The Commune (2009)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Best movie ever!

Absolutely Fantastic

I am #11 to review this movie and think only the 2nd that isn't actually associated with this film. Who are you kidding? Nine people who absolutely loved this but 95 users give it a collective 5.2. I smell something fishy. (Especially since the bio of the director is off the charts and I don't buy any of it.)If you have the DVD, the Action Flick Chick quote is real. The Huffington Post quote is real. I'm going to assume the rest are, too. As for the Accolade Film Award-Award for Excellence, this won two technical awards. It should be noted from their website that they hand out awards four times a year and there are a LOT of "winners". Check out the very long lists. Reminds me of how elementary schools hand out participation awards. Amateurish work across the board. There is wiggle room when you're talking about shooting a film as it takes a lot of time and a lot of money to make it right. Or even close to right.But what is here is awful. Very bad acting, writing, and directing. And who thought you could sell the lead as a 16 year-old girl? She's not a day under 25.I don't know what to pick apart first. Clunky as a bag of rocks in a tin can. The acting was terrible; stilted and forced. And yes, predictable. Rosemary's Baby knockoff. Daddy's motivations were obvious. Mommy showing up at the end was telegraphed big time---but why? Why would mommy divorce daddy, have a running feud for years, and then show up to see her daughter raped? Entirely for effect but had no basis in common sense or logic. But this in a sea of aimless and pointless scenes just treading water 'til the end.And it looked bland at best. Sure, bland at worst, too. But very uninspired photography. A lot of nothing. The daughter was there to investigate her dad. It's hard to like the hero when she's pretentious and stuck-up. (The info was "her future"? That's nice.)And it didn't help that her love interest was a walking-talking douche-bag. "Really?" with the wardrobe and make-up? (And why, like the girl, have to wear the same clothes on different days in the story?)Elisabeth, please don't make any more movies. Please. The people who are encouraging you are wrong. There is a reason that, despite this misguided praise, that you haven't had another feature in three years. You may love it. I don't doubt that. You showed your boobs for it. (But your character had sex with her clothes on?) That's dedication. But you have to find something that you can actually do. Best of luck.

A cutting edge, well structured homage to a 1970's cinematic feel and tone. Well directed, well acted. A taunt psychological thriller and a very important film. This film is a liberation and a testimony to the fact that there is art left in cinema today.Elisbeth Fies shows a rare cinematic deftness and skill. The film is lush and full of character detail and thought. The plot line is a journey into a dark psychological depth and will an amazing execution. We will be see much more of MS Fies in the future we hope.Elisabeth received the award for Best Emerging Filmmaker this year at The B Movie Celebration.

The Commune is a film with a vast array of themes: sexual discovery, what it means to be a woman and, subsequently, come of age. But the film also deals with the loss of innocence and how those in power, namely your parental figures, can abuse it for their own self-serving needs. Overall, the film delivers in a way that recalls the slow burn of films like The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby. And along with it, comes a stellar building of tension and atmosphere.Our story starts with a young girl named Jennifer. Fresh out of school for the summer break, she's forced to spend time with her fairly non-existent father. You see, her parents divorced when she was little and her dad left and started a new age-y type of commune with a group of followers.From the time she first arrives, an eerie sense of foreboding permeates. As the film evolves and the creepy on screen antics of the characters escalate, Jennifer discovers that her father has been hiding a lot more than she thought. This coupled with a scene in which the father subtly makes a pass, your are led to believe that he has less than favorable intentions for his daughter. After a few childhood flashbacks and a revelation that the daughter is not as pure as originally thought, we are brought to a shocking and brutal climax to our film.The Commune is a fine first effort from filmmaker Elisabeth Fies. The film truly lives up to its tag line: 'Every Girl's Worst Fear.'

Most of the horror films that I see released these days aren't scary, sport a CW-esquire cast and have to rely on the gore to save a film that was weak in the first place. Long gone are those days of great horror films and here to stay are the days of poorly structured horror films that have to glorify bloodshed… that is until now with the release of Elisabeth Fies' The Commune; an independent horror film that is reminiscent of the fantastically structured horror films of old.The Commune is about a 15 year old girl named Jenny Cross (Chauntal Lewis) who, because of a lawsuit, is sent to live with her father, Dr. Polieos (Stuart G. Bennett), for a month on his hippie compound. As the days pass, Jenny spends most of her time counting down the days until her 16th birthday and trying to figure out what she's going to do for entertainment for a month. Luckily, Jenny meets a guy named Puck (David Lago), who seems to help Jenny get some enjoyment back into her life. Jenny starts believing that, because of Puck, her time at the commune won't be so bad after all… but then some freaky things start happening and Jenny has to figure out a way to get out of there or become just another victim.Aside from some rough spots with the supporting characters, the acting in the film is pretty solid. Chauntal Lewis is great as Jenny. Lewis is essentially this film's "final girl"… the part in a horror film that you are supposed to connect with, care for and hope that she can find a way to overcome the odds… and manages to pull it off without a hitch. Because of Lewis' performance, Stuart G. Bennett is able to feed off of her and delivers a performance that is beyond creepy; something Bennett seems to have enjoyed a tad bit too much. Lago as Puck does a fine job with his part; that of Jenny's love interest, which would bore people to tears in other movies, but works here. When you first see him in the movie and notice that he's sporting black nail polish and eye liner, you want to punch him in the face, but as the film progresses, you see that the character is actually a likable guy and you don't want to hit him as much.Elisabeth Fies, who not only directed the film but also wrote it, produced it and played a part in it as well, may actually be the film's shining star. With The Commune, Fies crafts a film that has the perfect amount of tension needed for the story and is able to disturb viewers to the point that it will make them cringe, but will keep them so wrapped up in the story that they won't want to turn it off. Oh, but that isn't the best part. The best part is that The Commune is Fies' first film. To be ambitious enough to put together a film that looks this great and shows that she has the potential to put many Hollywood directors to shame is a feat that is just phenomenal. Hopefully any movie she makes in the future turn out this good.For those of you who like horror films from the past, you will most likely want to check out Elisabeth Fies' The Commune. It's a nicely structured film that creates the perfect amount of tension and doesn't rely on any unnecessary gimmicks. It is good to see that there are ambitious people out there that are willing to spend their own money to get a film that they want to see made.