Nevermore (2009)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Well, it certainly is VERY nice to see Judd Nelson actually IN a whole film for a change, and a fairly recent one at that! I really like him very much and I've always felt so badly that he never seems to get any really decent parts and in most films he usually just about literally 'drives through' for a few minutes and that's it (Actually, in 'THE CARETAKER' he literally never even gets out of the car : ) You will be able to tell right from the beginning (after the introductory prologue scene) that this movie is very different. It is not like super weird or offbeat necessarily like David Lynch or anything, but primarily where the dialog is concerned, it REALLY reminds me a lot of David Mamet. The way he structures dialog where the people almost seem to be speaking unusually formally to each other, just not quite so much. When done well, as it is here, it can be kind of seductive because it begins to draw you in and makes you very curious as to what is really behind the words.With that said, unfortunately when all is indeed 'said' and done, I personally think that the ending could have used a little more 'punch', so to speak. I DID like the attitude of his friend there at the end / epilogue, but I think that perhaps considering how sharp the Judd Nelson character was supposed to be, the ending might have been written a little more cleverly. ***SPOILERS - I think since the general storyline was moderately predictable, it would have given the ending stronger impact if we could have had an added twist with Judd Nelson's character getting wise to what was going on and setting up the situation with the sheriff at the end - just my lowly and wretched opinion - ***END SPOILERS I really did like the characters and dialog though; for the most part, it was enjoyable to watch.I really, Really, REALLY hope that this just MIGHT mean that Judd Nelson will hopefully be getting more chances or making more of an effort to have better and more involved roles. Heh, I mean NO ONE does that little deadpan sarcasm like he does... NO ONE! I would say that if you enjoy films where there is a lot of dialog and a nice, slow building story, then you should like this one. If you are looking for more of an intense Horror / Thriller, then this may not be the film for you. I will admit that due to the title I WAS kind of expecting a bit more of a Horror element - but, even so, I did enjoy it quite a bit and I feel that it deserves a little higher rating than the 5.x that it has now...***EDIT 2015.03.26Actually, I just looked and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the rating is up to over '7' now.

"Nevermore" is the brainchild of Thomas Zambeck, a man who has worked in various capacities for the film industry all of his adult life, including employment with the biggest distributor of films today (which shall remain nameless). This is the story of John Usher (Judd Nelson), an ex-CEO who believes his wife (Jennifer O'Dell) is trying to drive him insane. To catch her in the act, he invites an old friend to watch over the house and keep an eye on his wife. But then john begins to suspect that his friend, Devin Blayliss (Vincent Spano), cannot be trusted either.Zambeck has crafted his film as a combination of Edgar Allen Poe (note the use of "Usher" and the title) and 1940s films such as "Gaslight". His goal is to bring back real' suspense to the thriller, and I think we can say that he has succeeded in this respect. The plot unravels slowly -- but not too slowly -- and relies almost exclusively on dialogue to carry the film. Relying on dialogue can kill a film if you have an attention-deficit audience or poor scripting. While the former is unavoidable, the latter is not a problem here -- the dialogue is superb, through and through.What shines is the way the conversations not only carry the plot forward, but stories that seem to be "subplots" are in many ways integral. Devin's explanation that an artist must play God with his audience turns out to be crucial, and even the sheriff's unusual gerbil story has a deeper significance when one opens their mind to the possibilities. (If the sheriff has any "stand-out" scene, it is the gerbil scene, and is worth watching twice.) The one technical problem I ran across was poor sound quality on occasion (lack of a proper sound stage caused echoes), but there was never a moment you couldn't hear the actors, so unless you're picky, you shouldn't have a problem with this. (Keep in mind our friend Rolfe Kanefsky had "Nightmare Man" in theaters and distributed on DVD everywhere, and his quality isn't particularly stunning.) Regardless of sound, the video quality was great (this is no mere indie film), the directing and cinematography is skilled (not innovative, but at certainly experienced and knowledgeable), and the acting is flawless.And why shouldn't the acting be flawless? We're talking about Judd Nelson! "The Breakfast Club"? Or, perhaps horror fans have see "Cabin by the Lake" and its abysmal sequel? Nelson is the sort of actor you want in your film -- he brings the wit, animation and charm of Charlie Sheen without the unnecessary flash. (Had Sheen been in this picture, for example, I don't know if I would have remembered the character's name, or simply have referred to him as "Charlie Sheen".) I don't want to see Nelson become stretched too thin, but seeing him in more horror/thriller titles wouldn't bother me in the slightest.At this time, "Nevermore" is not available to the general audience. But I want suspense fans to remember the name, because Zambeck brings classic suspense out of the attic, polishes it up, and displays it for the next generation. We've become accustomed to in your face action and excitement, but if done properly, slowing it down is a nice change of pace. And Zambeck does it properly. Keep your eyes open for "Nevermore".

