Good idea lost in the noise

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This film takes a remarkable risk for a movie these days by avoiding cgi and using an impressionist approach to lighting its Gothic story.The moody, enigmatic atmosphere of this film is very unconventional for an American movie and the action and gore horror crowd may have trouble appreciating it. The intense Gothic atmosphere from the lighting, camera shots, and general cinematography is not something I have seen often in American films. It has a lot more in common with European films. The films of Werner Herzog came to my mind. The film evoked memories of the emphasis on enigmatic and creepy mood in the movies Nosferatu and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. The pacing and buildup also reminded me of the classic David Bowie vampire tale The Hunger. The unresolved questions and the unsolved mysteries are also very European. The film remains mysterious to the end and the final scenes daze and confuse more than they solve. What is real? What is dream, hallucination, haunting? Who are Eckhart van Wakefield and Burn in Hell Man? The inclusion of symbolic elements like the arid desert that needs to be crossed to get from the house to the outside world contributes to this also. I found the cinematography to be simply beautiful. I loved the shots with darkened characters silhouetted by the light shining through windows. The extensive use natural lighting combined with filters reminded me of the films of David Hamilton. The scene with the main character Dr. John Weiland going through the house with the candelabra as the only light is excellent and spooky. The play of the three main actresses is bang on: Juliet Landau, whom I saw in Ed Wood, Dale Dickey, whom I remember from True Blood, Veronica Cartright, whom I've seen in a lot of movies and in the TV show Daniel Boone in the early seventies when I was a kid! In fact, Dale Dickey is positively eerie at times! Aric Cushing has a very challenging role to deal with. A professional doctor and father who lost what is most precious to him in horrifying circumstances and has withdrawn into a sullen mood, deeply challenged to cope with what is happening around him and remain in control of himself. Not an easy thing to pull off. To his credit, he carries it off very well. Even though he has a small role, it was also fun to see Michael Moriarty at play in this film. The period reconstitution is convincing: costumes, make up, decors and scenery. Very good job for such a low budget. It also helps that the site and house they chose to film the movie is magnificent. The only minor issue I had with the film was with the music and the sound mixing. Don't get me wrong, the music is very good and contributes greatly to the mood of the movie. The problem was with the intensity of the crescendos which was distracting at times, the music feeling occasionally too loud with respect to the mood set by the visuals, or the crescendo seeming unnecessarily dramatic. The scene where Dale Dickey is wiping dust from a shelf and shakes the rag is the one that stuck most to my mind. I think the music being more subdued would have worked better. The voice mixing seemed a little off also in some of the talking head scenes where it gave a TV teleplay feel. But this is minor stuff. Highly recommended to those who like films that are all about atmosphere and mood.

While not loving the short story, it certainly made an impression on me when I read it. I was anxiously awaiting that story in movie form. Boy was I disappointed. Plot line was incredibly stupid and had nothing to do with the short story. Vampires? Really? Ridiculous! The story had enough to deal with on its own and would have been a far better choice (and use of the million plus budget) than this uneven, lackluster and unbelievable plot. Previous reviewers have pointed out the differences between the original story and this one already. And yes, I get that the movie is based on an amalgam of the authors' other stories. It just didn't work. And why not call it something other than "The Yellow Wallpaper" since it had little to do with it? Bad form!

I like the film because it builds, not just the scenes,but the acting as well. the main characters have an intense lose in the beginning of the film, then they try to recover throughout the story afterwards. The acting is carried out in this regard from beginning to end and all the performances are well done. The lead man is very good, changing from deadpan-zombie in the beginning, to a decisive individual at the end. His lack of emotion in the beginning is accurate, and the females that are around him behave according to this. Very well done. Instead of just starting in the beginning on high notes, which is what most of television consists of (and lives and breathes by ..constant high pitched emotion with no build up.) A really well directed film with a moving soundtrack that is really built for film lovers. But not much for general viewers. One of those great, surprising films that makes one wonder how the film was ever made in the first place, or how was the financing ever secured. Not a popcorn film, but a great art film. Watch it for something different.

I had no expectations when I saw this film and this is one of those instances where I was thrilled to have found such a gem in something I had never even heard of. The film is quiet, slow and very dark. From the first moment the stage is set by the incredible score that only gets better throughout the movie. There is a dream-like quality that makes you wonder at times if what you're watching is what is actually going on. The lines are delivered deliberately and the actors do a fantastic job of adding to the confusion. Almost as though they are players in a play but they aren't aware they are in. There are some very recognizable actors in this movie but they play parts that are far from their "usual" roles which I found very entertaining. This is the type of movie that leaves you with "images" for weeks after you see it and I cannot say enough about the fabulous score. I plan on watching this several times in the coming weeks. What a find!