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Sam Was Here

  • 2016
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Sam Was Here (2016)
HorrorMysteryThriller

A door-to-door salesman questions his sanity when stranded in a deserted town and threatened by residents who mistake him for a killer.A door-to-door salesman questions his sanity when stranded in a deserted town and threatened by residents who mistake him for a killer.A door-to-door salesman questions his sanity when stranded in a deserted town and threatened by residents who mistake him for a killer.

  • Director
    • Christophe Deroo
  • Writers
    • Christophe Deroo
    • Clement Tuffreau
  • Stars
    • Rusty Joiner
    • Sigrid La Chapelle
    • Rhoda Pell
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.8/10
    2.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Christophe Deroo
    • Writers
      • Christophe Deroo
      • Clement Tuffreau
    • Stars
      • Rusty Joiner
      • Sigrid La Chapelle
      • Rhoda Pell
    • 62User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

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    + 5
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    Top cast4

    Edit
    Rusty Joiner
    Rusty Joiner
    • Sam
    Sigrid La Chapelle
    • Eddy
    Rhoda Pell
    Rhoda Pell
    • Rebecca Saxton
    Hassan Galedary
    • Thomas Payne
    • Director
      • Christophe Deroo
    • Writers
      • Christophe Deroo
      • Clement Tuffreau
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews62

    4.82.6K
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    Featured reviews

    heratyplant

    Is it good or bad not to know what happened?

    Totally agree with Justind-5's review, loved the vibe & look of the movie, Rusty Joiner's pretty easy on the eye too, the red glow was an interesting idea, but then what happened???

    I get that some unanswered questions can be enigmatic, but this just made me mad :-) Is it OK for the filmmaker to lead you down a path, then smack you into a wall, I'm not sure it is? You could make it your trademark, but eventually people want answers and ultimately anyone can throw a load of concepts together that don't make sense, so why come back to watch anymore - Director - be warned!
    Retsenzent

    Sam Was Here... unfortunately, me too!

    Actually, I was going to see another movie, but the audio of it failed. Trying not to waste that couple of hours on something else, I ran to Netflix to find another movie.

    I kinda read what it was about and decided to give "Sam Was Here" a chance (I like movies that include deserts and lone protagonists). I shouldn't have done it.

    The movie is like a bad (and doubly extended) episode of "Twilight Zone": apparently, a mysterious red light in the sky turns all California hicks into masked killers, and Sam had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, nevertheless, the whole film is a total nonsense and no explanation is given.

    Tip: if you saw this movie, don't ask yourself about the meaning of it (you won't find it), just forget it and keep going. If you didn't see it, don't ever do it.
    8manuelasaez

    This movie had everything going for it....and then it just fell flat on its face

    This movie was such a perplexing audio/visual experience. You have a great premise, some great talent attached to it, a really creepy sense of atmosphere, and an AMAZING synth soundtrack. You got some horror, some thriller elements, some gore and violence, and some really disturbing visuals. I mean, this film had it all. And just when you think the downfall of quality was going to come to a head, it dribbles to a light drizzle and then it's over. Seriously, one of the most ambiguous and open-ended films I have ever seen, I still don't truly understand what it is I watched. Who was Sam? Why are they after him? What did he do that made people hate him so much? You would think that at 90 minutes, you would have an answer. All we get is an infinite amount of questions that I am not sure I even want to ask.

    The acting was great, the atmosphere was excellent, and the soundtrack was euphoric. But it was like making a cake that just tastes off in the end. You think you have the recipe on lock, you use the freshest ingredients, and your timing is impeccable. But the end result leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That describes this movie to a T. Watch it for the acting and the cinematography, and enjoy the wonderful soundtrack. But this movie just didn't make any sense. How unfortunate.
    7berg-74532

    Good movie, ridiculous low ratings.

    This movie is different it's not in a straight line and during the film the one thing that will go through your mind is, what's going on. To me that's an enormous plus but for some it's a negative but most of those same people will also complain when a movie uses a normal story progression as predictable. People complain just to complain and professional critic or a monkey just hitting keys could say it's good or bad for reasons that even they aren't sure of. You want a straightforward story this isn't the movie for you you like something different this will be. Life changing experience hardly but you won't feel like you want the time you spent watching this back.
    4mizuruau

    The director just wants to torture the audience by not giving any explanation, don't fall for that like I did.

    LOL.. I'm not good at writing reviews but think I do feel like writing something for this. There were a few other reviews before mine and I agreed with most of them that this film did start out interesting. cinematography is done quite nicely and the mystery with all these questions in your mind as you are watching keep you watch till the end. Then you simply hit the wall, I mean, they make you hit the wall real hard.. lol.. I just have to laugh a few more times to feel less stupid about myself. There really are no spoilers if you ask me because there is nothing to reveal in the end. I mean.. it's just like that.. "well that's it?" you keep asking yourself this question for 5 minutes. You sit there staring at the end credits and you mind is blank. I watched a lot of movies which had mysterious endings but it's fine because it still gave me some kind of hints to imagine the rest with my little mind. But this? I don't know if the director thinks he's being clever while I think this is just plain lazy to make a ZERO ending like this. Sorry I told you in the beginning I wasn't good at writing reviews... **flies away laughing**

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    Related interests

    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The director himself told that the ending was not so important to be understood, but only the atmosphere, like a painting.
    • Goofs
      After Sam drives with his car over the spikes on the road, it's clearly seen that the rear tires are intact.

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    FAQ13

    • How long is Sam Was Here?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 2017 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Сэм был здесь
    • Filming locations
      • El Mirage, California, USA(Road scenes)
    • Production companies
      • KuroKitsu
      • Vixens
      • Firm Studio
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 15m(75 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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