Marked (2007)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

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

If you were a regular renter of B movies in the 1980s, no doubt you remember that there were some B movie directors who had the gall to make B movies that were shot on videotape. Almost all of them were terrible. "Marked" is kind of an update on that disreputable genre. It's not shot on videotape, but it has that same cheap look and feel as those 1980s movies. Actually, that is not the main problem I had with the movie. The biggest problem with the movie is that it moves at a snail's pace, and contains almost no real shocks or jolts. The no name cast shows signs of talent, but for the most part they don't seem very enthusiastic, maybe sensing that they are in a real turkey. I would only recommend this movie to independent filmmakers who want to make a horror movie - as a lesson on what to avoid when they get around to making their efforts.

After having been reasonably well entertained by "Marked", I found its 2.7 overall rating unfair. Fortunately, slaym666's review IS fair. I'd add that Mark Colson gives a fine performance in his rather crucial role as Dr. Frederickson, that Tara Carroll rather good as Diella, and that none of the other actors are really poor. As other positive negatives, the f-word isn't used very often and there is neither nudity nor semi- nudity, nor any simulations of fornication at all. Yes, the plot is confused and confusing, but it never really drags. Its score is good. Its references to the Apocrypha can be confusing to those familiar with actual Biblical literature, but even these fit a non- standard sense of the word that's briefly mentioned in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrypha. I found the scenery beautiful and appropriately ominous; many of the gore effects appealing to my unsavory tastes, and the white makeup on the ghostly gentleman splendid. I wish that I could smile as he does. I watched "Marked" in 20-30-minute segments as relaxation from doing work on my laptop. It could be that is the best way to watch it.

Marked starts as a young woman named Diella (Tara Carroll) is attacked in her own home by a creepy man named Jake Matthews (Tony Suraci), however Diella's father comes to her rescue but in a struggle with Jake they fatally wound each other. Six years later & Diella is haunted by that night, the night on which her father died & ever since she has devoted herself to the study of paranormal research in the hope of proving the existence of ghost's. Along with a few friends from college & her brother Mitch (Samuel Child) Diella learns of Ameilia Gershom (Pepper Jay) who claims her house is haunted by her dead husband, together they decide to investigate the claims & set up various equipment, cameras & motion senors in hope of obtaining proof of paranormal activity. But all is not as it seems as Diella begins to realise that she is at the center of the haunting & that Jake Matthews might have returned to seek revenge for his premature death...Edited, written & directed by Dustin Voight this lame supernatural horror thriller tries to be clever & scary but doesn't come anywhere near close to being either, in fact Marked is an eighty five minute test of endurance as far as I am concerned. The script tries to have one or two revolutionary twist's & turn's but you can see them coming from a mile off, they are just so obvious because of the way the film is going. Is it really any great surprise that Diella encounters the ghost of Jake Matthews rather than the mundane spirit of Amelia Gershom's husband? No, it isn't. There's this annoying ending in which Marked just finishes rather than anything else, once Jake's evil ghost turn's up Diella just walks out of the house & then we see her in a mental hospital five years later at which point Jake decides to turn up suddenly just before the end credits begin to roll. What happened to Mitch? Why couldn't Jake leave the house back then but now can suddenly turn up at the hospital? Who cares. Marked is pretty slow going, there are far too many drawn out scenes of teenagers walking around dark houses & not enough time spent building the atmosphere or story, the sub-plot about the evil Professor & the ancient Apocrypha cult & legends seem half hearted & again all too predictable that they will have some sort of relevance as soon as they are mentioned.With little in the way of a script or story to keep one entertained Marked isn't even much fun to look at or delivers on the gore or scares either. There's a bit of blood, a couple of dead bodies are seen & someone has the back of their head ripped off in the films one single gore highlight but overall not enough happens. Although shot in full 2:35:1 widescreen director Voight decides to use a really annoying 'fisheye' technique at times whenever Jake is on screen that has these large black curved borders on either side of the side to create a sort of enclosed circle effect that sometimes closes in on character's faces & seems to obscure half the picture & becomes both distracting & annoying very quickly. It is neither stylish or cool, it looks cheap & nasty. Marked lacks any great sense of atmosphere, the haunted house is far too modern & small, it needed to be much bigger, much darker & more Gothic like rather than all wood panelling.Apparently filmed in Twin Peaks in California this looks like most low budget horror films these days, cheap & forgettable although competent to be fair. The acting is average, no-one stands out as being great while no-one stands as being awful.Marked is a boring, predictable & tame supernatural horror thriller that has lame twist's & lacks any sort of proper haunted house horror film atmosphere or scares. Definitely not recommended, Marked is an obscure film for a reason so lets keep it that way.

I'm rating this one two out of ten because unlike a certain other Night Light production it's not insufferable, but there's still no reason you should watch it.For example, do you appreciate horror movies with characters who aren't stock archetypes? Characters you actually care about? Look elsewhere.Intelligent storyline? Nope.Suspense? Actual scares? No.Perhaps you'd simply prefer a lot of gore? Maybe inventive kills? Actually no; despite this being a slasher movie the killer kills in the same way repeatedly and it's one we've seen before.Maybe you're such a sucker for out-of-nowhere plot twists, it doesn't even bother you when, as is becoming increasingly common, they make no sense in context? Well, there's one such silly plot twist in this movie, but it has so little to do with what happens afterward I don't know why they included it.