The Corridor (2012)

The Corridor is a great film. The main elements that stand out are the writing/relationships, the main concept of the corridor and the acting. It doesn't feel like most grind-em-up horror films. It is thoughtful, and written so well that it feels like a well constructed dramatic story told through the eyes of the horror genre, and the result is that it is truly frightening. Trolls who don't like this film, I think, aren't viewers who really love to think while watching a film, and get involved with the character's, immersed in the story, and would rather pick apart special effects, etc. and because of that, they are truly missing a thoughtful, engaging film and story.The relationships between the main five character's was wonderful. While watching I felt as if I knew friends in my life who were relate able or like the character's and therefore when they began losing their minds and being hurt, I really didn't want these character's to die. This is because the dialogue is witty and intelligent and the character's are well formed. Most horror films I watch, I don't care if they die, but this was not the case in The Corridor and I think that is because of the writing of these character's being so specific,unique and thought out that they really felt like three dimensional living people rather than two dimensional character's I tend to find in most horror films. It was great seeing the men come back together, all caring about each other, but seeing their personal hold ups with each other, jealousies, and their own insecurities, which have held them back from making a whole transformation from 'boys-to-men'. It makes it really suck when for example Tyler thinks he's losing his mind again. I became attached to the character's and therefore was upset and frightened when they were hurt.The actual 'corridor' itself is an amazing idea, and I like it's subtlety within the film. One of my favorite things about the film is when they first discover the 'corridor' and they all have unique reactions to it. I just really loved the concept of the corridor, but my favorite part about it was that it could take over the world, and that was really fun, fascinating and frightening. It felt if the corridor hit a big city, the world could end. Loved that.The acting is awesome in this film, these guys make you really care about them and make you want them to continue to be friends, or mend friendships. Really sold me on everything they did. I would recommend this film to anyone, kudo's to all involved!

I thought this was a very good movie. Even though the story didn't have a lot of obvious explanations for everything, the effect outweighed the remaining questions I had with the film. It was actually quite believable even though it wasn't that "believeable" if you know what I mean. I think if it was a little longer the corridor may have been better explained and the other scenes would have perhaps knit in better. The extreme violence with the characters was not at all predictable or understandable. This seems to fit with the "crazy" theme the movie was looking for. I believe there is a lot of sub-standard horror stuff out there, even on Netflix, but this one was a very good horror movie.

The Good: With the exception of one actor, the acting was generally believable. The cinematography was decent overall.The Bad: A dragging 30-minute exposition that could have been accomplished in 5 minutes or less. This is a movie not a novel; don't dialog us to death. As time went on I felt my interest in the characters decrease exponentially which, I imagine, stood in opposition to the director's intent. Ultimately, however, it's difficult to tell exactly what the director was going for. Regardless, the exposition never took me anywhere emotionally, and that left me with a "who cares" feeling that persisted throughout the majority of the movie.Character believability also had issues. Without giving too much away, I thought the characters' reactions to the corridor seemed unrealistic. However, I fault the script more than the actors for this. Arguably, though, their reactions could be attributed to the affects of the corridor itself, which would be consistent with the "plot." Nonetheless, it made for awkward viewing and I found myself silently begging the director, "get to the point." Additionally, there are episodes of violence in this movie that were unpalatable. Mind you, I'm a horror fan and can tolerate a fair share of gore. It would be incorrect to call the violence "gratuitous," because I think the violence was necessary for the director to get where he wanted to go. The problem was, the place he went was not fun, exciting, new, or even that interesting.The Ugly: The "hair" and makeup. I mean, wow. It's not often makeup has a hand in sinking a movie, but when you see the bald character in the beginning of the movie you will understand my point. It was so bad I think it skewed my impression of his acting ability. I've read others comment about the special effects. I didn't expect much in this area so it wasn't as big of a deal for me. If you're a stickler for good special effects, you might find yourself frustrated.Overall this movie felt like a bumbled attempt to stitch Dreamcatcher and Donnie Darko together and call it "art" under the guise of a psychological thriller. The thing about psychological thrillers, however, is that you have to get the viewer psychologically invested. This is where The Corridor failed.

The Corridor tells the story of 5 childhood friends meeting in a remote wooded cabin to mourn the loss of one of their mothers. The trip also doubles as a chance to get their friend back on his feet since he suffered a violent mental breakdown after his mother's suicide. This is heavy stuff and this film doesn't shy away from the difficult scenario. Each character is dealing with their own midlife difficulties as well and the cabin stands as a reminder to all of them that those simple days of youth are drifting far behind them now. The entire setup is presented with such a delicate precision in both acting and writing that I found the story seeping beneath my skin long before the horror aspects began. The snow covered winter setting just added to the bleak and somber tone. These men seemed like real people with real problems and not your ordinary horror movie cutouts. Soon one of the men discovers an indescribable supernatural entity in the woods. From there we begin a slow and not so subtle descent into madness and the unknown. This film has some similarities to "The Dreamcatcher" in it's setting but is vastly different in tone. "Dreamcatcher" was popcorn bubble gum horror with some fun moments and few actual scares. The Corridor stays on target and rarely lets you up to breathe from the opening shot to the final haunting music piece "Various Stages" that is played over the credits. I've read several critical reviews addressing the lack of explanation with the encounter. The same critique was given to this summer's Sci Fi Horror epic "Prometheus". Both films raise more questions than answers. Instead of wrapping it all up in the last 20 minutes, you are left with a great deal of mystery to ponder. This is closer to real life, situations are more often then not left unexplained. An explanation would on have lessened the actual horror. When it was over I sat until the end of the credits. This is something I rarely do. For the next few hours I couldn't get it out of my head, always the sign of a well done film.