The Collapsed

As a devout Horror fan, I've seen my share of post-apocalyptic end of the world films. And prior to discussing the quality (or lack thereof) of The Collapsed, I must pay due respect to author Kevin Hutchinson and screenwriter/director Justin McConnell for originality. No zombies, no cannibals, and none of the cheap shots (unnecessary nudity, death due to car not starting etc). Instead, whatever evil the protagonists face (whether man or thing is unclear until the end) is mysterious and unnerving like the killers in the famous Slasher films. I guess I've seen too many similar films, as I've guessed the plot twist from the start, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. Story and screenplay were good, though the script slightly lacked. Acting was also quite impressive, especially considering the fact that I've never heard of any of the cast before. Soundtrack was also nice, sort of a Kill Bill/Friday the 13th hybrid. As for cinematography, I found it to be slightly too ordinary, meaning that it wasn't used as a hint towards the twist and the end (not a clear spoiler hint, but a subtle one that could only be recognized upon the realization and conclusion of the ending). All in all, I almost as usual don't agree with the raters of this site. This film is far from being a masterpiece and isn't one of the best, but it isn't as bad as to be given a 3.5, not at all. While I wouldn't recommend going through any trouble to get it, I'd definitely say that if you come across it - give it a chance, as it's a fun watch.

I am HUGE fan of movies. All kinds...blockbusters, indie, horror, romantic comedies and the odd, rare, low budget sleeper. I have friends in the industry, working for large companies and small, as well as friends/family in the music industry. I love film...period. Always have, so writing a review that is so negative is rare. I can usually find SOMETHING good in a movie. Something. This didn't fall into any of the above "good" categories. I recorded it, liking the description. I knew nothing about it ahead of time, never heard of it, so went in with no set opinions or expectations. I understand with low budget, you sometimes don't get to pick and choose actors. Maybe you use some actors that are more like family than true actors...whatever, I don't care as long as they seem to fit the role. The lead/actor playing the father, was terrible. He was loud, hard to understand and at one point he is telling his son how he "knew" about hunting/living in the woods etc, was from a "family tradition." Seriously? This guy was NOT comfortable carrying a rifle, was so loud, the deer in the next state could have heard him and he gave off no confidence in what he was saying. I laughed at those lines. His son, who was in "awe" of his dad for knowing things, obviously had not watched any type of hunting/survival movie...ever, to realize his dad didn't know anything, much less staying quiet when supposed predators were after you. I didn't care about the characters...they weren't likable. Not even the mom and daughter/sister. The son was SUPER loud...which would have attracted any wacko human or predator out there!! What was with the yelling? Geez!! I won't spoil the "surprise" ending, but if you really want to watch this....or attempt to, record it and zoom through it to see the end. Again, I LOVE movies...all kinds, but this one...geez. Oh, and the music? The music was terrible. I kept it muted for the most part, also to keep from listening to the dad and son yelling at each other while attempting to stay hidden in the woods. Maybe the writer/director would have had a better chance at a decent film had he hired or found other actors. I know in Texas, you can find folks that work day jobs, but know how to hunt all over the place, that would have been way more convincing than the guy playing the dad in this. Not to mention...the women going to the bathroom and checking themselves out in the mirrors? How ridiculous is that? I don't know one woman who would vainly look in the mirror if the world is falling apart. I could understand looking in the mirror to get blood off their faces, or if something was in their eyes, or staring blankly in dismay etc., but to primp? Nope. Gonna go re-watch Alien to get this film out of my head.

'The Collapsed' is movie where nothing of very interesting substance occurs for the first seventy or so minutes out of an eighty-two minute run time. That is truly a shame because I enjoyed John Fantasia's performance as a father and husband who seemed to be more than he appeared. I also (mistakenly) thought that the slow burn - indeed never ending burn - was some kind of intelligent setup design for a powerful payoff at the end. Essentially, a family of four must survive the collapse of society - that is the gist of the plot. In order to do that, Fantasia's character leads his wife, daughter and son out of their native city on a journey to reach his second son's home in a place the movie makes you suspect is a remote rural location. The four main actors get somewhere, experience hardships, there are deaths and tragedies, but the plot/director treats each loss or speed bump as such a minor affair that the viewer can only nod at a character's demise and assume something more interesting is waiting to be seen in a later act. For a relatively short film, 'The Collapsed' is very slow paced making it seem like a two hour time investment. Again, very little happens and as a consequence, very little tension is built and what suspense does arise is quickly expended by highly annoying music and scenes that end in nonsensical dead ends. The viewer of this film must be patient - willing to watch an actor run around with a bolt action rifle, pointing it at nothing, cleaning it and charging it again and again - for over an hour. Simply nothing happens that hints or eludes to what the film is really about until the last few minutes. By that point I was both bored, mentally numb, and my leg had fallen asleep. Truly I did want to positively review this one, I was rooting for it to become something interesting throughout my viewing of the film. If nothing else, perhaps John Fantasia's performance will catch the eye of someone at a large studio and he'll get a shot in front of a wider audience. I cannot recommend 'The Collapsed' to anyone really - unless you're a fan of Mr. Fantasia - and even then it'd be a hard sell. The plot ends up being a common enough one and in an attempt to make it work, the film lies to you with scenes that did not really happen. I've never liked nor approved of such devices in books and movies, they feel too much like a sucker punch in the reader or viewer's gut. Steer clear of this one, unless you're incredibly bored or patient or you're scouting for undiscovered talent.

