The Reeds

source: The Reeds

The Reed's tells the story of six friends who plan a weekend boating trip through the Norfolk Broads but soon find themselves caught in the middle of the struggle between an old man and the very teenage life's he took many years ago. The spirits of the murdered teen's now haunt the old man and anyone who steps foot on the Corsair Star boat. I want to start off by saying that so far this is my favorite out of the latest batch of After Dark films. As most people know I love movies dealing with ghosts and the paranormal but unfortunately a lot of them are just done horribly. That is not the case with The Reeds which is a beautiful example of a movie based around a haunting. The acting in this film is very solid and the special effects are beautiful all of which appear to of been practical effects no CGI that I could spot so if it was in there it was done well and unnoticeable. The story really blew me away its hard for me to review this one without giving up important parts of the movie because I just loved the story so much and the way it progressed at a very nice steady pace ending in a very satisfying way. The plot twists were executed perfectly. The Reeds does an excellent job of building tension and unlike a lot of today's horror it also delivers at the end. It didn't feel rushed or like they weren't sure how to end it like a lot today's movies seem to be plagued with it was done very well and really left you with a wow feeling as you finish piecing together what you just witnessed. If you enjoy a good haunting movie with a strong storyline beautiful blood and gore where needed all rolled up in a neat package of pure horror enjoyment I highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Reeds. 8/10

I stumbled across this recently on Lovefilm and it seemed an interesting idea. The cast is pretty natural and includes the always watchable Will Mellor. The characters are thankfully quite likable which is rare for a horror movie and makes you care more about what happens to them. The setting on the Norfolk broads is stunning and quite eerie which is of a huge benefit to the film. It's certainly not a place you'd want to be stranded. This isn't an out and out horror more of a ghost story but there is a nice air of tension built up throughout and some creepy scenes. You will probably guess what's going on from a long way out but it's handled so well it doesn't really matter. For a film with a very modest budget this is an impressive effort and I found it very enjoyable.

Well, this one sets things up as you might expect. We see someone setting up traps in a river with surrounding land containing reeds. A group of London adults wish to unwind on the river with the reeds, and they are looking for a pub. Before even leaving, their boat has suspicious looking brats who are rude and silent, not moving as our cast demands. They hire the boat from Mr. Croker who, at first, doesn't seem to have one available, only to steer them to the one with the kids inside. Once the kids remove themselves, our cast head off on the river, and soon come across a path that all of us viewers scream at the screen in unison, "Noooooo, don't take the path! Don't go over there!" But, they take the path and come across a metal spike which breaks through their boat and into antagonistic Chris(Will Mellor), the bloke whose temper is short and bark loud. Chris' chances of survival are slim as any movement would cause him to gusher as the stake is completely through his stomach. Even worse is the fact that they are located in the middle of nowhere. Joe(Daniel Caltagirone), operating the boat, searches for help as those kids run about, finding them around a fire as another mysterious presence, with a shotgun, pursues them. Meanwhile, a gasoline canister and a flare gun end up igniting a fire on board the boat, an explosion, two dead bodies, Helen(Scarlett Alice Johnson)is burned badly, Nick(OT Fagbenle)twists his ankle while seeking out a boat he sees from a distance, and the kids continue running free as if someone is chasing after them. We soon discover that something is off as characters see themselves with darkened eyes, the killer is in two different places at the same time, Laura(Anna Brewster)witnesses a horrifying crime involving the kids being blown away by the shotgun-toting killer in a slicker, with Nick finding Croker, hoping to go for help. Laura also watches in horror as Joe and his girlfriend Helen wind up in a most unfortunate fate. Laura's significance in the plot, regarding her being found as a child, raised as an orphan, is important as it pertains to unraveling the odd goings-on and she will need to finish a deed long overdue as it concerns the killer. Really, "The Reeds" has a weird structure. We all know, I imagine, pretty easily who the killer is..it's just too obvious. And, we can see that there are specters loose, and that a crime has been buried away, but the haunting remains..restless spirits desiring payback. This movie has one of those loopy time paradoxes where a terrible event continues in a cycle seemingly never to end unless someone is able to break it..the only witness to a crime is the one who must disrupt the ongoing cycle. But, and this is what induced my eye-rolling..the filmmakers couldn't allow for this to happen, as we must always have a twist which pulls the rug out from under us. One cycle begets another and all that jazz. The structure of this movie, which constantly sends us around in circles, is a bit of a mess and eventually I was tired of it all. Maybe others will find this kind of movie a refreshing spin on the whole "six young adults take a boating trip, meeting their doom at the hands of a psycho in a slicker, with few places to run, caught in a place unknown to them", instead of irksome as I did. One direction the movie didn't go in, I was figuring it would, was setting up the kids as possible threats to the adults of "The Reeds", instead they contribute in a different fashion. I did find the underwater cages containing the skeletal remains of victims rather effective. I also thought the setting was perfect for a thriller..too bad, the filmmakers had to go and craft such a convoluted, puzzling scenario to complicate matters.

