Anguish (2015)

Thanks for the memories!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Was drawn into seeing 'Anguish', with as said for many films seen an intriguing and reasonably creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for supernatural drama/horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. 'Anguish', simply put, turned out to be yet another disappointing film, hence some reiteration for similar films, and waste of potential with a few fairly small positives and so much done catastrophically wrong. Not one of the worst films ever seen, not even close, but 'Anguish' is a classic example of how not to do a premise deserving of a film that does it justice.Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and the music fits nicely and has eeriness.A few decent horror moments and a few moving ones too. The acting could have been far worse.However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrate. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best.Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, not to mention far too exposition-heavy, while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the first half, which goes on forever and fails to get going, and never is it exciting even for a deliberate slow burner. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. Too many elements are introduced, and then dropped, barely explored or don't go anywhere, sometimes even all three.A lot of the film completely fails to make sense, both in underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. There is a lot of choppiness and some lack of coherence, and to me the supernatural elements were too vague and unimaginative and the dramatic ones melodramatic and overwrought. The threat is poorly used and poses very little threat. The film completely peters out with an ending that felt like an afterthought.Summing up, very mediocre at best. 4/10 Bethany Cox

On arriving in small town USA a troubled girl is contacted by the dead, and her family must fight to end her troubles ...A slow but evenly paced drama that treads the line between the literal and the metaphorical. The intro delivers a blunt shock, then we explore the world of the heroine as she mopes about before contact is made. The horror effects are mostly jumpy, with a few imaginative visuals, but I don't think this really hits the horror mark.It's similar in tone to The Babadook, which was draining to watch, but at least this movie has some literal spooks and doesn't make the mistake of leaving the story on the metaphorical level. It's also less affecting than Magic Magic, which deals with a girl spiralling into madness and isn't so linear. The drama is underpowered, I think, because the heroine doesn't change when contact is made - really, she just gets a little more depressed and erratic, so there's no contrast.There's almost zero need for male input, which would be interesting if the female characters weren't forever falling tearfully into each other's arms. The priest seemed pointless, and there's one odd scene with a guy in mask, which I wanted to see play out but may have been a left-over from a theme that was edited out. One thing I did appreciate is how miserable the American way has become, with bills for useless medical treatment and military service and underemployment - although indie films like this pack nowhere near the punch of similar stuff from the '70s.The acting is good, with good dialogue and timing in a flashback scene at the swings. The sound creates a spooky mood through plucked strings and humming cellos, and there's an off-key folk song that gets repeated. Effective, but the music is constantly "on" with no space for silence, so I ended up wondering how the story would play with just ambient sound - probably unwatchable. The photography and editing are good.Overall: Thoughtful, bit of a drag.

Starts out slow but it is only to build up the character and to dig deeper into what she is going through. I almost turned this off after about five minutes but I am glad that I did not. This story is creepy, very creepy without all of the boo's and scares that most of the movies these days have. I really enjoyed this movie. If you like getting chills without all of the thrills, then this movie is for you. They say that it is based on true events, and that's good and all. The movie starts to pick up more so towards the middle. After that, you really get a good understanding on what she is going through and why she is acting the way that she is. Without giving away and spoilers, I will say that this movie is worth the watch.

Anyone calling this horror has the wrong idea about the concept. Even one of the worst out there"Maggie"was more horror then this.It all feels very cheap from the get go and the 2 or 3 suppose to be "jump-scares" are silly at best. The first 30 seconds are watchable but from there it just goes down hill.The fact they use a mental illness to sell you this is even somewhat insulting and in poor taste.This is a below zero film and seems to be shot by some friends in a small community.The whole town looks boring and so does most of the scenery. There is nothing exciting about this movie.Avoid at all costs.Not worthy of your time or your money.To everyone involved don't look to make a career out of this.Major failure.