I'll never look at a tricycle the same way again!

Rating: 10/10 (27 September 2004)

I got to see this film at a screening tonight, and had the added honor of having the filmmakers there for a Q&A to introduce and follow the movie.
The acting wasn't stellar, and the movie itself was admittedly a little rough around the edges, but none of that really mattered. It was one of the most intense and disturbing movies I've ever seen. It became pretty clear why that was so during the Q&A. The filmmakers mentioned that they had been approached about just selling the script, but since they had worked so hard on it for so long, that it was their project and they were going to hold out until Wan could direct and they would maintain control over the script. And thankfully, Evolution gave them the funding and left them with creative control of the project.
The result is that the whole movie has a level of internal cohesion that can only come when the project is a labor of love from concept, through development, and ultimately into production. Despite the faults of the movie, it still worked amazingly well, and had such a profound effect, because it was made by people who intimately knew every nook and cranny of the script, concept, and plot.
My fear is that this movie will go the way of Blair Witch (about which I had very similar feelings.) This movie will benefit from some very well deserved positive word of mouth, but it's just too intense, and too much of a niche film to live up to the mass market's expectations. This is NOT a movie for the general movie going public. This is a movie for people who appreciate the art of film-making, and want to be scared and frightened by a challenging work. If the average popcorn muncher makes it through 45 minutes of this one, I'll be impressed. For those who go -- and I recommend it highly -- be ready for a unique experience that one can never truly be prepared for.