I watched a German synchronisation and have to say, watch it without prejudice and judge for yourself. But if you are into that kind of genre (the world is ending), it is really good. OK, some scenes (like the daughter going off for shaving her legs) are kind of unrealistic, but then, the atmosphere, the tension, I think all of it made the movie well worth watching. Ignore the bad reviews, people admit they did not watch the whole movie so how can they reasonably judge it ? Respect to the director, producer and the actors for having made a good movie with little money. Even the soundtrack at times fits very well. Go watch it, and enjoy.

The movie is obviously a very low budget one. That does not mean it has to be a bad movie... if it at least made up for it in other areas. Unfortunately, it doesn't. The result is 4 people trying to survive some unexplained cataclysmic situation, running about in a forest and getting killed by some invisible force controlling people's minds. The actors in the movie do some really stupid things. For example, shortly after running for their lives, away from 2 fat guys with machine guns (AKMS was a weapon of choice for US citizens?) and gas masks (makes for a good DVD cover, right?), a young lady has nothing better to do than wander away to... shave her legs?!! The people split all the time, for silly reasons (well, in the end it becomes apparent that if they stuck together, the movie would end within 30 minutes). Despite being deep into an unknown forest, they always miraculously find their way around. The conclusion is disappointing, there's no explanation about the background of the events. There's no point in watching this movie, waste of time.

The story line was not good really, even though there was some suspense it was obvious that the dad was loosing it. In short my wife was irritated with the mother and son, I'm sure she would have beaten them both up. The daughter takes off to go shave her legs? really! the world ended and you want to go shave your legs! lol what a freaking joke. Then she walks far into the woods and gets all spooked out after she was told. Guns just laying around everywhere, really? Talk about some really stupid writing here. She just seemed so annoying and the acting over all is just horrible. The dad showed no real feeling or suffering. I would not rent this video again nor would I ever spend the money to buy it.

Well here we go again with another post apoc film to grace DVD. I just watched a German import the other day called Hell which was okay but brought nothing new to the table. The collapsed has to be the slowest film I've seen in years but for some odd reason I had to watch all of it. I guess I was thinking their was a lot more to it than meets the eye but NO it was exactly what I expected. About half way through I knew the ending, talk about Transparent. I believe if I had let my 4year ols son watch it instead of putting him to bed before the credits started, I think he would've figured this one out. The acting was lousy and you can't blame that on the budget. I've seen tons of films on a shoe-string budget have excellent acting....hello Cassandra Kane from Family Demons and I think that budget was under 10grand. This had a lot more to work with and we are dealt some of the worst cards on this side of poker. The sets were good and some tension thats it!!!!!

Seriously, the end of the world, and your first priority is to go and shave your legs???!!!

The more I think of this as actually an elongated Twilight Zone the better it actually gets. Firstly John Fantasia holds the show together. The premise isn't too bad and to be honest considering the budget and it was probably filmed in a week, it did well with it and most of the supporting cast are actually quite spot on. As a movie however a few key things keep me from a 5 which I consider quite watchable. Personally the score was grating on my nerves as simply over the top at times and the sound mix was jarring and a little off for me. Secondly the son and daughter to me brought another level of idiocy in an otherwise 'real' approach movie. The son is supposed to be mid 20's but behaves like an inept and petulant 15 year old. Its the end of the world as they know it, they don't know why but they're avoiding every other person because they're going crazy. So in the woods 18ish yo daughter decides to wonder off away from the safety of the group with a flippant 'thanks dad' as if he said '10 more minutes on the swings honey'... to...shave her legs, when she's wearing jeans, long socks, is dirty hasn't showered in a week and is otherwise travelling constantly through the woods. A movie can succeed on a small budget but attention to detail in character and content is important, these two characters for me were a tad sloppy. So all said not bad if you're in the mood for this, a bit more time and attention and this may have been better, but no Absentia by all means.

I had a sleepless night, so I thought, lets watch a movie my wife certainly doesn't want to see ... It would have been better if I stayed in bed. There's a beginning and an end, and that's it. Just one absurd moment in the movie I want to share : four members of a family are on the run for "I don't know what" because "I don't know what" has happened to the world. Anxiously they are running and stumbling through the woods. And then the daughter needs ... 10 minutes privacy TO SHAVE HER LEGS ... Go figure ! That was the straw that broke the camel's back. A worthless shitty movie of the year! More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/