Barricade

If I could describe this movie in one word it would be...plain. Its your run of the mill low budget thriller, and if you've watched 10 horror movies in your life, you've already seen everything this movie has to offer. Its full of "boo!" scares mixed in with someone standing outside the window one second, and gone the next double takes. Also if you can't stand the disruptive flow of stories where you watch a scene, then all the sudden the character is back on the couch and the last two minutes didn't really happen, you will not like this, because it does that a lot. But it is better that you'd expect for a WWE direct to video movie so watch it only if you come across a free copy and have some time to kill. Lastly, as for all the "confused" reviews- this movie does leave you with a lot of questions, but there is one scene where it zooms in on something for a pause, and that will answer most of the questions. You will know it when you see it.

Nothing too great about this movie but it uses its low budget creatively and besides is a well made and good looking movie.

It's absolutely, most definitely, a far more professional looking movie than the average low budget genre attempt. The directing, the editing, the cinematography, it's simply all good, making this a perfectly watchable genre flick.

The movie does a good job at handling its mystery and tension. It's being a real effective movie in that regard and the movie constantly keeps throwing you off. Is it being a horror flick, is it all taking place inside the head of main character? The movie implies lots of different things throughout, making you feel unsure what is exactly going on with the story. It really keeps things interesting and helps to keep things going, even when there really isn't an awful lot happening.

This movie often just implies things, without ever truly showing you anything. This is what being creative with a low budget is all about, as opposed for instance other genre movies with a low budget, that show far too much or try to do too much with its restrained budget, with as a result things just look plain bad and work out more often ridicules or laughable. I really do believe that is the main reason why the movie in fact works out.

You could complain that the movie is too dark looking, which is true but again, I also see this in this case as using its low budget creatively. It besides does help to establish a certain type of atmosphere for the movie, which is the right type of atmosphere required for an horror.

It's also certainly true that the movie does sort of fall apart toward it's end but really, it's not any worse than often is being the case with any other random genre attempt. Let me just say that it didn't ruined the experience for me, which perhaps was also because I could see the end coming from miles away, as should any other horror lover. So it's not surprising but still the movie does a good job at handling things and simply does what it does well enough.

Nothing too brilliant obviously but the movie as it is remains a perfectly watchable one.

6/10

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What actually was the movie about? My wife and I sat hear watching Barricade for around 1hr & 15 minutes and have no idea what it was about. The father character "Eric McCormack" missed so many opportunity's to rescue the kids. I know it was wrote in the script that way, but why? Maybe if we had any idea what is was about, we my have understood why. But probably not. Whoever had there hands in making this movie, were probably in a daze the whole time while writing and making it. Don't know how it's getting a 6.8 rating. I think I was more than generous giving it a 3.0 rating. I believe with a little bit of thought it could have been a really good movie. Almost all the time I had no idea if we were in real time or fantasy time. I will go read the synopsis and see if I can make a little sense out of it.

Admittedly I created this account because watching this left me so confused I'm hoping for answers, this is my first review so please be gentle...

I didn't get into Will & Grace but enjoyed Perception and this seems like one of Dr Pierce's psychotic breaks but without the insight or resolution. I get the premise; recently widowed husband takes kids on the Christmas winter break they both remember from times past and never got to enjoy, but the variables are too many to make it coherent. At a certain point, the story reaches a crossroads and seemingly takes all directions simultaneously. Maybe he's mentally unstable and missing his medication, maybe the house in the middle of nowhere is haunted, maybe he's psychotic and wants to reunite the family. All are reasonable plot lines for a thriller/horror but a story needs to be more than just a beginning. Perhaps I've missed the point, Technically I thought the young actors were good and gave effective, understated performances that did them credit, Eric was (I think) good but I'd give a more informed opinion if I knew what the hell he was talking about. Cinematography was far too dark, far too early and the establishing shots left me as lost as the plot. If anyone can shed some light I'd be appreciative...

"Barricade" is a well produced, atmospheric chiller with excellent acting, human characters, good cinematography, some creepy Kubrickian moments, a great location and an engaging premise. The only thing I didn't like was the plot reveal which felt like a major letdown after all the above.

But who knows, you might like it. Or at least, you might have a good time waiting to see if it's really as bad as everyone says. Note: that's the last I'll say about the ending because I don't want to ruin it (unlike the current top 2 reviews which spoil it in the first sentence. Seriously? How is spoiling a movie helpful?).

This is the first time I've seen Eric McCormick who plays the father, and I thought he was fantastic. He bears a striking resemblance, as well as a similar likable quality, to Sam Rockwell, and in fact I kept thinking maybe it was his twin brother or something. If you like Sam Rockwell flicks (like "Moon") you'll enjoy McCormick's delivery. He plays a good lead here: a father of 2 young kids forced to protect them from creepy happenings in a remote corner of the world. Despite losing his grip of reality as events unfold, he remains more or less smart and resourceful.

The two kids were excellent as well, and their fear added to the mood without being melodramatic as young actors sometimes are (I'm thinking mainly of my own attempts at making "horror movies" when I was 12, you don't want to know).

The atmosphere is very chilly, figuratively as well as literally. Filmed over the course of 4 days in the snowy wilderness near Vancouver, the filmmakers did an excellent job of conveying a claustrophobic feeling of terror despite being in the wide open north.

Really, this is a very well made movie except for the actual story driving it. Oh, there's one other thing I didn't care for: all the false scares in the first half hour. Some were effective, and I actually jumped once, but after being tricked a few too many times I started disconnecting from the action.

"Barricade" is one of those creepy films where you don't know what the threat is until the end, and this puts it in line with some excellent films like "The Others", "The Changeling", "Moscow Zero", or the mack daddy of twist endings, "The Sixth Sense". But in this case the story didn't have a corkscrew twist so much as it had a itty bitty bend.