SHELTER – CATCH IT ( B- ) Shelter starts like a Psychological thriller and ends up as a Supernatural Voodoo movie. Nonetheless, it wasn't bad at all. From the 1st sequences to Jonathan Rys Meyers Incredible entrance the movie was right on psychological track though in between we were getting hints of some Supernatural hints, then in 2nd half it was clear that it's a Supernatural movie. The best thing about the movie is that it doesn't gets you bore and has its scary and chilling moments. Julianne Moore is a fantastic actress everyone knows that she did her part really well as always. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is incredible this time
since his role has most of the variety, he done his part really well. Brooklynn Proulx is really cute and adorable kid. Overall it's a good attempt though story could have been more innovative rather then predictable.
131 Reviews
Shelter starts like a Psychological thriller and ends up as a Supernatural Voodoo movie.
saadgkhan31 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Not completely satisfying, but not half bad either
mdnobles192 March 2013
Shelter has dealt with an unfair start into cinemas, it was ready for release way back in 2010 and now it's finally being released On Demand and in limited theaters under its new title 6 Souls. The movie starts with the introduction of Cara Harding, a female forensic psychiatrist played by Julianne Moore, who just finished wrapping up her current case, when her father Dr. Harding approaches her with a new case. Cara is hesitant at first but soon agrees to take the job and soon discovers that not only does her new patient has multiple personalities but all of them are murder victims, we are then taken on a tailspin with her to figure out why this is happening.
The movie has its moments of grotesque eeriness that gets under your skin but just not a lot of scares or action. The story just gets lost in its own complexity of twists with not much payoffs. For a movie that is almost 2 hours long it just didn't accomplish that much or had any moments that stood out to me. The film does have a lot of spooky imagery with creepy locations, but just didn't take full advantage of them. The film starts off well as a psychological thriller and character study, and then when the horror elements seep in, the film's effectiveness fades away and becomes illogical.
The intense and focused performances are where this film shines. Julianne Moore can do any role justice and in this problematic film she proves it with her raw emotions and mesmerizing red head beauty. Julianne plays Cara Harding, a forensic psychiatrist who picks up the most challenging cases of her career when she meets her new patient who has a multiple personality disorder. Jonathan Rhys Meyers gives a captivating performance as David/Adam/Wesley and is probably the very best I've seen from him so far. Jonathan's performance could have been an over the top mess if approached the wrong way, but he made it organic and gripping to watch. The supporting actors were not half bad either and also made it watch able.
Directors, Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein prove that maybe two heads aren't that better than one to tackle a flawed story. They do create a certain atmosphere that evokes fear and some stomach turning images but didn't really know how to end the story effectively or answer all of our questions. