The Wasting

The Wasting was a Canadian-British production that wasn't sure whether it wanted to be a drama or a horror film. The film focuses on Sophie (Lauren McQueen), an 18-year-old girl suffering from anorexia and seems to suffer from hallucinations, but she believes she's being haunted. There was a solid core for a film and Lauren McQueen did give a strong performance as her character degrades physically and mentally. But the rest of the film suffered from weak acting from the North American characters and the horror elements didn't become evident until the final third.

The description for this film was that it was about a girl fighting her parents strict rules and refusal to let her grow up by not eating. While doing this, a ghost appears and it could be real or brought about by her refusal to eat.

This was disappointing. It just barely held true to its description. I didn't think that the acting was horrible but it was lacking to be convincing. The story was sorta lame and if you paid attention, it wasn't hard to see where the film was heading. The description made out that the key to the plot was that she was refusing to eat but it wasn't really emphasised and it seemed that it was hardly even worth mentioning. There wasn't much of a "ghost" to speak of either.

I don't know. I watch a lot of horror/thrillers and I know it is easy to become jaded after having seen so many films get played out over and over again with only the people, places and situations changing. I have to say that this is one of those films that I feel was a waste of time. Maybe if you never watch horror this might be somewhat scary but for me, nope. It just didn't deliver.

Odd story line..keeps you guessing. I watched it for Alexz Johnson. And she KILLED it. Her acting chops have gotten so good. Love her character too. And a ton of her original music appears which is awesome.

I fell asleep - I really did. It was that bad...The actors looked bored too, Im not surprised by the terrible repetitive lines they had to deliver from an awful script

I caught this movie the week it opened and am I ever glad I did. I knew nothing about it, except that Alexz Johnson was in it. That was enough to get me to the theatre, and once I was there, I discovered a really cool little movie. Its part horror, part coming of age, and I really appreciated that combination. It gave it many layers, and every scene and every line had a purpose. The story follows a teenage girl, Sophie, whose fights with her father lead to her becoming anorexic (he is a cook and when she refuses his food its like she's scored a point against him). She begins to see a supernatural being, but her friends and family think she is hallucinating. I won't say more than that, except that the story of what is really going on will keep you glued to your seat to the very end. The side-story of how her friends can't face up to her anorexia is also extremely realistic and weaves in seamlessly to enhance the main plotline. It works on all its levels because the acting is consistently excellent from the whole cast, even though most of them are not well known. The four friends are perfect. Alexz Johnson plays her best role yet as a strong, kind of mouthy woman who doesn't take crap. English actress Lauren McQueen plays Sophie without histrionics, but with a subtlety that makes you love her and believe in her. I think she is going to be a huge movie star in the near future. Sean Stevenson as her boyfriend is so sincere, he makes you truly care about his character. The chemistry between him and Sophie reminded me of Twilight (though it's not a vampire movie). Brendan Flynn as his brother Kai is an incredibly interesting actor to watch. For someone who looks the way he does, he seems so vulnerable and likeable that even when he's doing terrible things, you understand why. That's part of what I love about this movie: the characters are not cardboard cutouts. They all have a good side and a bad side, just like real people, and these four actors show us both sides to perfection. I'll add that the movie has a beautiful look as well. The cinematography is epic with amazing scenery and interesting camera work. For a small indie movie, The Wasting overall looks and plays like a much bigger movie. And it definitely keeps you thinking for a long time after you leave the theatre.