The Tall Man (2012)

Director:

Pascal Laugier

Writer:

Pascal Laugier (written by)

Release Date:

5 September 2012 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Takes a New Shape

Plot:

When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Urban Legend | Riding On The Outside Of A Car | Car Crash | Bouquet Of Roses

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jessica Biel	...	Julia Denning
Jodelle Ferland	...	Jenny
Stephen McHattie	...	Lieutenant Dodd
William B. Davis	...	Sheriff Chestnut
Samantha Ferris	...	Tracy
Colleen Wheeler	...	Mrs. Johnson
Eve Harlow	...	Christine
Janet Wright	...	Trish
Ferne Downey	...	Lady / Mrs. Parker Leigh
John Mann	...	Douglas
Teach Grant	...	Steven
Garwin Sanford	...	Robert
Jakob Davies	...	David
Lucas Myers	...	Deputy Campbell
Pat Henman	...	Nurse at police Infirmary
Katherine Ramdeen	...	Carol
Alicia Gray	...	Young Mother #3
G. Michael Gray	...	Young Father #2
Georgia Swedish	...	Mrs. Ashcroft
Jenna Gatschene	...	Waitress at Diner
Priya Lily Campbell	...	Tiffany
John Ryan	...	Prison Guard
Kevin DeWalt	...	Prison Guard #2
Melissa Gibson	...	Female Guard
Melissa Patenaude	...	Inmate #1
Michele Mungall	...	Inmate #2
Jacqueline Eggie	...	Inmate #3
Angela Stott	...	Inmate #4
Ricardo Hubbs	...	Tall Cook
Rene Mousseux	...	Silhouette
Josh Strait	...	Anonymous Voice #1
Jodi Sadowsky	...	David's New Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Derek J. Finnik	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
Pascal Laugier

Writing credits
Pascal Laugier		(written by)

Produced by
Rhonda Baker	....	line producer
Jessica Biel	....	executive producer
David Cormican	....	executive producer
Gerard Damaer	....	executive producer
Thierry Desmichelle	....	executive producer
Kevin DeWalt	....	producer
Lisa Donahue	....	executive producer
Becki Hui	....	associate producer
Scott Kennedy	....	producer
Jean-Charles Levy	....	producer
Nicolas Manuel	....	executive producer
Clément Miserez	....	producer
Mark Montague	....	executive producer
Martin Mölsted	....	associate producer
Olivier Piasentin	....	executive producer
Steven Schneider	....	executive producer
Lionel Uzan	....	executive producer
Matthieu Warter	....	executive producer
Frank White	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Todd Bryanton

Cinematography by
Kamal Derkaoui		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sébastien Prangère

Casting by
Carmen Kotyk

Production Design by
Jean-Andre Carriere

Set Decoration by
Sydney Sharpe		(key set decorator)

Costume Design by
Angus Strathie

Makeup Department
Zabrina Matiru	....	key makeup artist
Michael Nickiforek	....	mold maker
Bill Terezakis	....	puppet dog head designer

