El asesino en nosotros

A small town is plagued by an outbreak of apparent suicides. As the death toll rises, in increasingly grisly fashion, it becomes clear that something other than simple self-annihilation could be going on.

FROM WITHIN is a supernatural tale of past sins and retribution. It plays like a really good X-FILES episode. The idea of a curse that acts like a contagion has been done before (in RINGU, THE RING, etc.), but it remains an intriguing concept.

While the characters are all serviceable, and casting Adam Goldberg against type as a volatile redneck is a nice touch, it's the overall creepiness that makes this fear fable work...

I was lucky enough to see this movie at its premier at the Tribeca Film Festival, and I must say that I truly enjoyed it. Normally, I am not a huge fan of the horror film genre, but this film proved that it was much more than a "put 10 people in a house, and kill them off one-by-one" flick. I found the story line interesting, the cinematography on-point, and the acting, especially that of Elizabeth Rice, excellent. Contrary to the previous person's review, I found the cast to be quite likable, and I also appreciated the occasional shots of humor, particularly those from the visiting female cousin. One final facet of the movie that I thought was compelling was the musical score -- very effective in contributing to the mood. IMHO, From Within is definitely worth seeing, and it should do very well when it is released for general viewing.

In Grovetown, there is a series of suicides after the suicide of an outcast teenager Sean (Shiloh Fernandez). His brother Aidan (Thomas Dekker) waits for the return of his cousin Sadie (Margo Harshman) to the family house for the funeral. When Dylan (Kelly Blatz), who is the fanatic Christian son of the reverend, beats up on Aidan, the undesirable youngster is helped by Dylan's girlfriend Lindsey (Elizabeth Rice) that drives him home. They talk about Dylan's mother Candace Spindle that had a grimoire to worship her pagan gods in a creek and was blamed by the god-fearing locals of murdering a man; then she died in a suspicious fire. Lindsey and Aidan befriend each other and sooner she finds that Sean has cursed the town with his own sacrifice unleashing an evil force that is leading the inhabitants to commit suicide. When Lindsey is chased by her evil image, Aidan decides to help her to stop the curse; but the price to be paid is high.

Last week I bought "From Within" on DVD without any reference, and I had low expectations with this movie. Fortunately I was wrong and I was surprised with this great horror movie. In this original story, the Christians are evil with their fanaticism, self-proclaiming "soldiers of the Lord" and capable of dreadful murders in the name of God. Further, the conclusion with no redemption is unusual in American movies that prefer commercial endings instead. The sweet and gorgeous Elizabeth Rice has an amazing performance and shows a perfect chemistry with Thomas Dekker. The unknown director Phedon Papamichael shows a promising debut, supported by a good screenplay and a cast with great potential. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

FROM WITHIN – TRASH IT ( D ) From within is one of those movies which makes you think, who wrote it and why? And who put money on it? Who agree to direct that Awful Script and then who agree to act in it? And most important question of all, why the Hell I watched it in 1st place! Well my reason was Thomas Dekker, I think he is decent and sensible actor but after tanking his show (Sarah Conner Chronicles), he doesn't have much choice except doing anything comes along. The biggest surprise is that the movie won awards at Solstice Film Festival for best movie, actor and actress. What a joke I think they didn't have some thing better then this to win! Anyways Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker and Kelly Blatz did fine jobs regardless of a dreadful script! Overall Dreadful Experience!

Alright, well I didn't really think this movie would fit into the "After Dark Horrorfest" genre, but apparently it did.

This movie was interesting, and yet it was sort of dull. Confused? Well I will try to lay it on the line. The interesting part was the who religious fanaticism going on through the movie, that they showed just how crazed some people can become and to what extends some people are willing to go. That is what I found interesting in the movie.

And the dull part? Well, basically the entire movie was just one long smear about nothing much in particular. There was very little happening throughout the movie. And what did happen wasn't scary at all, it was just a bit out there. And that was a major disappointment to this movie.

Now, I am not saying that this is a crappy movie, it does have its moments and there is a constant sense of dread laying just beneath the surface, but this dread never gets a real chance to shine through.

The movie is psychological, and that works very well in its favor, and the scenes that do draw on the supernatural, does work nicely as well. The whole part about being killed by yourself, and no one else but you can see what is going on, is kind of freaky, and that was the good part about the movie.

"From Within" took a sweet long time to tell very little, and that made the movie drag on forever and ever. There wasn't enough sparks and magic to make this movie all that interesting. Sure, the movie had potential and they were on to something with the story, plots and the twists in the movie, but it just didn't catch the bigger picture.

The cast in "From Within" was good, and I think they all portrayed their characters very well and in believable manners. So there is nothing to complain about here. The leading roles were portrayed well, and the supporting roles were the same.

The effects were good throughout the movie. They didn't revel in one grand CGI eye-fest after another, but rather made use of subtle effects and scary environments and small details. That is one of the cooler things in movie-making.

The ending was nice, although not a surprise ending. But it worked well enough.

I am rating this movie a 4, because of the story took forever to get you almost nowhere. But still, there were elements that managed to keep my interest throughout the movie. Now, if you are looking for a movie to scare the crap out of you, this is not the movie to pick. However, if you want a psychological movie with some underlying supernatural elements, this might be right up your alley. But be prepared for a very long storytelling...