BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

danielrachael This is a movie for grown up horror fans. This Czech film is violent and dark and features great performances and fantastic direction. You must watch this if you are remotely interested in the genre but beware- It is not for the faint hearted. But if you have the courage than give it a shot- you'll be surprised. (Great horror for the grown-up horror fan)

frodo_unplugged This one's thick with atmosphere. Unfortunately, I could never get over the basic premise that two young boys are left alone at home in a remote country house beside a lake and forest waiting for their divorced mother to come back from the hospital after a bad accident. The overall tone might be that of a dark and disturbing fairy tale, but at least the beginning should have been grounded in a little more realism. Otherwise, there is no real incentive to figure out the underlying psychological motivation of the characters and their interdependence. It feels like the directors had assembled all the creepy movie ingredients they could think of and then run out of their own ideas. The result is a demented shopping list where almost no cliché is left out. The bandage fetishism is a nice touch (a cross of Maria Beatty and Scott McGehee/ David Siegel), so is the art direction, although a bit obvious with the pictures of blurred silhouttes on the walls. The coackroaches, the candles, the children's games, the nursery rhymes, the bow and arrow, the pagan masks, the dark spaces, the dead cat, the bondage and torture, it's all too familiar and stripped of any real emotional attachement or narrative consequence. It's a clinical study of whatever they where trying to dissect, one that gets rather tiring about the half-time mark. The third act should have been the second act leaving room for a truly innovative story twist towards the end. Alas, that twist never comes and this viewer felt slightly frustrated when the credits started to roll.

alex_88-2 When I started watching it, I've expected it to be a psychological thriller. In the third act, it finally caught up to its premises. It starts off pretty good with a mother returning to her children. Sadly we don't find much more after that. The movie never bothers explaining any backstory or premises, that may lead to a somewhat of a plot twist. Sadly it is exposed so obviously, that after 15 minutes you already expect it. The movie itself from one side tries to convince you that the woman under the bandages is not the mother, but at the same time pushes a subplot that she actually is the real mother. And this was the only good "psychology" point of this movie, the question whether or not it is her. Besides it, the pacing is slow, the build up is filled with useless actions and exposition shots. The acting on the other hand is good for the most part. As a conclusion I would like to say that to movie starts with one premises and halfway through it starts to change the view of protagonist and antagonist, leading to the third act. I can't get into details without spoiling it, but it is just pointless. And the ending is lacking satisfaction and climax. It is what I call a typical European movie. Trying too hard to be something it is not and thus shifting its plot all over the place.

cjs6547 Apart from being a slow, psychological thriller that leaves ample hints of its final reveal throughout the film, this is also a very good portrayal of the effects of loss and trauma.The beginning half of the film keeps your attention, with some surreal visuals and the mum acting off and distant. The second half is when things get interesting.This is one of those movies that don't thrill you with on screen action but instead with the realization of truth as more and more of the plot is unveiled. In the end it was one of those dilemmas that you as a viewer can't outsmart, and therefore can't really comment much about, which is always a good sign. As a movie its not BRILLIANT, but as a story, its beautiful.