The Blood Lands

source: The Blood Lands

Yet another predictable, been done a thousand times, no story, no depth pile of rubbish. I am so sick of these films, like I say, been done a thousand times before already and soooooo much better. Utterly pointless film, you'll figure it out in the first five minutes and don't sit there hoping for any 'surprises' there aren't any. Ridiculous ending, actually, the film is just full of holes. I endured it to the end and it was then I decided to write this review, I want to save others from the pain!!!!! Don't waste your time watching it, watching paint dry is more entertaining.

If you need to launder a lot of cash in a hurry one of the best ways to do it is to make a movie and that is the only sensible reason I can think of for this particular farce to have been brought to our screens. As soon as it starts you will know you have seen the same film with different characters hundreds of times before. There is no plot here that a 5 year old could not figure out in just a few minutes. It's a complete bore fest from start to finish....oh wait...there is no finish. The writers obviously figured why waste time on it. Best thing you can do is watch the first five minutes then scroll to the end. You will have missed absolutely nothing and saved yourself an hour and twenty minutes.

I attending the final showing of White Settlers at the Plaza Cinema in Liverpool last week. The movie was a great little indie movie. All the boxes ticked for me. Good acting, great location, tightly executed story. You can feel the heart and soul poured into this movie, from the tight direction from Simeon Halligan to the pounding sound design, which nearly blew me off my seat at times. White Settlers shows some quality acting on display here, starring the wonderful Pollyanna McIntosh, last seen in the Lucky Mckee's brutal indie horror flick, The Woman. All I can say about this movie, without telling you exactly what's in store, which is just boring in my eyes, is if you want a no nonsense, tense, fear inducing night at the flicks. This is a must see for all horror and thriller fans. Go see it now and show your appreciation for British indie horror.

Earlier today, I finally got around to sitting down and popping the DVD of White Settlers into the machine. Wow! That should be my single word review for the film. White Settlers didn't let me down (I never thought it would) Its every bit as good as I thought it would be and hoped it would be. So, what is White Settlers about? Well its about new beginnings in new locations. Director Simeon Halligan has done a fantastic job on White Settlers. The film is not only beautifully shot but is also wonderfully paced and even scenes that feature nothing more than conversations between Ed and Sarah are still captivating to watch. The casting is wonderful for White Settlers with the chemistry between Lee and Pollyanna working to perfection. Especially a scene involving a blindfold and a forest make you forget that you are watching a thriller for a moment or three. It must have been such a fun shooting schedule. Whilst watching the film, I pondered my easy sell for others. White Settlers is what I would call a home invasion film and those freak me the hell out. There is nothing in this film that is far fetched, there's it no demonic monsters, no ghosts. There are just really disturbed human beings and we know those exist. White Settlers is definitely a film I will be recommending to those who love thrillers and who love good films with a totally believable plot.

Despite the reviews on here, and due to the absolute dearth of decent films on Netflix, I decided to give this one a go. And you know what? Those reviews are spot on.. The plot of this film has been done so many times before, and in almost every case done so much better. Couple alone in the back of beyond hunted by pyscopaths - Deliverance has a lot to answer for. There is virtually no character development so, crucially one doesn't really feel connected to the hunted - it's just a pointless exercise in sadism. The horror genre sadly has been twisted over the last few decades into an excuse simply to spill as much blood in the most gruesome of ways. The premise for the attacks on the English couple who have made the worst mistake of their lives in moving to the wilds of Scotland to live a simpler life is that the locals don't want them there. Put bluntly, this film is racist and an insult to the people of Scotland (and in case your wondering, I'm an Englishman). The final scene in which the young boy is depicted in his Scotland football shirt whilst wearing a pig mask is particularly abhorrent. I deplore the writers and makers of this film for their insulting and obnoxious depiction of a fine country. Finally, this film must have the worst and most unbelievable ending I have ever seen. Are we really supposed to believe that a group of men will hunt a couple of people all night through the woods; catch them, seriously injure them, then drive to and dump them in the middle of Manchester before driving back to Scotland to hold a barbecue in the couples house??!! This film should be avoided at all costs!! Stuff the IMDb rating - I give it 0/10 Thanks for reading

