The Passing (2011) User Reviews

Don't look in the mirror... you might see this movie there

[JamesMitchell451 · 3/10 · 13 August 2013]

The three Naibert children, in their teens and early twenties, inherit a vast estate from their grandmother Rebecca. But unknown to them, the family inheritance has passed from grandmother to granddaughter for centuries-and Rebecca has a long reach from the grave to assure that the line is unbroken. The first weekend in the mansion is a party for the three Naiberts and their friends-but one by one, they vanish without a trace. Is death the punishment for violating Rebecca's spell? Are the demons that beset the young people real-or only reflections of their own fear? Is it murder, violence from another dimension, or madness? The answer lives in the reflections. (Written by ray)

Despite its unique tone and creepy visuals, The Passing is about as un- scary as a movie can be, and is often funny when it isn't trying to be. It sure doesn't help when the script is THIS bad and the actors clearly don't know how to act. And plus the revelation of what is going on is insulting to human intellect.

No continuity

[SanteeFats · 2/10 · 13 January 2013]

I watched this movie until the very end hoping it would make sense or at least answer questions that arose. No such luck. Almost nothing in this movie makes senses, there is to continuity in the plot. The killings of the women is without rhyme or reason since they are not blood related to the granddaughter. What the hell is with Billy? He isn't a baddie just a genetic anomaly that appears to have been added in for a confusion factor. The character Charles is shot by who the frick, then answer at the end of the movie to the granddaughter, at least in her own ming as the next scene has her in a nut house on drugs. The only redeeming aspect to this movie were the eye candy.

Low budget and it feels it.

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 2/10 · 3 April 2022]

So, after the passing of the matriarch if a family, there is an inheritance that us only passed down the females in the family. And it's supernatural. That being said, this film is heavily cliched with not much acting present (although some do better than others). By the book plotting is only hampered by the bad special effects. Boring. Avoid it.

The horror disappeared somewhere along the line...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 26 August 2012]

I have to start out by saying for the horror movie, you have to look long and far to find the horror. There was nothing scary about this movie at all. Sure it had some great moments and built up a good atmosphere, but it never unfolded into something truly scary.

The story is about three Naibert youngsters who inherit an old estate from their recently deceased grandmother. Instructed, as per her will and testament, the three heirs must spend a weekend at the estate without adult supervision. But they invite some friends over to spend the weekend. But there is a terrible secret to the estate, and everything is not well at the estate.

As for the story, well it was actually entertaining enough, but again, it failed to really spook or scare. There were some great moments here and there, and the effects were actually quite good. There is even a small amount of blood and gore in the movie, just to make it more interesting. The mirror effects were quite good.

Personally I think that the director just brushed too lightly over Billy Naibert (played by Layton Matthews). Who was Billy really? And what drove him? We weren't given much information about him, where he came from, why he was there, or even what was really wrong with him. Too bad that the director didn't bother to take the effort to make Billy a bigger part of the story. It was as if he was just some filler to add something to make the story a bit more bizarre.

To star in his movie, they had Crystal Day (playing Elizabeth Naibert), Sam Upton (playing Ray Naibert) and Brian Gleason (playing Jack Naibert), and they all did good jobs with their roles. However, it was Lilyan Chauvin (playing Rebecca Naibert, the grandmother) who carried the movie with her somewhat disturbing visage and her portrayal of the malignant entity.

The movie was nicely shot, and there was a lot of nice details to the house, to keep up a dark, brooding atmosphere. So that really worked well in favor of the movie. "The Passing" is not a visual horror movie that assaults your senses and shocks you, it is more of a subliminal and psychological horror movie.

If you are looking for a great horror movie to spook you and keep you on the edge of the seat, then "The Passing" is hardly the right choice. However, if you like horror movies that have a really great atmosphere, then "The Passing" might just be something for you.

Utter Dross

[ashfan-162-502118 · 16 September 2011]

Meaningless drivel that makes a mockery of the horror genre. It says a lot about this film that veteran actor Paul Gleason died in 2006, yet this apology for a movie was not released until 2011.

I am tempted to say that this movie was one of the worst I have ever seen, but that would give it kudos it does not deserve. There is little that is good about this movie, except perhaps that it is less than ninety minutes long. Unfortunately that is about eighty-nine minutes too long. In fairness the thumping rock soundtrack is reasonably good but the acting, script and direction are all woeful.

If you are tempted to watch this movie, resist it at all costs. Do something more rewarding, like sticking needles in your eyes or pulling out your finger nails - both are far more enjoyable than sitting through this unmitigated trash.

