Johnny Frank Garrett's Last Word (2016)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film is based on the true story of Johnny Frank Garrett (Devin Bonnée) who was convicted of the murder and rape of a 76 year old nun Sister Tadea Benz (Rebekah Turner). Garrett maintained he was innocent up to his death and cursed those who convicted him. After the state of Texas executed this mentally handicapped man, the people connected to his conviction began to die. The story follows one of the jurors, Adam Redman (Mike Doyle) who has figured out what is going on and works to clear Johnny's name.The film is an extension of research done in the case. It speculates Garrett was innocent and how an innocent man could get convicted in the fine criminal justice system in the state of Texas. My guess, the super natural aspect was an add on.At the end of the film is a list of people who died connected to the conviction...reminding me of that JFK assassination list. They also play a tape of his last words. Acting wasn't that great. Too much truth in the story to make a decent horror. Adapted from the documentary "The Last Word." Guide: Got one tapering phrase that could have a WTF. No sex or nudity.

Johnny Frank Garret raped and killed a nun and is put to death for his heinous crime then returns to exact revenge upon those responsible and their families.Hardly an original concept, in fact we've pretty much seen the same thing several times over and done considerably better.So what makes this stand out? Decent performances but lesser known actors, and that deep south old time religion vibe which is scary in itself.I couldn't decide if this film had anti or pro religious messages but regardless was certainly a prominent theme.Johnny Frank Garrett looks a lot like Charles Manson. You know Charles Manson? That guy everyone refers to as one of the worlds most famous serial killers even though he didn't actually kill a single person. Seriously, look it up. We live in a glorious age where information is readily available at our fingertips yet people still think that Manson was a killer, that the earth is flat and that pineapple isn't allowed on pizza! The biggest flaw of JFGLW is that its all so confusing, as with many movies of this genre the "Being(s)" don't follow any natural rules so it all gets a bit weird as the creators as making stuff up as they go along. Like Doctor Who when he and he comrades were in space aboard a ship and there was a bad guy in with them so they shot the windscreen out and he got sucked out into deepspace. Did nobody writing that see a problem there? Unoriginal concept, sketchy creation, pretty poor but saved due to a decent cast.

*** This review may contain spoilers *** I thought when I read the film story, the film was good, because the idea is excellent, you can get out of a good movie. But I was disappointed when I saw it, because it is worth more than 10/1, terrorism does not exist in the real sense, the film did not get the horror atmosphere myself or bloody horror, the story only "one juror trying to prove innocence of the accused who was executed for rape and murder , To get rid of the curse that made one member of his family sick!

Very good and exciting thriller/horror film by director Simon Rumley. I was a fan of "Fashionista", which he last directed, and so naturally I was inclined to like this as well. Fans of horror will like this movie as it is a good movie to watch with a group of friends or a date. I really recommend watching this for those who like films like this.