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Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Directed By : Jordan Barker
Gabrielle Anwar (Body Snatchers (1993) )
Forest WhitakerAmerican Gun)
Justin Loius (Shooter)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Apr. 13, 2007
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| PLOT A young beautiful but stressed out children's writer seeks out a holiday in the country but becomes the lead character in a supernatural mystery she must solve to save her life |
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| THE REVIEW THE MARSH tells the story of young Children's author Claire Holloway. Claire has been stressed out as of late and suffering from horrific nightmares. In these nightmares she sees visions of a young girl, a marsh and a house, she never get's any conclusion in these dreams other than that she knows the little girl is harmed in some way. With these dreams continuing, Claire chooses to retreat to a farmhouse in a quite town to relax, but perhaps her main reason for wanting to stay in it is that it looks just like the house she sees in her dreams. When Claire gets there, she realizes that the house isn't the only similarity to what she has been experiencing. She also begins to recognize that things she sees, she has already written about and illustrated in her books - she also recognizes people around town as those appearing in her dreams. Soon she begins to be haunted within the farm house by ghosts. one being a teenage boy, the other the mysterious girl she has been seeing. With the help of a Paranormal Consultant named Hunt, she investigates, finding out that even though the town seems quiet, they actually hid a years old secret, as to what happened to a little girl. Well, before I even watched this to review it, I actually looked to see what others were saying - something I rarely do because, I most of the time disagree with them. It turns out that the majority of people who have seen THE MARSH, don't seem to like it. And just as I said, I found myself disagreeing with them once again. Sure THE MARSH has many similarities to other films like the AMITYVILLE HORROR remake, and films, like THE SKELETON KEY and even more recently THE RETURN, but to me, THE MARSH had enough of it's own individuality to stand on it's own. I thought the plot and story fold out of this film was pretty solid. Like in THE RETURN, the Main character is haunted by visions, but she doesn't know the reason behind them, and as it turns out, the character ends up in a very familiar place, whether they realize it or not. For me, unlike THE RETURN, THE MARSH moves along not as slowly, and it's scares are more on point and more genuinely creative...I didn't, I found some scenes involving the little girl creepy and effective. And to touch on something that most of the films like this do, in the end most of the time they leave you puzzled - but in the case of this film, I was pleased with how the film's ends were tied up. Unlike what some others have said, this film is NOT confusing....well it was to me at first, but with a close listening, the film is easily explained as the film progresses. The look and feel of this film is very professional, and you can tell it has high production values. For THE MARSH to be a direct-to-video release. doesn't seem right, it makes you wonder as to the reason it is - because the production and polished look would prove otherwise. Not to mention the acting which is surprisingly great. Gabrielle Anwar as Claire is beautiful and her reactions to things appear to be genuine, you do not ever get the sense she is over-acting at all. Anwar, for this film is reunited with her co-star from BODY SNATCHERS, Forest Whitaker, as he portrays the Paranormal Consultant, "Hunt". Whitaker, an Oscar winner, is great, and is just very likeable here, the man seems to be able to play any type of role, in any type of film without missing a beat, as far as realism goes. There are obviously supporting roles here, but both Anwar and Forest Whitaker seem to carry the film. Again it may have similarities to other films, but I found this story to be solidly told, with well executed scares that honestly keep me interested beginning to end. |
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| GORE
METER No gore, spare maybe the bloody nose of the little girl (maybe this is why some people didn't like this film) |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4.5/10 I found the score to be very atmospheric, and sometimes fitting for the marsh surroundings. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM People are complaining about THE MARSH not being "original", and while that might be true somewhat, I feel it is only partially. THE MARSH, as I said, has enough of it's own originality coupled with great performances to keep it entertaining. I personally loved it, but of course, I cannot speak for everyone... This DVD will be released on April 17, 2007 |
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