User reviews

Writer/director Philip Ridley presents a suspenseful and equally strange story that holds your interest from the beginning. Brendan Fraser fans will see a piece of his best work. Ashley Judd fans will be very satisfied with all they get to see.

This is an odd and sometimes slow story that really sizzles and catches fire. Fraser plays Darkly Noon, who finds himself separated from a strong religious family and is wandering in the woods. He is befriended by Judd, who plays the part of Callie, a very seductive soul who lives in the woods with her mute boyfriend.

Fraser's character soon begins lusting for Judd (and who wouldn't?) and has to battle with his religious upbringing and his impure thoughts. His self contained emotions makes him a very volatile person, as he feels God wants him to eradicate the new found evil.

Figure into the mix; the mute's deranged mother; an evangelic undertaker; and a wandering circus family. This is a very entertaining movie to say the least. And Miss Judd mesmerizes.

This extremely unusual film is definitely worth a look, but this is most certainly not for all tastes. The pace is sometimes quite slow, at other times it is edited faster than a music video, and all the while I was sitting there wondering what weird person thought this up. A number of memorable scenes, and a particularly good ending make this a worthwhile selection if you're willing to watch something that is very much off the beaten path.

A Blonde Firecracker of a Sex-Pot, Ashley Judd at Her Most Sensual, finds She now has a House-Guest, the Confused and Neurotic Brenden Frasier.

She Welcomes Him with Open Arms, So to Speak, with Stand-Offish Rhetoric about an Absentee Boy-Friend that is Expected Back at any time.

The Fundamentalist Frasier, all Stuttering and Damaged by Religious Dogma of Parental Persuasion, Holds Back His Urges.

Vito Mortensen is the Estranged Boy-Friend who Shows Up from a "Walk in the Woods" and the Beauty that is Ashley is Oh So Excited and Their Lovemaking is such that Frasier can Take a Peep.

All of this Tennessee Williams Throwback is Set Against some Stunning, Surreal Off-Beat Images that Captivate.

It's a Wild Artsy Ride Full of Heat and Tension.

Most of it is Predictable but Fun Watching.

A Remarkable Low-Budget Indie from the Director of "The Reflecting Skin" (1990), Phillip Ridley, who Demonstrates an Eye for the Sensational Bizarre.

The Story is Reminiscent of a Fairy-Tale with a Tragic Ending.

That Literary Ignites the Screen as Brendan Frasier, Achieving His Climax, as Darkly, Embraces His Namesake and Consummates His Passion.