Production Management
Andrea Baker-Fraser	....	unit manager
Heather Malek	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bobby Bastarache	....	first assistant director
Matthew Bessel	....	daily assistant director
Matthew Bessel	....	on-set assistant director
Veronique Kahler	....	additional trainee assistant director
Paula S. Kyan	....	third assistant director
Andrew Niiranen	....	trainee assistant director
Danny Nowak	....	second unit director
Shayne Putzlocher	....	first assistant director: second unit
Daniel Redenbach	....	third assistant director: Regina
Riley Walsh	....	first assistant director: second unit
Riley Walsh	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Bruno Baronet	....	assistant art director
Johanna de Vries	....	lead scenic painter
Joseph Gagné	....	assistant art director
Crystal Husum	....	co-lead scenic painter
Mathieu Lauffray	....	conceptual designer
Daniel McKay	....	painter
Chris Nohel	....	lead set decorator
Danny Scavuzzo	....	construction coordinator
Anna Stefanska	....	illustrator/notebook artist
Asuka Sugiyama	....	art department coordinator
Jordy Wihak	....	co-property master
Maurice Roy	....	graphic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Thibault Arnold	....	music editor
Matt Dawson	....	adr mixer
Steven Ghouti	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Lesachet	....	dialogue editor
Vincent Mauduit	....	sound editor
Colin McLellan	....	adr recordist
Olivier Ranquet	....	additional sound design
Roger Roscoe	....	boom operator
Warren St. Onge	....	sound mixer
Gregory Vincent	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
Stephen Knight	....	special effects first assistant
Paul Noël	....	special effects coordinator
Jay Robertson	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
David Alexander	....	CG artist: Switch VFX
Kemal Ally	....	CG artist: Switch VFX
Patrick Andre	....	visual effects producer: Bluefilmproduction
Jun Asido	....	it: Switch VFX
Daniel Beaulieu	....	visual effects editor: Red Hat Studios
Jon Campfens	....	visual effects supervisor: Switch VFX
Peter Denomme	....	vfx producer: Switch VFX
Philippe Garnier	....	visual effects producer: Bluefilmproduction
Gudrun Heinze	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Colin Hubick	....	visual effects supervisor: Minds Eye Entertainment Ltd.
Richard Jasdadt	....	visual effects editor: Red Hat Studios
Jimmy Kounios	....	visual effects editor: Red Hat Studios
Nicolas Lim	....	visual effects supervisor: Bluefilmproduction
Jef Lonn	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Beau Parsons	....	visual effects coordinator: Switch VFX
Brandon Rogers	....	CG artist: Switch VFX
Celine Sene	....	visual effects supervisor: Bluefilmproduction
Joel Skeete	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Andrew Smith	....	cg modeler: Switch VFX
Laurent Srey	....	flame artist: Bluefilmproduction

Stunts
Marie-Eve Boudreau	....	stunt double
Janene Carleton	....	stunt double: Jessica Biel
Gaëlle Cohen	....	stunt coordinator
Monique Ganderton	....	stunt double: Colleen Wheeler
Loren Gibson	....	stunt double (as Lauren Gibson)
Rene Mousseux	....	stunt co-coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Dustin Allen	....	best boy lighting
Maya Batten-Young	....	lighting technician
Chad Biesenthal	....	best boy grip
Latif Cavanaugh	....	a dolly grip
Meghan Cosenzo	....	d.i.t.
Thibault Grabherr	....	still photographer
Rob Hillstead	....	lighting technician
Norbert Kaluza	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Norbert Kaluza	....	steadicam operator
Peter La Rocque	....	gaffer
Robin Lindala	....	first assistant camera
Kyle Mrazek	....	lighting technician
Danny Nowak	....	director of photography: Second Unit
Rob Parrell	....	key grip
John Trapman	....	aerial director of photography
Rob Wood	....	first assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Christina Barry	....	costume supervisor
Michael Mew	....	assistant costume designer
Mia Shields	....	additional wardrobe

Editorial Department
Denis Bedlow	....	assistant editor
Sébastien de Sainte Croix	....	additional editor
Kevin Downer	....	assistant digital intermediate editor
Aurélien Manya	....	making-of editor
Dave Muscat	....	digital intermediate assistant editor

Music Department
George Acogny	....	music supervisor
Joel Douek	....	composer: additional music
Jonathan Timpe	....	music programmer: score

Transportation Department
Douglas Arsenault	....	driver: cast
Gerard Damaer	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Carol Bailey	....	assistant accountant
Barbara Barnes	....	assistant production coordinator
Bob Bedard	....	head chef
Matthew Bessel	....	production assistant
Dawn Bird	....	craft service assistant
Richelle Bourgoin	....	unit publicist
Steve Byrd	....	legal team: Loeb & Loeb LLP
Jane Davidson	....	assistant accountant
Jennifer Gay	....	translator
Stephanie Hamilton	....	production assistant
Steven Hearn	....	assistant location manager
Colin Hubick	....	technical director
Paul Jasper	....	animal coordinator
Doug Leaf	....	head animal trainer
Bonita Mackay-Larson	....	accounting clerk
Nathan Mosewich	....	location manager: reshoots
Mark O'Connell	....	social media manager
Delina Pierre	....	script supervisor
Craig Stapleton	....	production accountant
Lisa Warren	....	assistant accountant
John Wittmayer	....	location manager
Garth Yakymyk	....	first assistant accountant: Regina

