The Tall Man 2012 Review

The Tall Man 2012 Review

Year: 2012

Stars: Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, William B. Davis

Directed: Pascal Laugier

Running Time: 106 mins

Written and directed by Pascal Laugier (Martyrs and House of voices also under his belt as well as XIII series) for a modest budget of $18,200,000 and staring sexy Jessica Biel as Julia Denning. She is a local nurse whose husband died a few year earlier, she gets involved with the legend of the town of Cold Rock when her son goes missing.

This film has a cast of recognisable faces from b-movies to TV series, one of my favourite b/indie movie actor Stephen McHattie (Pontypool, a little bit zombie among others) who does a good job as lieutenant Todd in this film.

There’s also good looking older woman Samantha Ferris (supernatural) as Tracy and William B. Davies (smoking man x-files) as the sheriff.

All these recognisable faces and knowing their decent actors makes for a good feel as soon as you start watching this film. The start is set 36hrs after the rest of the film, the tall man is talked about all over the small dying town. It’s dying due to its mine being closed down, but other say it started before that. The Tall man is believed by some to be supernatural others just a man.

It’s clear Julia works hard but has little respect with a few people or much trust with some folk, but generally liked. Her home life is good with her son despite the amount she works. Seems mostly by the help she has at home with him.

Nobody likes leaving their kids in this town, the night we see her home her nanny gets tied up and her son david gets taken. She manages to get to the *tall man’s* capture van before he gets away and clings on till a bump knocks her off, though the subsequent sound makes the man get out aand take a look so she hides, UNDER THE VAN.

No not the best of ideas, the film though straight into the tall man stuff relatively quickly does have a slow pace. Which I know isn’t a bad thing most of the time, just some movies could do with that little extra pacing. I mean we even have an initial fast paced sequence but after that it just slows down a bit more than I think it should have.

We get a few jump scares around her as the hiding under the van worked but theres a surprise or two waiting for Miss Biel. Tracy’s daughter is somehow involved as well and seems to an extent to be precognitive (you may also recognise her from silent hill) In pursuit of her son and his captor poor miss Biel gets the shit kicked out of her by various obstacles in her path.

I genuinely felt sorry for her, but everyone in this film seems to have such and independent streak no one likes to be helped. I makes for some bit as annoying because if she had just got help it would have been a little easier, or if she had helped her nanny a bit more.

This is also one of them films where people always seem to know more than their letting on and get annoying from time to time with that because if so many know or even have an inkling why do so many kids get kidnapped.

It has one massive fucking twist in it that does totally throw you or at least it does too me and is why it gets the three star mark and a watch it approval.

As my last nit-pick I did think they tried to stick to many plots and things happening in this film to keep the slower pace from totally drying up, there’s could have been a rewrite that everyone knew to people just being helpful, and a straight look for her kid.

Though it is all thankfully rectified in the massive twist but is still annoying enough up to it to mark it a little lower than I would have.

I know it sounds like I’m bashing this film but it wasn’t bad it was a good watch and had a decent enough cast and writing to keep it moderately interesting.

This is why at THN this film gets a decent three out of five stars, with a watch it if you got the time film recommendation.