Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Manthast Absolutely amazing

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

ryandannar "House of Voices," the first feature film by Pascal Laugier, contains many of the elements that made his 2008 cult-classic "Martyrs" so great. Both films start off in a predictable, genre-specific way -- then gradually reveal darker, stranger, subterranean layers that defy our expectations. Of the two films, "House" is lighter fare, while "Martyrs" is far bloodier and much, much more disturbing."House of Voices," begins as a slow-build Gothic ghost-story, in the vein of 2007's "The Orphanage" or 2001's "The Others." "House" works quite well on this level, featuring engaging female performances, a slowly-unravelling mystery, some handsome cinematography, a lush dramatic score, and some moments of genuine dread. But then, in its final act, the film takes a sharp and surprising turn toward the surreal. I could describe what happens in these scenes, but what really makes them work is the way they're filmed -- the simple strange visual power of these moments. Suffice to say, while you might have a general idea where the plot of this movie is headed, you will probably not foresee exactly how it arrives there.The final scenes of this movie plumb some nightmarish depths, departing stylistically from the subtle Gothic-horror which came before, and entering far stranger territory. Don't worry; it all adds up. This isn't one of those horror films which leads you on, only to end with such strangeness that you have no hope of understanding what the movie was about. No, everything here makes sense in terms of the film's plot. It's just that the film's sudden stylistic change is jarring and surreal, evoking the kinds of unexpected shifts we might experience in our deepest nightmares.For me, this movie worked quite well. I see some others here have given it bad reviews. I gather that's because they don't know how to tell a thoughtful, well-made film from worthless pap like the "Saw" franchise. This certainly isn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it's a very fine, thoughtful, moderately scary film with a bizarre final act that might haunt you afterward.If you like this film, and you have a strong stomach, I'd certainly recommend Laugier's "Martyrs." It plays the same stylistic tricks as this film, but much more intensely, and to greater effect. Word of warning, though: It is a far more disturbing film than "House of Voices."

kluseba Saint Ange is a slow paced and atmospheric French horror movie that has got quite a lot of negative critics. Even though the critics are not completely wrong and have some valuable facts, I think that the movie was at least acceptable if not somewhat intriguing which is justified by my rather positive rating.On the negative side you have the fact that there is not much horror in this movie. The opening sequence is great and the weird ending sequences are well done and one or two times you have a somewhat supernatural phenomenon that may surprise you. The rest of the movie focuses on the characters and the locations and even though this is necessary for the story, it gets a little bit boring from time to time. This movie would have needed more thrills and tensions.On the good side you have the solid acting of the three women that stay at the Saint Ange orphanage. The development of these characters is very important to understand the highlight of the movie which is the ending. I'm sure that many critics didn't like this movie because they thought that the ending was strange or surreal but these people didn't get the real sense of the movie as there is much more behind it than it seems but I don't want to reveal too much and suggest you to watch the movie and make up your own mind. In fact, the director said that the movie is rather open to interpretation and can be understood in many different ways. I think this is a strong point of the movie.This is the main reason why I suggest the readers of my contribution to ignore both very negative and very positive critics of this movie. They should not be influenced or have any expectations and watch this movie until the very end and do the effort to think about what they have just seen. It's not so twisted and complicated as it seems, Asian horror cinema for example is way more difficult to approach but also way better in my opinion. Those who expect a thrilling horror movie may be disappointed but those who like slow paced psychological crime or drama movies might actually like this.

Christian Kessler For the life of me, I cannot understand the fierce and almost resentful nature of many of the opinions given here. I was fully prepared to see another one of those over-blown affairs that put style over substance and usually bore me to bits after 15 minutes or so of their „Amélie"-type smugness and undeserved self-confidence. In fact. SAINT ANGE is a very careful, very sensitive story of a young woman who struggles with her feelings about her impending motherhood. The ending made perfect sense to me, whether read as a ghost story of sorts or a paranoid fantasy. The actresses are uniformly excellent, particularly Virginie Ledoyen and Lou Doillon, as is Catriona MacColl, who you might still remember from those colorful Fulci extravaganzas from the early eighties. The splendid photography makes good use of the grey and cold blue colours of the orphanage, which is embedded in green and brown tones – Mother Nature. The fantasy ending also introduces a clinical white for good measure. In view of the many cinematic exercises of today that talk their subtexts to death, SAINT ANGE uses a formal elegance that is breath-taking. Actually, I didn't find one single frame that was superfluous. In a way, the film also shares several themes with Laugier's well-received and harrowing MARTYRS, as it is basically another – albeit more tender – tale of a bruised young woman under dire circumstances. The ending of MARTYRS can also be read as a paranoid fantasy, with traces of hope hidden in a complex framework of depressing human depravity. No, I liked SAINT ANGE a lot. And, by the way, Joe Lo Duca – who started with Sam Raimi's THE EVIL DEAD – delivered a haunting and memorable music score. An excellent movie.

boyd1955 I thought Martyrs was a hugely over-hyped nonevent ... Just what people say it isn't ... But it is just torture porn ... This however is a magical, visually stunning piece of cinema ... Just because it doesn't have an obvious linear narrative and make everything obvious for the slower among us it seems to have been ripped to pieces by the critics out there I have to admit one image nearly ruined it for me and I wish those contact lenses weren't there and she had worn a dress in that scene and played it down rather than iconically ... That would have made it an 8 out of ten rather than a 7.5 ... But I really loved it Hopefully the director will develop this side of his imagination rather than feeling the need to throw loads of boring bloody torture porn at us, like he was obviously forced into with Martyrs... Thats just the latest little gore movie for the youngsters to sit through and think they are big ... This film is for those that demand a bit more in a film