The Canal (2014)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I found "The Canal" to be quite comedic in its crafting, having laughed several times while trying to take it seriously, not because it wasn't scary, but at the production value itself.I admire Rupert Evans as an actor, but he couldn't save his fellow cast members from doing what probably they shouldn't have been doing in the first place, starting of with the kid's strange accent and ending with the teen nanny's unrealistic acting.Apart from that, I felt that the film editing was awful, with cuts and scene transitions that were completely random, furthermore the sound edition was not the best either. The writing didn't help the movie, although some scenes were written to be at most engaging, noting the hole in the wall scenes in particular.This movie isn't one of those "it's so bad it's good" and neither a decent horror film, I wouldn't recommended even for a mock night with friends.

The Canal is a rather interesting story about a man and his increasing feelings of inadequacy and jealousy, as he tumbles down a macabre corridor of horrific events. It's a fairly simplistic approach to a rather horrid series of events.Rupert Evans, portrays the central character David. He is at constant conflict with himself throughout this film, whether as a father or lover. I found his emotional capacity rather bland at times, but he did a great job in the first half of the film by showing a man spiraling out of control, as his life unravels around him. His increasing anxiety and jealousy plays a large part of who he is, and evidently is his undoing. He has a lot of screen time, so if you don't like him, you may not enjoy the film itself, but I thought he did a fine job as the main focus of the film. Several others, especially Steve Oram as the tough and experienced homicide detective McNamara, did well in their supporting roles.The Canal is certainly influenced by other films of this genre. I noticed the main plot devices weren't dissimilar to several Japanese films, most notably "Ju-on: The Grudge" (2002) as well as "The Ring" (1998). What I really enjoyed from this film was the use of the camera throughout the movie. There are some fantastic angles that made this film certainly feel creepy. There are moments when you feel absolutely claustrophobic. Even some of the low budget effects (including a scene with David talking to his son via laptop) were still intriguing enough to surprise me at times. Some of the gorier moments of the movie were well thought out, and didn't rely on jump-scares or with bloody reveals. There is even some decent background story in terms of why all of this horror is happening in the first place.I think the most interesting aspect of this film is not the horror itself though. You can watch it as a horror film, and take it for face value, yet I found myself questioning what kind of film I was really watching. David certainly devolves into paranoia by the end of the film, but you have to ask yourself... is this because of an evil influence, or is it because David is completely delusional. This film could be watched twice with either perspective, but I think it's pretty clear by the end of the film what's actually happening. It does have a rather slow pace, but at only an hour and a half it doesn't go on forever. It's a concise film, and it does well for the short screen time it has.6/10

My quick rating 6,1/10. A refreshing take on the ghost and mystery mixed together. The movie revolves around a man(Rupert Evans) who believes his wife is cheating but when she disappears he sees a mysterious man who he believes killed her. The mystery part is there as it follows him down the road to insanity and the viewer watches as his lunacy slowly destroys his relationships with all involved. The acting in this movie is very believable which makes the drama of it that much more believable. The imagery has a very detailed and disturbing feel to it, ala a Kubrick or Cronenberg type feel (not ripping off but in a similar style). The effects are well done but not overplayed at all. The picture that is painted is truly frightening for once and I can say this has its scares in it. Nice start off to the month and hopefully I can see more indie horror such as this. Enjoy

I found the lead in to the characters started not badly but then jumps 3 or 4 years (them being in the house the whole time) little indication of anything weird about the house or main character until the fateful night of the wife's death. The events of the night make very little sense in the context of the lead in ... no indication of intoxication but then its like he's on an acid trip ... make no sense at all without a proper lead in. I'm voting bad writing / screen play at this point and am hesitant to watch the rest of the movie.I sit back after getting some ice cream hoping to see it get better.It does improve to suspenseful moments and some shocking bits with obnoxiously loud sound effects and some very hard to hear dialog all the way to a bit of a lame ending.