation of the message in its B-movie context. A B-movie should not be necessarily, something very accessible to mainstream. All the frustration comes from the ambiguity of the story and the main character. Sam is the killer? He is a prisoner of fate? Who is Eddy? It is a dream? The alien red light is the influence? Well, it doesn't (really) matter. The movie is a metaphor for human alienation, aging, rejection and loneliness. Our "hero" is a middle-aged man with a s**t job and an estranged family. He wants to be a good father for his daughter but his luck seems to be gone. His 80's Merc, once a glamorous car, now is a wreck. Everything is fading away. He begin to feel useless and rejected. From here to the feeling that he could be seen like the worst human being on the planet (as a child abuser) there are no more steps. Interesting clues- why all the license plates are ending in 98, why the only "new" thing in all this wasteland is the Ford F150 (model 97) which he kicks with that soccer ball and trigger the alarm, why he don't remove the mask from all his attackers, why that old woman is the only face he sees, but even that is burned with boiled water, and the final scene where that woman is cleaning the blood from the shower curtain....if he was burned with acid, the curtain would melt....or he committed suicide in the shower because he could not face the cruel reality?

I loved the theme and isolated atmosphere of this movie, It reminded me of those amazing psychological horror video games such as Silent Hill. Sam seemed like a relatable, every man character....until I saw his massive biceps? The plot seemed interesting and certainly gripping enough to pull you in throughout, leaving you to question whether Sam did or didn't he? My Question is, What was up with the writhing, naked bald guy with the headphones??? The red light in the sky gave me UFO, supernatural vibes but also a bit of Truman Show flash backs, as if this town was being watched by someone operating the red light above. Also, why was everyone wearing masks??? I have so many questions! The ending left me feeling as empty as that ghost town. Is there a possible sequel or are we just going to have to accept the fact that we wont be sleeping at night, not from any jump scares in the movie, but from never finding out the truth about Sam.

And that's literally everything that can be said about this movie. Its some nifty piece of abstract art with absolutely no meaning behind it aka "make whatever you wanna make of it". The worst part of it is the fact that it builds up and acts coherently till the last minute. Then turns around and undoes everything it has built up. Its 70 minutes of trolling and nothing more, and you will only realize this in the last minute.

I was drawn into seeing this movie by its synopsis. I liked the idea from the beginning and today I was given the chance to finally see it. The movie is pretty short, few minutes past an hour, with fast-paced action for the second half of the movie. To keep it short, here are some positive and negative aspects: * positive 1. Rusty Joiner, the central character of the movie, was believable as the salesman who must fight for his life. When the movie ended, I searched on IMDb and it seems he was in some movies I had seen before, but I guess he didn't catch my attention in those. In "Sam was here" it was enjoyable following him through the barren landscape, waiting for the movie's final revelation. 2. The scenery and music is in tone with the movie, contributing to the general atmosphere (loneliness, isolation, anguish) . The music reminded me about Stranger Things soundtrack. * negative 1. To many questions were left unanswered. I think that the whole idea of the movie was about revenge. Eddy, the host of the local radio, actually played the role of Nemesis, while all the villagers hunting Sam, where the Furies trying to relentlessly bring him to justice. 2. The ending is not satisfying, mainly because it seems like they forgot to put it in. Overall, it was an interesting experience, but it could've been much better.

So it's best to go into this movie without knowing much. I know others have said the ending sucked because there was no conclusive ending but I wanted to share my thoughts on what the ending might be telling us by not telling us. So if you haven't seen the movie then stop reading this now!!! So here are my theories with the ending of the movie. I know at one point on the talk show radio "Eddie" said it would be real bad if they got the wrong guy. I feel like the talk show host at the end was the real serial killer who made Sam the scapegoat. Either that or Sam really was the killer all along and had some split personality or amnesia that made him forget what he really did. At the end of the movie "Rita" who Sam had been calling throughout the show claiming she was his wife, said her husband died 5 years ago and she doesn't know this man who keeps calling her. Perhaps Sam was living in a fantasy world, hence why all the "bad" people were wearing masks. He was having an identity crisis and forgot about all the horrible things he's done. Another theory is the desert is one long hallucination brought on by the glowing red light.

Wow! I thought this film had some potential, but it did not. Even at the end, I thought it would be worth it, but it wasn't. Don't waste your time..... the ending does not make any sense and it completely was a waste of my time. I thought at first, there was a reason for him being a salesman and having a family..... that really didn't show much. Then in the end.......... without spoiling it, it just really sucked!