The Veil

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source: The Veil

I thought this film was brilliant. It was predictable in places but there were a few surprises and one scene especially made me jump. It was very atmospheric. Don't read about it, just watch it and enjoy it (or don't) Sometimes I've looked at a score on IMDb and thought to myself, I'd better give this one a miss.I'm glad I didn't on this ocassion. The acting was believable and although the story treaded in familiar territory, it still held its own throughout. Lillie Rabe and Jessica Alba both gave competent performances. I don't know who the other guys were but they were OK as well. Stop reading now and watch it!!!!!

So the story goes. The girl from American Horror Story who looks a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch is the only survivor of a cult mass suicide which happened in the eighties. So what's the best thing to do to get over watching so many people die under the influence of a mad man? Why, you take a documentary team to the actual place that hasn't been touched by hand in a long time, film all the events there, and not just that, stay there as well. Because that's good counselling........ Another Blumhouse release, another damp squib for the horror genre, and to be brutally honest, if it wasn't for the fact that Jessica Alba is one of the main stars, I wouldn't have given this a second look (I'm an Alba fan, and not for her acting skills), as it just looks like a sort of sequel to the found footage film Th Sacrament, which was released a couple of years ago, and miles better. So it ticks every single box in the 'something bad happened here a while ago, let's go and film there' sub genre. People walk off to get something from somewhere along way away. There are ghostly images when camera footage is being played back. People see things, that no one else can. Certain people start to act weird. And there's always that strange old man who is standing at the gate for reasons unknown. And the film is as boring as it sounds, which is a shame. Because Joanou has made some wonderful movies (State Of Grace is a classic), and the flashback sequences are pretty effective. And then there is Thomas Jane. For some reason, Jane has been channeling Michael Hutchence in his last few films, and as his parts are all set in the eighties, he performs in excess to his requirements, and the white suit just adds to his pantomime take on the cult leader. And this is the fundamental problem with the film, if you can't take the antagonist of the narrative seriously, then the rest of the film is pointless. Yes, there are the jump scares, and the weird people standing in corridors who weren't there before, but we've seen this a thousand times before, and it doesn't get effective with each film, and the jump scares are more annoying than thrilling. We have the obligatory twist come the end, but you'll be as bored as Alba, I'm sure she was yearning for Sue Storm, so she could disappear........

Do not be fooled by the low rating of this movie, it is actually quite well done. Indeed touches some information about out of body experiences, even though presented in a very shallow dimension of a small time suspicious cult, some things are very well shown. The female lead characters are performing well, many mystery elements are very familiar to me, the more frightening parts do not seem stupid or cheap and the only thing not quite fitting in the story and movie itself is the end which is kind of childish. Makes me wish they made more depth to the cult leader as a character.. It is indeed very rare to find a horror movie that actually has some quality these days, and there is definitely some in this one

Anyone who would not have rated this movie with a decimal point with an infinite amount of zeros following it is a illogical as those who wrote the script. Is it possible for me to define how absolutely unbelievable the plot to the movie is. I myself do not believe in the influence of paranormal forces acting upon the living whether those forces be good or bad, I believe mankind creates instances of good, or even divine and/or bad or even evil. I certainly do not believe that corporeal beings can separate their spirits from their body by temporarily killing themselves, or killing themselves and their spirits remaining on our plane of existence long after their death as in their bodies have been decaying for quite sometime, and then killing and taking the bodies of others sometime in the future. This movie did absolutely nothing for Thomas Jane's or Jessica Alba's reputations.

Firstly, I agree with another reviewer, please try to not critically analyse a horror movie too much or there will never be a rating over 4. Secondly, This is a very sound film, nervy, tense, suspenseful, with a good cast, script and production. It kept me relatively on the edge of my seat throughout the film. Yes it may have been a little predictable, but aren't most films these days. As it happens i really enjoyed this horror movie, Jessica Alba is obviously the stand out, but pretty much the whole cast puts in a decent effort. The movie plays like it is based on a true story, i don't know whether or not this is the case, but the fact it plays like this adds to the scare factor. Usually the more fact based a horror is the more it can creep you out. Anyway, its a good film, don't be put off by the naysayers and give it a shot. I gave it an inflated 8, as its in a genre where there is so few half decent films about.