Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Pascal Laugier's The Tall Man is one of the more interesting thrillers of the last decade, and is almost the cinematic equivalent to a roper dope. It's leads us down one path and appears to be headed in that direction, and suddenly veers off in an intriguing detour into territory you'd never expect it to venture. It's not so much a twist as it is a paradigm shift in the core of the story, which leaves some in the dust and confused, but worked very well for me. In the dilapidated, worn out northern town of Cold Rock, children are going missing, disappearing into the night without a trace, and with only one clue: a foreboding 'tall man' that some folks reported seeing on their land, or lurking in the forest. The Sheriff (William B. Davis) is hopeless, and even the fed they call in (the great Stephen Mchattie) is perplexed. When waitress Julia Denning's (Jessica Biel, fiercely deglammed) child is snatched in the night and kidnapped by this fiend, she desperately pursues him in an excellent sequence as he careens down the highway in an ominous van. He escapes with her boy, and she is left to piece together what has happened to the youngsters of Cold Rock. I won't say anymore as it would ruin the plot, but it goes to some really unexpected places, and I dare you to guess the outcome. There's also great work from Vancouver actors Garwin Sanford, and Jodelle Ferland as a mute girl who figures in the mystery. Director Laugier is famous for his grisly, panic attack inducing shocker Martyrs, which features an equally compelling story arc. Although he tones down the brutality here, that 'anything goes', serpentine style of plotting still prevails, to the films advantage. We find ourselves confounded that point A is so radically different from point B, and what's more, we enjoy the journey getting there as well. That unique narrative blueprint, combined with gorgeous British Columbia photography and a chilly, unsettling atmosphere makes for a thriller that smacks genre conventions right in the face, and aims wholeheartedly to entertain us.

begob Angelic nurse struggles to help in a white-trash town where children mysteriously disappear, but the devil's gonna get 'em anyway ...Difficult to describe this. It starts well - conventional, comprehensible - with good acting, direction, photography. The lead actress is scented honey, but then she doesn't react quite as you'd expect when the horror strikes - energy without passion, no screaminess.Weirdly this is followed by a full blown chase scene that feels like the end of the story at about 40 mins. Bizarre pacing. Then the improbabilities pile up, with lots of exposition and declaratory dialogue, and I spent most of my time frowning at the screen: "What the fewk?" I guess what's happened here is somebody mixed up politics with horror and forgot to decide whether it's Marxist or Capitalist or Elm Streetist. No idea whether it's the writer or director. If you step back it seems the theme is the brain drain from rural to urban, which might work well in contemporary China, but not Washington State. Horror is not the way to tell this story, made obvious by the conspiracy theory reveal.The music and sound are restrained.Overall, the highly professional ineptness saved me from boredom, so not an epic fail.

bowmanblue Tall Man has come in for a fait of criticism from people expecting one thing and getting another. If you've seen (Director) Pascal Laugier's previous film 'Martyrs' then you may be a little more prepared for a film that deliberately leads you in one direction, only to almost switch genres midway through and go off in a totally different direction.Tall Man is about a woman (Jessica Biel) whose child goes missing in a town where this sort of kidnapping is commonplace and put down to the legend of the 'Tall Man' - a shadowy figure who steals children. From there, she has to unravel the mystery behind the kidnappings.Most people (including me) expected a straight horror film. What it turns out to be is more than that. Perhaps 'thriller' would describe it better. Everyone turns in a solid performance and, if you're in the mood for something a little different, with a few twists and turns, then you could do worse than this.Just know that this isn't simply your average 'horror.'

Chuck Peregrin I can see why this title has such a bifurcation of bad reviews and good reviews. For one thing, if you're going by the description and you're looking for a straightforward film that meets your precise expectations for the evening, this not the film for you or anyone who likes surprises. This film takes you through multiple genres, but does it one at a time. First you think it is a horror film, and then you realize that it's a thriller, and then it gets intensely psychological, closes up with a social message, but then questions that very social message. The message at the end is sure to put off a lot of people, especially those who have children or believe in the sanctity of biological parents raising their own child regardless of the environment they raise them in. But though the film explains the motivation of Biel's character and the 'Tall Man' it also questions their motivations and casts their action in the light of doubt.The acting is intense, the twists are mind-boggling, and you'll finish the film with one of those uncomfortable feelings and questioning what you really believe in. For all of these reasons, this is a spectacular movie, which will NOT be everyone's cup of tea. But shallow sappy sympathy inducing tear jerker's like "The Fault in our Stars" or mindless action packed drivel like "Transformers 20: Something Something Darkness" have never been my style anyway, and controversial themes like this are much more to my taste.