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DVD The Pact
 Run time: 89 min Rating: 5.8 Genres: Horror | Mystery | Thriller Director: Nicholas McCarthy Writers: Nicholas McCarthy Stars: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Mark Steger |
| Storyline Nichole Barlow comes to San Pedro with her daughter Eva to attend the funeral of her mother. She calls her estranged sister Annie to help her to resolve pending businesses, but Annie is too traumatized with the bad treatment spent by their mother and does not want to return to their childhood home. Nichole convinces her sister to come and she arrives to the funeral. However, Nichole goes missing and Eva stays with Nichole’s cousin Liz. When Liz also disappears, Annie claims that supernatural events happen in the house but she becomes the prime-suspect. The open-minded detective Bill Creek assumes the investigation and realizes that there is something weird in the house. Meanwhile Annie summons the medium Stevie believing that the ghost of her mother is responsible for the vanishing of Nichole and Liz. But the woman warns Annie that there is a great danger in the house. Annie decides to go further in her investigation and discovers dark secrets from the past of her family. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
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| Plot Keywords: female protagonist, beheading, stalker, assailant, police officer | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 8 June 2012 (UK) |
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This movie has gotten a lot of terrible reviews here, so I feel the need to add another positive one. If you love horror movies and don't confuse "gory" with "scary" – and if everything doesn't have to be spelled out for you in an unrealistic expository scene – don't miss this gem.
Most horror movies either insult the audience a little by over-explaining, or they leave many elements simply unexplained (which can be a plus too.) This one actually gives you all the clues you need to put it together and get the answers. Really, it's all there – if you are observant, you don't need the characters to spell it out for you. I found the characters and dialog very believable (for a horror film, of course.) And a HUGE plus – no fake scares. Plenty of real ones. My boyfriend screamed out loud once, and I don't think I've ever heard him do that. I give it 8/10 because while I'm not likely to put it in my top ten films of all time, it was an immensely entertaining movie.
"The Pact" is a treat for fans of this type of horror/thriller film. The basic plot seems simple enough — a young woman's sister convinces her to come back for their mother's funeral, despite the fact that the two sisters were estranged from their mother for a while. When she comes back, her sister is gone, and strange, supernatural things begin to happen…
"The Pact" has a lot going for it. First of all, there is no forced romance to make us roll our eyes. Secondly, the lead character behaves like you'd expect a person to behave! When weird things start happening, she books out of the house. When she has to go back, she brings a policeman. When she gets in danger, she screams and flails and kicks. There are still some "Why is she doing that?" sequences, but a LOT less than usual in this type of film. And finally, NO IDIOTIC TWIST ENDING THAT MAKES NO SENSE BASED ON THE REST OF THE MOVIE!
But the best thing this film has going for it is Caity Lotz. The best part, by far, of MTV's cool but sadly departed "Death Valley," Caity is very easy on the eyes and she really shines in this role — it's a virtuoso performance. And it needed to be — a good portion of the film is her alone, so the entire film is on her shoulders and she carries it off. Very impressive, and I hope we get to see more of her in the future.
The film is not perfect — a major plot is given away in a serious "deus ex machina" moment, there are some plot holes that the movie ignores, and I'm still not totally sure what the very last shot of the film is supposed to mean (maybe it will be explained when the DVD is released). But there is WAAAAY more good than bad, and it's worth seeing and supporting.
Written and directed by Nicholas McCarthy, "The Pact" stars Caity Lotz as Annie, a young woman who returns to her childhood home following the death of her mother. Her sister and cousin have disappeared and it appears that there is some supernatural entity inhabiting the house. As Annie digs deeper, she learns of a serial killer whose last victim may have had some kind of connection to her mother. Annie begins putting the information together, revealing shocking and terrifying secrets.
Sound clichéd? Well believe me, it's not. What starts out as your typical run-of-the-mill haunted house film becomes one of the most intriguing and horrifying horror movies of the year. Not many movies scare me half as badly as "The Pact" did. I can tell you honestly that this film messed with my head and left me fearing my own house.
Caity Lotz does a great acting job, especially since she has such little dialogue. She really gets her feelings across by body movement and facial expressions. Another actress who really stands out is Haley Hudson, who plays Stevie, Annie's friend who just happens to be able to contact the dead. It is her character that scared me the most.
The movie also has some very good cinematography, especially when Annie walking throughout the house. Rather than constantly cut to new angle every time she turns a corner, the camera follows her with one continuous shot, immensely adding to the suspense.
The best part about the movie is that it doesn't assume that the audience is stupid. One of my least favorite things is when all questions are answered by the characters talking to themselves, or even to other characters. In "The Pact" the audience is given the information, and we are required to put it together ourselves. I have seen the movie twice now and certainly picked up on some small things that I missed in my first viewing.
The final plot surprise terrified me and I definitely won't forget it anytime soon. I didn't care for the very end (as in the closing shot), but it didn't ruin the whole movie for me.
Overall, "The Pact" is one of the scariest movies this year and a very well done horror movie. Not many low-budget horror movies are able to maintain the constant level of suspense that "The Pact" did. I highly recommend this to any horror fan. "The Pact" is currently available on Netflix Instant Streaming.
bobbysteenmoviereviews.blogspot.com
This film is simply superb, no matter what your average 17 year old blockbuster movie viewers say about this classic horror gem.
First of all, the cinematography is simply wonderful. It has very nice camera work, using unusual angles, and it shows us a great editing of the filmed scenes.
Second, the pacing of this film is consistent, and suspenseful. It builds up, as it should, by the start of our story, then adding the exact amount of information and depth to the storyline and characters, to leave the viewer with an eerie sense of unease, along with a need to find out what's going to happen next.
There are scenes with absolutely no score, giving this film a classic 70's feel, but when there's a score it's scary violins and cello's. Another thing which adds to the mood of this gem.
the lead actress Caity Lotz is doing a wonderful job in my honest opinion, playing the role of a victim of domestic abuse. The abuse, which is supposed to have happened when she and her sister grew up at their mothers house as children, isn't explained to the letter. I loved this, because it leaves the viewer use his/her imagination as to what horrors they went through. I can understand the low ratings, since nowadays people only get to see (or are only able to understand) simple movies, which are sure to make millions by using a simpleton movie formula. This movie doesn't go down that path. It invokes you to get involved, and figure stuff out for yourself, like films used to do before box office money was the only thing involved in making movies.
Casper van Dien was a nice surprise to see. The man proves he can do more than his career prior to this movie led you to believe.
To wrap things up, here's my personal account of watching this movie. It scared the hell out of me at times, it gave me goosebumps, and it took me on a ride of wanting to find out what the hell was going on. Being a fan of horror movies (in the broadest sense of the genre), I absolutely loved this film.
If you like movies made that call upon your intelligence, empathy and emotions….this film is for you.
If you like mindless-sure-thing-Hollywood-blockbuster, then pass this one because you're not equipped to appreciate this movie.
9 out of 10