Thanks
Bonnie Timmermann	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cold Rock Productions BC
• Forecast Pictures
• Iron Ocean Films
• Minds Eye Entertainment
• Radar Films
• SND

Distributors

• Image Entertainment (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• King Record Co. (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• SND (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Star Films (2012) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Star Films (2013) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Trash-Up!! (2012) (Japan) (theatrical) (in association with)
• Antena 3 Films (2012) (Spain) (all media)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2012) (Spain) (all media)
• SND Groupe M6 (2012) (worldwide) (all media)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
• Vision Film Distribution (2012) (Poland) (all media)
• Zon Audiovisuais (2013) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Switch VFX (visual effects)
• Bluefilmproduction
• Minds Eye Entertainment
• Red Hat Studios

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• MovieScore Media  soundtrack
• Prodigy Public Relations  publicity
• Société Nouvelle de Doublage SND  funding
• Yellow Cab Studios  sound post-production

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and terror, and for language

Runtime:

USA:106 min

Country:

USA | Canada | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Salmo, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Cold Rock Productions BC

Goofs:

Continuity: During the dog attack, the arm the dog is biting changes from right to left multiple times between shots.

Quotes:

Julia Denning:The system is broken, it doesn't work. There's no where to turn, no support. I've seen it all over the world, it's just easier to give up. I'm not any better than you, Mrs. Johnson, I've just seen more. It's not a matter of being a good person or being a bad person...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Viande d'origine française (2009) (TV)

absolute brilliance

No one plays terrified like Jessica Biel she is at home giving the performance of her life when she is fighting for hers or someone elses. But there's so much more to her performance and character in this film. it's without a doubt the strongest performance of her career and one of the best of the year. I wish I could tell you what this film is really about so you can engulf yourself in the poetic brilliance of it, but I won't ruin it for you. Part of the films effectiveness comes from not knowing what to feel wherein lies the films thought provoking and urgently timeless message. The simplistic setup of the film is just this, children are being abducted from a very poor small town in Washington and the crimes are being committed by someone called "The Tall Man". When Julias' (Biel) child is taken she goes on a frantic chase to unravel the truth but as the twists and turns unfold the truth is more shocking and spellbinding than you can even imagine. Directed by Pascal Laughtier of the abysmal Martyrs. The Tall Man starts off as a brutal, powerhouse thriller after a brief setup the film quickly rushes into a nail biting chase film and it is completely thrilling. But as the film moves into it's brilliant second act you begin to question what and who you have become emotionally engaged too and than when the film finally blossoms open in it's final act it's hard to find the words to even describe the depth of thought that transpired through me. I don't wanna say anything but I will say this it's a courageous film that asks you to question who we are and what has become of the world we live in. As well as what is truly right and what is truly wrong. Most will be thrown off by the film but I'm pretty open with stuff like this especially when it's done so spectacularly. It's sure to offend some and leave others questioning what they just saw but in my opinion it was wrong to abandon this film to VOD release and a limited theatrical run it deserves to be seen and talked about. But at the same time I can see considering it's subject matter why it would have trouble getting a wide release it's speaks a very difficult language so hard for people to listen and understand. The direction is strong and the performances are remarkable besides Ms. biel in the lead Jodelle Ferland is finally given a meaty role and she does exceptionally with it as does the rest of the solid supporting cast. The film features gorgeous cinematography and one of the most surprising screenplays ever to come to film. THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR, ABSOLUTE BRILLIANCE.