Simpletons...

Rating: 9/10 (5 August 1999)

I suppose if you have a little age or intelligence on you, you'll recall another entertainment genius called "War of the Worlds." The whole point of that radio broadcast is that they made it seem real, which in turn, heightened the suspense and horror of it all.
That's what they were trying to accomplish here and as a fellow film student, I think they did quite well. They went against the "Hollywood" norm (Notice how the picture was square rather than widescreen? Subtle, but effective), made something so completely original and managed to scare the wits out of most (minus the ignorant few who flame it on newsgroups). Honestly, when was the last time a movie truly scared people? Don't say some lame movie like Scream where they dumped 20 gallons of theatrical blood over the camera. See what I mean? The beauty of this movie is it's simplicity and sense of reality. It reminded me of the classic Alfred Hitchcock or Twilight Zone style suspense. Or is that what you were expecting? Something where 3 kids wondered out into the woods and stumbled on a Wicca Convent? I'm sorry; go rent an Xfiles tape.
If someone were to go and tell all the listeners of "War of the Worlds" that it was fake; announcing the event weeks ahead of time so people would be prepared (Yes, I know they had a *small* disclaimer at the beginning, but it's not the same), would it have had the same effect?
It was an intelligent movie for intelligent people; they're always bound to miss a few.