This is your standard, move to new location, terror starts horror movie. It's really very predictable and at times very stupid (what the characters do), but I guess it all helps keeping the tension high. And in that it succeeds. The movie looks and sounds the part, even if there are bigger plot holes than it should be allowed to have. The performances are OK, considering what sort of movie we have here. Although I reckon some might have issues seeing the main actress in a "weak" role like that, especially after having seen "The Woman". It's not that she is not able to carry that role, it's just that the role itself is weak. Script-wise that is. Whatever the case, this is bog standard fare, you might even like it

I turned this on without knowing what it was about so I thought it was going to be a ghost story at first since they bought a house the previous owner died in. So it was a surprise when what I thought were ghosts making the noises were real intruders. It was suspenseful and I enjoyed it except for the tired plot device where the victim whacks the intruder on the head but doesn't care to finish the job. What made it even more silly was that the wife had the sense to make sure in an earlier scene so why didn't the husband?! An axe was right there!! The ending kind of confused me---all this was just so the deceased owner's family could reclaim the house?! Seems so silly to go through all that, especially since the victims can now report everything to the police and arrest the squatters living in their home since they were let free. The whole ending made no sense and was completely illogical. Still recommended if you like suspense though and it kept me entertained. I just wish the people who make these movies would show the vistims acting like normal people and fight to kill the attackers instead of giving them taps on the head and standing there like idiots. Or when they're running for their dear lives through the woods, yet they stop to let the killers catch up with them. Did the stupid woman really need to stop and change the dressing on her cut hand while the pig heads were chasing her with an axe? I sure wouldn't lol. After that I was hoping they'd kill her for being so dumb. Still 7 stars and worth a watch for suspense lovers.

I don't even really know where to start with this one. I was tempted to switch it off after the first ten minutes but persevered with it. Firstly neither of the two main characters are likeable in any way, between the husband's constant sniping about Scotland and the wife's inherent lack of being able to function as a human being. Within the first half an hour I really didn't care if either of them lived or died. Then we get to the chase scenes, which felt like an age of not much happening. Though the one good part was the woman's attack on one of the intruders where she was successful, unlike many horror characters prior to her, in hitting the guy more than once so that he would not get up again. I'm going to then skip straight to the good part, what we were all waiting for, the reason why these masked intruders were victimising this couple. Prepare to be disappointed, they wanted the house and then subsequently moved in straight away. They also appear to have dropped the two of them off back in London... I can imagine the police investigation will be one of the quickest in history. All in all, a really terrible and pointless film, I wouldn't waste your time on it.

White Settlers is a cracking British horror/thriller. At under 80 minutes it's a tense set piece of a film that takes just enough time to set up the characters before ripping apart their idyllic world and plunging them (and you) into a night of terror. White Settlers has a simple plot and no pretensions to be anything more than a thrill ride and is all the more effective for that (though the ending is certainly thought provoking but no spoilers). Pollyanna McIntosh gives an excellent performance in another physically demanding role and is well on the way to establishing herself as a star of the horror genre. If you haven't seen The Woman or Let Us Prey you should definitely add them to your Must Watch List. White Settlers is beautifully lit and shot throughout so it's no wonder the film won the coveted Best Cinematography award at the prestigious Screamfest Horror festival in the US. Much of the film is set at night and it is gorgeously atmospheric. White Settlers director Simeon Halligan heads the team behind Manchester's annual Grimmfest horror film festival and the eagle eyed will spot a hat tip to the festival during White Settlers. Both White Settlers and Halligan's first feature Splintered (also well worth a watch!) were made by Manchester-based Not A Number Productions. It's great to see the British horror scene so healthy, long may it continue. White Settlers - definitely recommended for your next night of horror films :-)