Shadow (2009)

This Italian horror initially looked like it might be going somewhere but quickly spirals out of control.It tells the story of a soldier returning from Iraq who decides to clear his head by going to a stunning forest to cycle. There he runs into both trouble and romance in a tale that loses its footing early.Though the idea behind the movie isn't terrible the execution is, the weak cast do not help matters and neither does the finale which defies logic.Some movie endings can turn a bad film around, some can kill a great film outright. But when you have a film which is already pretty damn bad and end it with a twist which is beyond dumb it doesn't leave much of an impression.This award winning Italian effort is truly pitiful and I'd recommend it to no man, woman nor bovine.The Good: Showed early promiseThe Bad: Beyond bad finale Things I Learnt From This Movie: Hunters who mourn the death of a pet are cherry picking idiots So licking toads might actually be a thing

When a young soldier leaves for a mountain biking excursion he meets the girl of his dreams as well a group of violent locals who want to see them dead at any cost.What really attracted me to this film was seeing Fabrizio Bava as assistant director. Bava, as you may guess, is the son of Lamberto Bava and the grandson of Mario Bava. To see a third generation of horror films directed by the Bava clan is quite a treat. Not saying this is a great film (it really is just so-so), but I am still happy to see the tradition continue.The best part of this film is the villain, a toad-licking Lord Voldemort. He looks as if Doug Jones played Buffalo Bill playing Ingmar Bergman's Death. Throw some Nazi symbolism in there for good measure. A great villain, both creepy and mysterious, not to mention senselessly vicious.The sad thing is that while the film is alright once it gets going, it just cannot keep the momentum. As always, I cannot talk about spoilers, but I will say the twist and I did not get along. Maybe you will be thrilled. I was let down.

Truthfully, I'd give this 8/10, but I feel obliged to try and balance out some of those bad reviews, because I think those reviewers didn't get it.There's a lot more going on here than the usual "sadistic creep tortures people". The film builds up to the punchline twist quite subtly. There are plenty of visual clues, including metal objects of a certain shape and one laugh out loud moment involving a portrait of a well known American, and there are dialogue clues (especially from Angelina). Even the title of the film is a clue as to what this is about.I think the writer/director struck a perfect balance here (I didn't see the final twist coming until it was almost upon me, and then everything suddenly slotted into place).It's not "Hostel", not torture porn. The film makes a point. In that regard it's closer to "Martyrs" and "Never Let Me Go"; Although nowhere near as harrowing as those last two films, it's still a cut above the usual genre flicks.Great pace. Good acting. Nice soundtrack. The villain is brilliant. Worth watching for him alone.A horror film that deliberately plays with clichés but ultimately has more depth. It really doesn't deserve the low score.

...no delivery. The potential was there for a good story, but it simply didn't happen.This was really just the story of a hippie soldier with no fighting ability who meets the girl of his dreams while on leave from the war in Iraq. While there, he runs into two very stereotypical rednecks with Aussie accents, a rebel flag and guns galore. Mayhem ensues.The acting ranged from mediocre to horrible. The story was so jam packed with naked liberal stereotypes it was almost amusing to watch. If this was supposed to be a comedy, it might have been worth up to five stars. But, it was nothing more than a smear job against the American military and George W. Bush. (you'll know what I mean when you watch the movie) If you're a cheerleader for liberalism, you'll probably enjoy this movie. Otherwise, save your time & money and avoid this unintelligent propaganda flick.