If you can get past the thick accents (this is a British flick), THE REEDS is not half-bad. A group of young people are on a boating cruise, and end up running afoul of some less-than-pleasant locals. Plotwise, we're in WRONG TURN territory, only on water instead of solid ground. The gore is minimal, although the suspense builds pretty well. Very low budget, so don't expect anything out of the ordinary. As I recall, this film was running back to back or concurrently on another channel with PRIMEVAL, the Aussie or New Zealand flick about a killer croc. I have to say in all honesty that I prefer PRIMEVAL. But why not watch them both and decide for yourself.

In his paper the Uncanny Freud noted our love of frisson and scaring ourselves. He would have appreciated the cunning way in which this film builds up and the nice setting of the boat. All are confined, all are defined here. Unfortunately nothing is known about Freud's taste in cinema. But The Reeds has many merits. There are moments when you really feel scared and disgusted. It managed to convey a sense that the doomed young on their doomed boat have been exiled from the outside world. The director and cameraman make the Norfolk broads are scary. The conclusion is surprising. So well worth a viewing and if it not quite pee in your pants terror it is definitely goose bumps. Well directed, well acted too.

I am a horror movie lover.I am 37 years old so you can imagine how many films i have watched so far in my life.Not all of them had a large budget on the contrary.But the film "The Reeds" was such a crap.First of all it was a bad copy of "The Triangle".The plot was childish, everything lacked interest.I guess it's a financial crisis year and there is shortage of funds but this film was one of the worst i've ever seen.There were some scary seconds and those because of the sudden camera and sound effects.Nothing interesting, a boring film.It was a waste of time. Last years HORRORFEST contained some excellent movies but this year ..."HOUSTON WE VE GOT A PROBLEM".

A fairly generic group of interchangeable douche bags go on a boat trip that, obviously this being a horror film, doesn't go exactly as planned. Their ship gets trapped and they're terrorized by people who may or may not be ghosts. The movies lame, unscary, and charts an extremely familiar course. The characters are pretty much cardboard cut-outs that you don't really care if they live or die. An awful entry into the '8 films to die for' made all the worse because I saw the best of the bunch ("Mungo Lake") right before this bottom feeder. And to make matters worse it has an ending that makes the whole film moot anyways so don't even bother to watch it in the first place. My Grade: D- DVD Extras: Ads for EpixHD.com & Fear.Net; and Promo trailers for "After Dark: Horrerfest 4", "8 Films to Die for 3", "After Dark Originals", and trailers for "Saw 6" & this film

A horror that looks like high-grade 1980s output, which made it spooky and nostalgic in equal measure - the 16mm explains the nostalgic bit. On the positive, the young main characters are attractive - I dug Laura (magazine girl Anna Brewster) and her Kate Moss delivery - very London - and the set up is nicely done, hinting at yikesy things to come, which they do. On the negative side, I wasn't really sure about the movie's central message, but I did like the hook - yes, there is a comparison to Triangle definitely, but this is different again. I'd say that this is not a wide theatrical release type movie but that it's pretty good and quite creepy watching it late at night within the comfort of your own home. Most of the acting makes it feel very natural, very real, and you can (if you shut your eyes and click your heels three times) almost imagine yourself there in amongst those razor-sharp greeny reeds wondering where everyone else is...

B+ effort for director Cohen who I haven't seen over here before. The leads are pretty likable and the movie looks nice in a theater: expansive without the expensive: it's got some production value in there somewhere. As for story/plot, it certainly keeps you guessing, although perhaps I'd have preferred a few less red herrings and, like the other reviewer, I wanted more direction on whether this was going psychological, supernatural or simply natural. It sits somewhere in between the first two IMHO. I haven't seen all the other Horrorfest offerings this year but know people who have: I suspect this is at the intelligent (British?!?) end of After Dark's offering and it's certainly got enough nasty bits to keep horror fans - including yours truly - happy. Yup - worth the price of a theater ticket, maybe even the popcorn.