A true psychological horror movie

[john-2954 · 9/10 · 26 December 2005]

I saw this film at Raleigh Studios for the film festival "Screamfest" which it won for best editing. The film has an interesting story that kept me wanting to see what happened next. The horror scenes were not over done but quite graphic. There were a few popcorn scares that were well executed and made me jump. The film also had some comic relief with the detective character played by Paul Gleason, he was great. The performances were all good, especially the one played by the lawyer. The female characters were all hot. My favorite couple was Josh and Cindy who had some smokin' scenes as well as the best performed. Overall the movie was good with an ending that definitely makes you think. It's a movie that I would recommend.

Missed opportunity, but still pretty enjoyable

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 11 March 2013]

Learning they've inherited their grandmother's mansion, a group of siblings decide to hold a party to celebrate the acquisition, unaware the spirit of the deceased hasn't left the home and is intent on passing on a grave family secret to them that will put them in extreme danger once they realize they're not alone in the house.

This was a really hard one to get a handle on, as there's a lot to like here but some utterly maddening moments as well. The best part of this one is the fact that there's a rather effective house where the action takes place in, which is well-suited to the types of scares present here with the lurking behind the corners, spying in the distance and such. Definitely gory enough as well, with some nice kills, and there's enough action to keep it interesting, but the problem lies in the fact that the film doesn't know what it really wants to be. Most of the evidence points to a haunted house/ghost film, yet a twist late in the film adds in a murderous deformed family member into the mix and it doesn't gel all that well with what's been shown/discussed and it comes off rather funky and weird. An incredibly dragging pace in the first half also lowers this, but it's still not too bad.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Nudity.

Just plain dumb

[ctomvelu1 · 15 October 2011]

I tried! But I couldn't quite make it to the end of this one, for fear of drifting into a deep slumber from which I might never awaken. "The Passing": is about several members of a family who must spend a weekend in their late granny's old house in order to gain their inheritance. Pretty soon, there are a lot of people in the house, as it turns into a party. One by one, people start getting knocked off by an unseen force. There's also a mysterious box whose contents were not meant or human hands. The only interesting aspect of this badly acted and badly written "thriller" was an occasional flash forward to the lone survivor as she tells her tale to a screwy cop (the late Paul Gleason) who figures she did everyone else in. I understand there is a twist at the very end. I was onto other things by then, and missed it. I suspect I did not miss much.

LAST OF THE NAIBERTS

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 22 July 2018]

The movie opens up with a young couple running frantically through the woods. Something unseen is watching and chasing them. The girl can't go on. The man shows her a wooden box (apparently stolen) and says they will never have to work again. He opens the box and a force impales him against a tree. The girl is then attacked.

The movie then jumps to the reading of the will of Rebecca, who passes over her children and gives everything to her 3 grandchildren. Since they haven't come visit her they must spend that weekend at her home to get their inheritance and the granddaughter Elizabeth (Tara Carroll) gets the keys to "the wooden box." ooooh eeeeh oooooh!

The movie would be boring if the three kids just sat around so the two boys Jack and Ray decide to invite guests and throw a party to Elizabeth's dismay. The party moves out to the pool. Elizabeth espies some shadows moving about then... Bam! The next thing you know Elizabeth is sitting in a daze with undisclosed wounds as they are wheeling out dead bodies. The investigator asks questions. We now know how the film ends, everyone dead except for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth retells the story as the main part of the movie begins...Elizabeth discovers grandma collected various occult items while the guys pair off and go to their rooms with their girl friends including hot blond Colleen Shannon. Shadowy figures dart about out of the corner of the eye and in mirrors. In addition to well done shadows, there are other inexpensive subtleties, such as statues blinking. The movie soundtrack sounds like there are faint screams in the background. I appreciated these small details. The action and suspense build slowly, like it should.

The movie never explains how the Naibert surname has been passed down from one female generation to the next. The investigator mispronounces "prolific" and I don't know if that was intentional or a bad script read missed by the director. The ending was disappointing and anti-climatic.

Sex talk, sex, f-bomb, nudity

Underrated Thriller

[hi_im_manic · 6/10 · 19 August 2011]

It's always nice to be pleased by a film even though you had low expectations. I finished this film glad I'd taken the time to watch it, for it's definitely underrated.

Young adult siblings are informed that the grandmother they never bothered to visit or get to know has died, and left them with a sizable inheritance, including a lovely mansion. The stipulation for their inheritance is that they spend 1 weekend in the house together, the first weekend following her death. Their greedy, shallow parents are against the idea initially, but are told that the stipulation is air-tight. The granddaughter is also given a key to an antique box, and told that the contents are hers alone.

The movie wastes no time getting from that point to the mystery and thrills that follow in the mansion. Of course, there are some skeletons in the family closet which they discover. And...of course, some wild young friends are invited over so the body count (and sexuality) is pumped up. Cliché. The story is very good, the script isn't written as well as it should have been, the acting is decent but is sometimes distractingly bad (this may be intentional for the story). There is a plot twist at the end of the movie, so don't take off your "thinking cap" just because you believe you've sorted out the mystery of it all half-way through the film.