Mary

It's actually not so much the ability of the actors to act (I don't think anybody will see Gary Oldman and doubt he can act), but it is the script and the horror movie cliches/tropes that will likely get you quite upset. To say the least. And you also have other people in here (Emily Mortimer), who are way above anything in depth, that the movie can offer them.

Having said all that and all the things that are predictable, the movie can still be enjoyable to a certain degree/level. You have to be a fan and not mind the flaws that are littered throughout the running time.

What on earth is Gary Oldman doing in this very low budget and formulaic ghost story? Apart from a few cheap jump scares this is very slow and boring. It has been done better loads of times before and has very little originality.

Mary is one of those films that sets sail but has no real sense of direction. Its biggest short coming in my opinion is the premise is sound but the setting is wrong.

A modestly sized family yacht, simply doesn't provide enough physical space and as a consequence scope, to meet the expectations, this horror aspires to. Its as if, for example, Friday the 13th, was set in a phone booth. its far too constrained and has to fall back on drawn out physiological tension, in a vain attempt, to compensate.

The result is a slow, predictable and ultimately, rather anti climatic film, that takes the viewer nowhere interesting. That's in spite of a strong cast, quality acting and decent cinematography.

Marginally watchable but that said, there are far better horror films with a nautical bent on offer, like 80's classic, The Fog. 5/10 from me.

Trapped on the open sea in a haunted boat is an oft-seen horror movie scenario, but rarely has it been used with as little imagination as in Mary. In telling his nautical tale of terror, director Michael Goi employs so many hackneyed techniques that even the talents of Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer cannot prevent the film from being a colossal waste of time.

Introducing his film at Frightfest, Goi claimed to have over 18,000 films in his collection, so one wonders why he directs like he's only ever seen a handful, and bad ones at that. One might think that with such a wealth of inspiration, he could have come up with something a little more creative... something that didn't rely so heavily on obvious supernatural jump scares accompanied by obligatory loud noises. The scenes intended to have me throwing my popcorn in the air in fright actually had me holding my head in dismay: this is about as basic as horror movies get.

3/10. I imagine that It'll be a case of abandon ship for many who dare to sail these treacherous waters.

Mary is an unscary in-your-face horror that tries to be intelligent. It features the talent of Gary Oldman, and strong performances by Emily Mortimer, but even their dedication could not save this movie from sinking. There is a weak climax, and the lack of subtlety makes the story dull. It could have been more subtle by making it seem like one person is losing his or her mind, or focusing on how the characters descend to madness and culminate in a horrific climax. However, the story is weak and even the shots are done poorly. It fails to create claustrophobia or dread. The movie does deliver decent jump scares but its over reliance on this technique shows that it is not a scary story at all. If you are expecting a tense psychological horror on par with The Shallows, you will be sorely disappointed. If you are expecting a haunted house on water, it still fails. Don't waste time if you want to see it for itself. But if you want to see people screaming at the jump scares, you would probably enjoy it.