The Reeds (2010)

Very best movie i ever watch

Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I stumbled across this recently on Lovefilm and it seemed an interesting idea. The cast is pretty natural and includes the always watchable Will Mellor. The characters are thankfully quite likable which is rare for a horror movie and makes you care more about what happens to them. The setting on the Norfolk broads is stunning and quite eerie which is of a huge benefit to the film. It's certainly not a place you'd want to be stranded. This isn't an out and out horror more of a ghost story but there is a nice air of tension built up throughout and some creepy scenes. You will probably guess what's going on from a long way out but it's handled so well it doesn't really matter. For a film with a very modest budget this is an impressive effort and I found it very enjoyable.

If you can get past the thick accents (this is a British flick), THE REEDS is not half-bad. A group of young people are on a boating cruise, and end up running afoul of some less-than-pleasant locals. Plotwise, we're in WRONG TURN territory, only on water instead of solid ground. The gore is minimal, although the suspense builds pretty well. Very low budget, so don't expect anything out of the ordinary. As I recall, this film was running back to back or concurrently on another channel with PRIMEVAL, the Aussie or New Zealand flick about a killer croc. I have to say in all honesty that I prefer PRIMEVAL. But why not watch them both and decide for yourself.

Well, this one sets things up as you might expect. We see someone setting up traps in a river with surrounding land containing reeds. A group of London adults wish to unwind on the river with the reeds, and they are looking for a pub. Before even leaving, their boat has suspicious looking brats who are rude and silent, not moving as our cast demands. They hire the boat from Mr. Croker who, at first, doesn't seem to have one available, only to steer them to the one with the kids inside. Once the kids remove themselves, our cast head off on the river, and soon come across a path that all of us viewers scream at the screen in unison, "Noooooo, don't take the path! Don't go over there!" But, they take the path and come across a metal spike which breaks through their boat and into antagonistic Chris(Will Mellor), the bloke whose temper is short and bark loud. Chris' chances of survival are slim as any movement would cause him to gusher as the stake is completely through his stomach. Even worse is the fact that they are located in the middle of nowhere. Joe(Daniel Caltagirone), operating the boat, searches for help as those kids run about, finding them around a fire as another mysterious presence, with a shotgun, pursues them. Meanwhile, a gasoline canister and a flare gun end up igniting a fire on board the boat, an explosion, two dead bodies, Helen(Scarlett Alice Johnson)is burned badly, Nick(OT Fagbenle)twists his ankle while seeking out a boat he sees from a distance, and the kids continue running free as if someone is chasing after them. We soon discover that something is off as characters see themselves with darkened eyes, the killer is in two different places at the same time, Laura(Anna Brewster)witnesses a horrifying crime involving the kids being blown away by the shotgun-toting killer in a slicker, with Nick finding Croker, hoping to go for help. Laura also watches in horror as Joe and his girlfriend Helen wind up in a most unfortunate fate. Laura's significance in the plot, regarding her being found as a child, raised as an orphan, is important as it pertains to unraveling the odd goings-on and she will need to finish a deed long overdue as it concerns the killer. Really, "The Reeds" has a weird structure. We all know, I imagine, pretty easily who the killer is..it's just too obvious. And, we can see that there are specters loose, and that a crime has been buried away, but the haunting remains..restless spirits desiring payback. This movie has one of those loopy time paradoxes where a terrible event continues in a cycle seemingly never to end unless someone is able to break it..the only witness to a crime is the one who must disrupt the ongoing cycle. But, and this is what induced my eye-rolling..the filmmakers couldn't allow for this to happen, as we must always have a twist which pulls the rug out from under us. One cycle begets another and all that jazz. The structure of this movie, which constantly sends us around in circles, is a bit of a mess and eventually I was tired of it all. Maybe others will find this kind of movie a refreshing spin on the whole "six young adults take a boating trip, meeting their doom at the hands of a psycho in a slicker, with few places to run, caught in a place unknown to them", instead of irksome as I did. One direction the movie didn't go in, I was figuring it would, was setting up the kids as possible threats to the adults of "The Reeds", instead they contribute in a different fashion. I did find the underwater cages containing the skeletal remains of victims rather effective. I also thought the setting was perfect for a thriller..too bad, the filmmakers had to go and craft such a convoluted, puzzling scenario to complicate matters.

In his paper the Uncanny Freud noted our love of frisson and scaring ourselves. He would have appreciated the cunning way in which this film builds up and the nice setting of the boat. All are confined, all are defined here. Unfortunately nothing is known about Freud's taste in cinema. But The Reeds has many merits. There are moments when you really feel scared and disgusted. It managed to convey a sense that the doomed young on their doomed boat have been exiled from the outside world. The director and cameraman make the Norfolk broads are scary. The conclusion is surprising. So well worth a viewing and if it not quite pee in your pants terror it is definitely goose bumps. Well directed, well acted too.