Walled In (2009)

Director:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Writers:

Serge Brussolo (novel)
Rodolphe Tissot (written by) ...

Release Date:

19 June 2009 (Mexico)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some secrets are left buried.

Plot:

A demolition company agent uncovers the horrifying secrets held within a building she's having razed.

Plot Keywords:

Building | Demolition | Tenant | Caretaker | Architect

Cast

Mischa Barton	...	Sam Walczak
Cameron Bright	...	Jimmy
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mary
Noam Jenkins	...	Peter
Eugene Clark	...	Burnett
Tim Allen	...	Police Offucer (as Timothy Allen)
Darla Biccum	...	Liz Walczak
Mark Claxton	...	Richard
Shannon Jardine	...	Maureen
Sophi Knight	...	Julie
Taylor Leslie	...	Lucy Walczak
Emily McAfee	...	Young Sam
Jane Redlyon	...	Denise
Rob Roy	...	Charles Walczak
Josh Strait	...	Vincent Walczak

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

Argentina:91 min | Germany:100 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA | France | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16 | Mexico:B15 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Company:

Experiences Films

Trivia:

The glowing symbol in the building lobby, made up of solid and broken lines, is the I Ching hexagram for Persevering. It is made by combining the symbols for Thunder and Wind.

Quotes:

Joseph Malestrazza: The Light House of Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis, destroyed. The Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, destroyed. The Seven Wonders of the World, demolished, burned. All except the Great Pyramids and my buildings. Because both the Egyptians and myself inured human beings in our foundations. All that counts as energy. The world found its light only through the birth pangs of agony and murder. Suffering is a journey to purity and death, and the midwife to eternal existence.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Unpleasant and pretentious

"Walled In" definitely looked like a horror movie with massive potential and several aspects about the synopsis immediately appealed to me, like the guaranteed horrific theme of claustrophobic death, isolated buildings with a macabre past, lunatic architects and a slowly unfolding serial killer plot. I became even more convinced of the potential after witnessing the terrifically uncanny opening sequence in which a small child is trapped between four walls and screaming her lungs out whilst cement slowly filling up the concrete grave. This is a harsh and nightmarish sequence that you don't expect to see in modern day horror movie, so I started to feel very confident this could become a gem of a film. Unfortunately I shouted victory way too early again, as the walls of the productions literally come crashing down promptly after the opening credits. The screenplay is adapted from a graphic novel written by Canadian writer Serge Brussolo, and I certainly don't doubt the idea makes an absorbing book, but the film version is unstructured, confusing, preposterous and utterly implausible. Furthermore, the film itself is extremely unpleasant to look at what with its grainy photography, grim ambiance and vile characterizations. "Walled In" is one of those movies that make you nervous and uncomfortable without actually scaring anyone, so I was really glad when it was over. Sam Walczak is a freshly graduated engineer and the heiress of her family's destruction company. Her father offers her the opportunity to be in charge of her very own project: organizing and supervising the demolition of a remote and sinister apartment building, originally designed by the notoriously eccentric architect Joseph Malestrazza. The building has a dark past, as reputedly over 15 previous tenants were entombed in the walls, and Sam quickly experiences there's truth in the rumors. Together with the slightly offbeat teenage son of the evicted caretaker, she develops a theory that the mysteriously vanished architect might still be entrenched in the building. Pretentious and lethargic, "Walled In" is basically a totally absurd movie with an overload of transparent red herring and atmosphere building elements that are boldly stolen from other (and much better) genre classics. The ending is downright pathetic and actually a direct insult on the viewer's intelligence. Don't expect any gore or bloodshed, neither, just a whole lot of wannabe shocking undertones leading absolutely nowhere. The performances are very much below par and the overall conclusion regarding the film is, simply put, embarrassing. If these walls could talk … they would advise us to throw all copies of this movie in a hole in the basement and subsequently blow up the building.