The Manor
Reviews
DallasBob
The Manor was...a good try....sorta. There is really nothing more that can be said about it as far as merit goes. I say that because it has what is needed for it to be a thriller, **IF** that thriller's suspense rating were fixed at a 2 instead of being able to utilize the full range 10 scale available. The movie had all the right ques for suspense, it just didn't have that "edge of the seat" guesswork, that "grip your husband's bicep" fear factor, nor the..._je ne sais quoi_ needed to make this movie engaging. The writers did a good job of showing how the MC's age and the problems she expresses to her family with what she is observing at the home, could be easily explained away as her having difficulty in adjusting; and how easily it is for the faculty to explain away the MC's fears. Whether it by fault of the writers or Hershey, the pacing of her character was a little off in that she's perfectly lucid for most of the movie, but in a meaningful scene of trying to convince her grandson what is happening, she is suddenly seems dementia-stricken...? It was too extreme and too sudden to be cosistent with the character's behavior up to that point. There was no outside influences to explain the change, such as lack of sleep, drugs, or abuse. The viewer is left thinking, "What...!? What the hell is the matter with her?" Instead of, "Wow! They (the faculty) have really got her sounding crazy." The writers failed in that regard. The creature in the movie was well designed too, and its scenes were on a good par for adding suspense, there just did not seem to be...enough. Enough terror, enough suspicion, enough suspension, enough doubt, enough of..."It" needed to make this movie fit the genre. This movie is not _Angel Heart_. It's not _the Secret Window_. Hell, it's not even _the Number 23_. It's an...attempt. And under the current soft-serve snowflakey boundaries of political correctness, and social politics, it successfully was a waste of time; B-grade. If I had to tell a friend about this movie, I would say, "It looks new. And it has all the bells & whistles. You just can't hear any of them above a normal conversation...in a library." MAJOR SPOILER(S) AHEAD: Okay. What is Hollywood doing? I mean really. What is to be learned at the end of this movie? What moral is trying to be conveyed here? That desires mean more than doing what is right?? That people's lives mean nothing; as long as they are on their on their way out the door of life that it's okay to use them for cannon fodder? Because if that is the case, then the writers did a very poor job indeed of trying to make the MC seem like the victim or prey in this movie, only to see her turn around and selfishly choose evil. The writing gave no indication that she was prone or would be prone to this behavior. You don't go an entire movie without a motivator, one way or the other, to indicate there's a chance this or that will happen. All this movie did was send the message that women are can be relied on to do the wrong thing when the end result is self-serving? (Okay, well that may be true.) BUT I don't think that was the goal here. --Back to the lessons perceived -- What's the next "feel wrong", that boys become needy man-children when left in women's care? (Well, okay. That may be true too.) But again, these are not lessons that should be the ultimate take away. So again: What is Hollywood doing or attempting to do??? This is not the only movie that leaves the viewing audience feeling awkward or cheated. I experienced this same feeling profoundly back when I saw _Law Abiding Citizen (2009)_. I didn't come out of that movie feeling as if the "good guy" won. And there have been a number of shows, both in streaming and cinema that have left me thinking, "Why in the hell, did they even make this?!?" Why is the moral comapss (if there is one anymore) in Hollywood so screwed up??? Barbera Hershey has been in Hollywood before it's common drug usage and synonymous reputation to Sodom & Gamora became common knowledge to movie-goers. She has starred in some movies that have become "cult classics", movies that have never seen the light of a televised award show, but are **_very_** well known to the generation the movie was shown; sometime beyond. _The Entity_ is one such a movie. I saw that movie 3 decades after it was made, and loved it. Had me wondering how they achieved some of the special effects of that time. Sadly, this movie will not be like that. $5 bin at the Walmart. It is definitely a "One & Done." (see it one time, and forget about it.) Good luck in your viewing. -- Bob --
Movie Recommendation
Karen2021-09-03A racist woman makes it her personal mission to displace the new black family that has just moved in next door to her, but they won't back down without a fight.More...
