jayperry92

(2012-04-26 22:40:07)

So frustratingly close.

It's sad to see a film with a fairly original concept executed sohorribly. so many good idea's wasted on a half baked buddy 'comedy'.David Anders performance as Bart was very well done, as was LouiseGriffiths as Janet. However Chris Wylde's performance as joey wasextremely weak, frustrating and unnecessary. I felt his character letdown the film the most. The effects were shockingly good in parts forthe budget and its fair to say the ending of the film was refreshinglypowerful. Overall though the film seemed fairly disconnected, thecomedy and the drama didn't flow very well and the film just kind ofLeft me thinking how good it could have been if different directionswere taken.

rob o'cop

(2012-04-26 03:05:54)

undiscovered gem

while we get bombarded with plenty of low budget junk it seems we canstill miss something with real genius in it. This is one of the missedones it seems. Well acted, well scripted, keeps the story moving, andgives us a new and interesting take on a tired genre. The specialeffects were also top notch and although you were aware this was amovie done on a tight low budget when the fx kicked in they went aboveand beyond the call. Top notch stuff. I also really liked the tone thelead actor got. A perfect balance and he delivered some really touchingmoments. So why didn't we get to see this movie in wider release.Studio politics? Who knows. Very worth the effort to track this onedown and tell your friends. This is the sort of indie film making weneed to encourage and support.

Poo Pong McPlop

(2012-04-22 21:53:49)

Worst acting and most unsurprising storyline ever

I bought this on DVD last week, enticed by the awards and quotes like"the legitimate Braindead successor" etc. on the box. In my opinion Ihave been tricked into buying a film not worthy of a single coin frommy wallet.I have seen B movies and found some that I really like, so I'm able tolook past a bit of bad acting, however when "The Revenant"'s girlfriendattempts to cry over losing him when she finds him out of the grave andin his mate's bedroom actually brought tears to my eyes. Tears of pain.The only piece of acting in this entire film is the nurse defending herfridge of blood. She must have felt lonely on set.After an hour of watching this, I tried to express what had happened sofar and couldn't make more than a single sentence out of it.I'll stop bashing it now and leave with my personal verdict: spareyourself, spend the 2 hours you might have been watching this filmclipping Grandpa's toenails or selling daisies for charity.

Paul Haakonsen

(2012-04-22 12:24:38)

Might have started out as a great idea...

It was with some interest that I sat down to watch this movie.Initially I had no prior knowledge about it and just accidentally cameacross it while browsing through suggested movies according to myrecent purchase history on Amazon. And "The Revenant" popped up, so Igave it a go.The movie sort of combines your typical zombie lore with vampire lore,making it a very strange, although interesting, combination. The maincharacter Bart dies in war and comes back as a decomposing vampiriccreature, who needs blood to stay "alive" and to keep himself fromrotting away. Initially he starts off robbing a blood bank, then moveson to the lowest scum of society, but events twists and thingsescalates from there.For me "The Revenant" was a fairly mediocre movie, as there was nothingoverly unique in the storyline. The effects were good and the make-upwere good, but that was hardly enough to raise the movie frommediocrity. I wasn't bored with the movie, nor was I overlyentertained; hence mediocrity.Combining the lore of two iconic movie monsters was perhaps a goodidea, but somehow I just think those two should be kept apart. Vampireswork well enough on their own, and so do zombies. Combining them wasunique, yes, but for me, it didn't really come off as a super greatplot idea.From about halfway through, the movie does pick itself up in pace andintensity. However, it never gets to raise itself above mediocrity forsome reason. Perhaps I am just too old fashioned and prefer zombiesbeing zombies.Having seen "The Revenant" now, I can check it off on my watch-list.However, I can say that this is not a movie that I will be making intoa second watching, it just didn't have that much value. "The Revenant"might be worth checking out for you if you are a fan of vampires and/orzombies, just be warned that neither is really represented in thetraditional way they are seen in movies, fiction, literature, etc.

dinky-4

(2012-04-18 05:09:03)

