'The Tall Man'
(Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, Stephen McHattie, William B. Davis, Samantha Ferris, et al / DVD / R / 2012 / Image Entertainment)
Overview: In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace – abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as "The Tall Man."
DVD Verdict: Well, sadly, I have not been as excited to watch a movie and so let down come the end in a long, long time! In truth, it starts off great, has a really nice who-is-the-bad guy question attached to its murky, cold cinemtaic breath. But two thirds of the way through (and after a seemingly brilliant twist!), it suddenly veers into unknown, questionable territory.
Allow me to explain without giving the (end) game away - which, in truth would be wildly imaginative of me to be able to as I have no idea what the f**k happened come the end anyway!
Children are missing from a small town called Cold Rock. Once a thriving mining town, when it shut down they started vanishing, one by one. As the film opens it tells us that 800,000 children are reported missing per year in the USA, that most a found, but a 1,000 are never seen again.
After a scene where Julia (Biel) is badly beaten and getting medical attention, we flashback to 36 hours prior. What unfolds then for the next 50 minutes is your better-than-average whodunnit, but when her son is kidnapped by the "Tall Man," suddenly the whole town is sent out on a murderous man hunt - but not for him, for her!
You see, and again, not to (try) and give it away, this is where we have to try and figure out the plot for ourselves! I'm not kidding here either for it's as if the director quit one hour in (don't blame him!) and said film whatever you want, add it to the end of the movie, and put it in the stores! I can guess as to what it was all meant to mean, but some pieces just don't fit. Like, well, if Julia knew the "Tall Man' and what he was up to, why did she chase after his truck, allow herself to get bitten by his dog, and throw herself about in the woods?! This is a Widescreen Presentation 1.85:1 enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Deleted Scene (and a bloody looong one, at that!)
Trailer
Visual Concepts
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