Janara2015-02-11There is no descriptionMore...
Coffin Baby2013-03-15An attractive young woman is kidnapped, held captive and forced to endure the evils of one of the most violent homicidal maniacs in the city's history. "The Toolbox Killer" aka TBK. It is by her will, strength and her faith that she must survive, the ordeal. Her escape is almost hopeless. Unfortunately her situation only worsens when outside supernatural forces become more difficult to contend with than TBK.More...
Bordertown: The Mural Murders2021-10-27A mural painted with blood is found on the wall of Pasila train station, which depicts Finland's best-known serial killer Lasse Maasalo. The text in the mural, “Making the world a better place”, is linked to a voting circulating in social media, where people can vote for persons that world would be a better place without. Soon the first body is found and Sorjonen must find the person who has named himself as The Judge.More...
Dance of the Dead2008-10-14With Prom only hours away, the usual suspects of Cosa High (Cheerleaders, geeks, bad boys and the happy-go-lucky student council alike) are preoccupied with the annual rituals of teendom. On the night of the big dance when the dead unexpectedly rise to eat the living, polar opposite groups will be forced to unite in their final chance to save the town from the zombies.More...
Motherly2022-08-04Kate and her daughter Beth live alone in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, but when Kate slowly begins to suspect that something sinister is happening, her motherly instincts are put to the test.More...
Insensate2021-08-04A woman tries to help her twin sister, with whom she has a strong connection, recover from a trauma. But weird things surround their lives.More...
Black as Night2021-10-01A teenage girl with self-esteem issues finds confidence in the most unlikely way, by spending her summer battling vampires that prey on New Orleans' disenfranchised with the help of her best friend, the boy she's always pined for, and a peculiar rich girl.More...
Here Alone2016-09-16A woman struggles to survive on her own in the wake of a mysterious epidemic, which has decimated society and forced her deep into the unforgiving wild.More...
Fever Dream2021-10-06A woman named Amanda lies stricken, far from home. A young boy named David questions her, trying to make her remember. She's not his mother, he's not her son. As her time is running out, he helps her unravel a powerful, haunting story of obsessive jealousy, an invisible danger, and the power of a mother's love for her child.More...
The Block Island Sound2021-03-11Something lurks off the coast of Block Island, silently influencing the behavior of fisherman, Tom Lynch. After suffering a series of violent outbursts, he unknowingly puts his family in grave danger.More...
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown1987-06-11After the death of his girlfriend's daughter from a drug overdose, Paul Kersey takes on the local drug cartel.More...
The Seventh Day2021-03-26A renowned exorcist teams up with a rookie priest for his first day of training. As they plunge deeper into hell on earth, the lines between good and evil blur, and their own demons emerge.More...
Wildling2018-04-13A young woman held in captivity discovers the realities of truth and lies in the outside world.More...
Eye for an Eye2019-08-30Mario, an exemplary man, lives in a village on the Galician coast. In the old people’s home, where he works as a nurse, everyone appreciates him. When the best known narco in the area, Antonio Padín, recently released from prison, enters the residence, Mario tries to make Antonio feel at home. Now, Padín's two sons, Kike and Toño, are in charge of the family business. The failure of an operation will put Kike in jail and cause them to owe a large debt to a Colombian supplier. Toño will turn to the nurse to try to convince his father to assume the debt. But Mario has his own plans.More...
Horsemen2009-02-06A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.More...
Haunter2013-10-17A teenager is stuck in a time loop that is not quite the same each time. She must uncover the truth but her actions have consequences for herself and others.More...
Rakka2017-06-14A story of broken humanity following the invasion of a technologically superior alien species. Bleak, harrowing, and unrelenting, the humans must find enough courage to go on fighting.More...
Black Box2020-10-06After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.More...
The Trip2021-07-30A dysfunctional couple head to a remote lakeside cabin under the guise of reconnecting, but each has secret designs to kill the other. Before they can carry out their respective plans, unexpected visitors arrive and the couple is faced with a greater danger than anything they could have plotted.More...