The Eternal (1999)

This film seems to be completely pointless. There is no reason why anything that happens in it happens, as if it was written by a small child who got bored halfway through and thought "how can I wrap this up?". And what were Jared Harris and Christopher Walken thinking? Did they do it for a bet? I couldn't tell you the plot, I'm not entirely sure there is one to be quite frank, but if there is it didn't register. Jared and his bird go to Ireland after she falls down the stairs while lashed up, as you do. They go to a house with a very annoying small girl in it, meet Christopher Walken who has dug up some ancient woman preserved in peat. He brings her back to life for no other reason than it continues the story and she shows her gratitude by immediately icing him. From then on it all gets a bit silly. A couple of hours of my life that I'd like back!

This movie is NOT a thrill-ride horror movie, which may be the reason many seem not to have liked it. It's slow, character-driven and moody, but I loved it. From the opening scene of a young girl on a spooky Irish moor to the last image of a woman in a white dress sinking down into the endless black of the sea, I found this film enthralling.Other things I love about this movie: The opening song, with the line "And no one is afraid/Of themselves" (a key to the characters' struggle)--- The cry of anguish when a mother finds her son dead (we see it but we can only imagine the sound of it)--- Death by shards of a broken rock-and-roll album (and the cutaway to the murderess on the beach, sad but resigned to the fact of her own survival).These are only a few of the poetic moments of this movie. Love and death. Guns and liquor. A true black-Irish sense of humour. A great horror movie for grown-ups, and for children wise beyond their years.

1st watched 5/26/2002 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Michael Almereyda): Weird story about a druid witch who tries to capture eternity by inheriting her granddaughter's body. At least I think that was the relationship. A kind of eerie quality is held throughout this film not unlike Stephen King's The Shining. The difference is that there was campiness in Nicholson's performance that isn't at all in this film. This is all taken very seriously until near the end when some lame one-liners and attempts at litening up the mood don't work at all. The performances are not the problem here, but the story is. Everything doesn't seem to come together very smoothly and the viewer is left with a lot of pieces of information and no real understanding of what happened in the film. There is a very small throwaway performance by Christopher Walken as the uncle of the granddaughter which, of course, gives him top-billing in an attempt to sell the film. Don't buy into this gimmick and avoid this film.

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. However, the little slave girl, Alice and Jared Harris imitating Christopher Walken is what makes this movie entertaining. Alice's smoking, drinking and uncanny way of showing up when her name is called is strange and interesting. I have to applaud Jared for his Christopher Walken imitation, and Christopher Walken for allowing this to be in the movie.