The best movie of the year

I saw this as a midnight horror-show at the Minneapolis-St. Paul FilmFestival on April 24, 2010. Knew nothing about the movie beyond thescant information contained in the festival program. Tired from a wholeday of movie-going, I considered skipping this one but decided I'dwatch the first 15 minutes or so. Then, unless my interest had beencaptured, I could walk out and head home for some much-anticipatedsleep.My interest was captured. After 15 minutes, I thought to myself, "Thisis pretty good." A bit later I thought, "This is really good." Andbefore long I was thinking, "This is great!" As a result, "TheRevenant" wound up ranking #1 on my 10-Best-List for 2010.(Okay, for the record, my other 10-Best choices were: #2 "The GhostWriter";" #3 "Toy Story 3"; #4 "The Happiest Girl in the World"; #5"The King's Speech"; #6 "Tears of April"; #7 "Music on Hold"; #8"Letters to Father Jacob"; #9 "Buried"; #10 "The North Face.") Warning: I saw "The Revenant" under ideal conditions. Walked in on it"cold." Had no expectations, no pre-conceptions. If you see "TheRevenant" after reading this review, you may be disappointed. It'lllack that element of surprise which made my experience of it somemorable.Don't know if "The Revenant" will ever get wide distribution. It's ahard movie to sell since it can't easily be labeled or described orcategorized. But one thing is clear. Writer-director D. Kerry Prior issomething of a cinematic genius.

the_bulb

(2012-04-17 17:28:52)

Best indie horror I've seen in years

Last night I watched The Revenant at the Toronto After Dark FilmFestival, and it was clear the film took everyone by surprise. Goinginto the screening armed only with what I saw in the trailer, I wasn'tlooking forward to much; I feel that I should make it clear to anyoneinterested in seeing this film - the trailer for The Revenantrepresents the film in only the most superficial way. Yes, it is abuddy movie; yes, one of the buddies is undead; and yes, there issarcastic dialogue and gun-play - but those just building blocks towhat is, as a whole, a fantastic and sincere film which doesn't letitself get stuck in a box. What impressed me most about The Revenantwas it never felt like it was trying to be cool. It was never trying toimitate, or appeal to a specific market. Granted, it does deal withsupernatural elements; even so I would strain to call it specifically ahorror film. The characters acted honestly and with a sense of realismthat is too often neglected in the genre as of late. I enjoyed watchingthem make decisions and think for themselves - these were realcharacters, and real friends. The director was introduced as a specialeffects artists, who has worked on such films as The Abyss, BubbaHo-Tep, and the Phantasm series - which is both impressive andunfortunate. Watching The Revenant, he's definitely not just a specialeffects artist taking a stab at directing; this is a film handled wasgreat confidence and ability, marking a start to what will hopefully bea prosperous career. It would be a great shame if The Revenant justwinds up playing the festival circuit and falling into obscurity.Someone needs to pick this thing up, it's gold.

zebular

(2012-04-17 08:41:55)

Best movie you may never see! Lets change that!

Alright just to let it be known I'm not a frequent poster on IMDb BUT Iabsolutely had to exclaim how good this film is. I would def say itsBoondock Saints with zombie like protagonists but its much more thanthat. Its got humor, gore, the ending is AMAZING and when a guy'sliving head is laying there trying to talk they have the mostimaginative way of being able to understand what he's trying to say (myfavorite part of the movie and you'll agree when you watch this!). Ifyou've been gnawing at the bit to see this movie I can tell you you canfind it on the net but for the love of god if you CAN buy it DO IT!Films like this really need your support! My rating for this movie is9/10 The only reason I knocked it down a point is because of one of theactress' acting or lack there of. Shes a friend of the main charactersand her acting skills are pretty horrific everyone else in the film arepretty convincing.WATCH IT, BUY IT, RECOMMEND IT, POST IT, LINK IT, LIVE IT, BREATHE ITAND FOR GOD SAKES AT LEAST GIVE IT A CHANCE!

LavaHound_76

(2012-04-16 21:51:57)

Loads of fun for the whole family!

Take Michael Mann's DV visual style from Collateral, sprinkle in someTarantino-esquire dialogue, gently borrow the premise from Deathdream.And voilГѓВ ! You've got The Revenant! Oddly enough, with all thesecomparisons one would believe the movie was a spoof of sorts, a giantrip-off machine perhaps. On the contrary, it stands very nicely on itsown with head held high.A horror action comedy zombie vampire buddy popcorn flick with a bit ofromance tossed in for kicks. Here comes the kitchen sink too, look out!No, it's not one of those films that 'doesn't know what it wants tobe.' It knows exactly what it is and boy does it ever deliver thegoods! First and foremost, it is FUNNY! Even amidst some serioussubject matter it manages to pull the humor out of the abyss. Darkcomedy at its finest, folks! Astounding special effects and camera workespecially considering it is an independent film. The acting is topnotch, no slacker actors collecting a pay check here.My only gripe: shorten a few scenes, make it more compact.