Jonathan Usher (Judd Nelson) asks his college buddy (friend of 20 years, hasn't seen him in a decade) Devin Bayliss (Vincent Spano) to stay with him for two weeks. Devin discovers that he has to spy and get information from Jon's stunning wife, Lydia (Jennifer O'Dell, who bears striking resemblance to a young Rebecca De Mornay). Jon believes that Lydia is trying to make him go crazy so he'll be committed and then she will inherit his money.This film was very well written, directed and produced by Thomas Zambeck. I think it's a decent piece of work. It's got an interesting and original story. At times it's boring and some scenes drag on for far too long, but it has it's moments. Some scenes should have been cut down or omitted completely.The acting, considering the main players are unknowns, is very well done. That shows a good talent in the area of directing. There's a twist, sorta, for people who can't catch early on that it's a ploy done by Devin and Lydia. I predicted early that it was them working together and having an affair. That's not to take away from the entertaining film it is.I did enjoy the movie. I felt it did drag on a bit, but it was still entertaining. It had a very interesting opening. I liked the special effect where it was signifying a flashback using black and white, but it showed color in Judd's wardrobe. It reminded me of "Sin City".For the most part, Jennifer's good look and character's seductive advances, is the reason I stayed interested. Lydia's attractiveness is very important. I can't have sympathy and care for a character in danger of being killed off if they aren't good looking (or if they aren't good looking, their personality has to be good). Since Lydia was good looking, I was able to care for her character when she became in danger of being killed by Jon. Ironically, I found myself caring more about the well-being of Lydia and Devin -- the antagonists of the film.It's not a perfect film, but in it's defense, very few are. It must have had a low budget, which is the only guess I have as to why no big names were starring. The good things about the film is the overuse of the robe on Judd's character and the claustrophobic atmosphere of being in the house 90% of the film. Not to mention, Judd's hairstyle creates an intimidating look of "insane." I strongly think that if any of the actors in this tried to go for something bigger, they could become a top actor of modern cinema in very little time. I also think that Thomas' work on this is something that shows a lot of potential and talent. Over the next decade, I'm sure we'll see much more of him in the big blockbusters to come.

A friend of mine is currently attending grad school at Northern Illinois and was fortunate enough to receive passes to a "test screening" of this film. Knowing absolutely nothing about the film going in I had low expectations, more or less thinking I was about to sit through a student film. The misgivings continued through the credits when I saw a cast of names that, although recognizable, hardly signal quality in a motion picture. I was pleased to find, however, a true diamond in the rough; a decent tongue-in-cheek thriller that left everyone in the audience entertained throughout the entire film.Basically, Judd's character is a rich hermit who insists on living a self-fulfilling prophesy of going insane, a notion that has been ingrained in him ever since his father flipped out and slaughtered his mother. Wrapped up in his own personal demons, he invites Vincent Spano along for the ride and asks him to investigate the motives of his trophy wife, Jennifer O'Dell, who he think is an ill-intentioned vamp trying to drive him insane and rob him blind. Drama and confrontation unfolds in a fairly simple fashion, but the result is a solid effort that is both tense and occasionally funny. While I would hardly call the movie a shocker, there are enough unexpected twists to keep you engrossed.Since this was a test screening, the sound was still a little rough and the time code had yet to be removed, both of which proved to be a bit distracting. But all of the performances stood out, particularly Judd Nelson, who makes us completely forget about The Breakfast Club while reminding us that he can still act. Given that director lives in Michigan, the only member of the crew in attendance to talk about the film was the production manager, who acted more like an MC than a member of the crew. He suggested the crew was made up of a bunch of young first-timers, which I don't doubt given some of the experience listed on this page. After hearing that, I became more impressed with the end result and would gladly watch it again once the final product is released. The PM also said they were still searching for a distribution deal, so I would like to wish Mr. Zambeck best of luck in his endeavors and would strongly recommend checking this out once it becomes available.