The Gathering (2002)

Amnesiac Cassie Grant has a premonition that someone or something wants the family that's helping her recover dead. She investigates the secrets of the town they live in and uncovers darkness, both human and supernatural.

Director:

Brian Gilbert

Writer:

Anthony Horowitz

Stars:

Christina Ricci, Ioan Gruffudd, Stephen Dillane

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Ricci	...	Cassie Grant
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Dan Blakeley
Stephen Dillane	...	Simon Kirkman
Kerry Fox	...	Marion Kirkman
Simon Russell Beale	...	Luke Fraser
Robert Hardy	...	The Bishop
Harry Forrester	...	Michael Kirkman
Jessica Mann	...	Emma Kirkman
Peter McNamara	...	Frederick Michael Argyle
Mark Bagnall	...	The Gathering
Clare Bloomer	...	The Gathering
Mackenzie Crook	...	The Gathering
Richard Evans	...	The Gathering
Roy Evans	...	The Gathering
Paul Hamilton	...	The Gathering

Storyline

While going to the town of Ashby Wake, the drifter Cassie is hit by a car driven by Marion Kirkman and loses her memory. Marion invites Cassie to stay in her huge old house with her family, while recovering from the trauma. Cassie becomes very close to Michael, the young son of Marion's husband Simon Kirkman. He is researching a recently discovered buried church from the First Century, with images of the crucifixion of Jesus and many anonymous persons watching it. Cassie starts having visions and premonitions with some locals, and decides to investigate the weird and nasty mechanic Frederick Michael Argyle. Her findings about who she is and the mystery relative to the locals and the town surprises her.

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Plot Keywords:

witness | premonition | mechanic | hit by a car | church | 

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Taglines:

Two thousand years ago, they watched the death of Christ. Now, these same malign figures are about to fulfill the most horrifying human disaster!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 2003 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Los testigos

Filming Locations:

Isle of Man

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Film Productions, Isle of Man Film Commission, Samuelson Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 24 mins) Luke Fraser puts an Art Gallery DVD into a standalone DVD player, whose remote control is clearly sitting on top of the player, but he interacts with the disc using a mouse as if it were in a computer's DVD-ROM drive. You can't connect a mouse to a standalone DVD player - it only works with its remote control.

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Quotes

The Bishop: If people become obsessed with evils that might occur, they neglect the present good that they should do.

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Alternate Versions

A longer version (ca. 10 minutes) of the film was shown on German TV (ZDF) which included more dialogue between Cassie and Dan, a sex scene and numerous other scene extensions. According to the ZDF, they bought this version directly from Granada before Miramax/Dimension picked it up and reedited the movie in their usual way.

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Soundtracks

Only Wanna See You
Produced by Capital Town Kru
Performed by Johnny Concrete and Silver Fox
Written by I. Hoyt/P. Graham/W. Khioumgi
Published by Copyright Control/Universal Music

User Reviews

Midsomer Murders with a supernatural twist

Despite promise throughout, THE GATHERING is a rather weak slice of horror that proves perfectly watchable but comes across as an extended episode of MIDSOMER MURDERS more than anything else. It has that cosy TV movie feel to it, despite the odd burst of violence, and the play-it-safe script from popular author Anthony Horowitz doesn't break new ground at any point.

The story begins with an American tourist involved in a car accident where she obtains a serious head injury. Suffering amnesia, she goes to live with a household in a village, and soon grows close to a young boy in the family. However, she's plagued with violent premonitions of his death. Meanwhile, the boy's father is uncovering the mystery of a mural depicting the last days of Christ.

THE GATHERING is a sometimes-atmospheric production that occasionally brings to mind the air of spooky mystery in something like THE WICKER MAN. Unfortunately, more often than not it falls flat, thanks to weak plotting and a generally unfocused storyline. Christina Ricci feels out of place and it doesn't help that her character is one of those protagonists who doesn't actually have anything to do with the main storyline. Ioan Gruffudd is there for his looks alone, although Stephen Dillane (GAME OF THRONES) is more interesting as the father figure. The likes of Kerry Fox, Robert Hardy, and Simon Russell Beale barely get a look in during this oddly muted and non-suspenseful tale.