Synopsis: Read on IMDB

Should you watch this movie? I don’t think it’s a particularly great movie, but it will for sure surprise you. You think you may know what the plotline is about and then the whole thing changes. If anything you should watch out of curiosity!

This is the story of a small former mining town in Washington called Cold Creek. Just the name might give you a hint of how fu and inviting the place is. Because the name cannot be even more dreary, the children of the town mysteriously vanish; the townsfolk attribute this to a so called legend called The Tall Man. Which totally makes sense, of course, out of all possible outcomes, some mythical being living in the forest is the most plausible reason. The town’s nurse, Julia Denning (the widow of the town’s doctor) is the skeptical and respected individual in town until her son David is taken. And that’s when the whole thing stops making sense.

One thing is for sure, the movie will keep you wondering the entire time “what on earth is this movie really about?”. So it doesn’t really matter if the pace starts of a little slow, or some of the parts seem a little slow, too, as far as focus this movie will get yours for sure! Jessica Biel plays Julia Denning, the nurse who after being somewhat skeptical about this whole children abductions by the Tall Man urban legend, now has to deal with her own child’s abduction. The future Mrs. Timberlake may play a modest, demurely dressed nurse, but her kick ass antics are there all the way. No sexy stuff going on, though. Sorry guys! (and gay ladies in da house!)

The films critical reviews have been pretty negative; critics find the story illogic, incoherent, and generally boring. Audiences who review this say it was tedious, but they mostly felt deceived by the thought provoking nature of the film instead of the horror aspect. But just as there have been pretty negative reviews, there have been rave reviews on the social commentary the movie brings amidst the unemployment and poverty levels in a rich country like the US. Other positive reviews are just “woah, dude, I did not see that coming!”. That was my reaction for sure, which very few movies do for me. I can’t say I would give it a “rave review”, but it definitely made me talk about it afterwards!

So go watch it with an open mind. It may not be a horror movie like the ring and end up being something else, so be warned and don’t be all, “I feel cheated, give me my money back!”. If you are watching in Belgium, the movie is called The Secret. Why? I’m not sure, but I think it sucks to use that instead of the original name.

Paola’s mood after watching this movie: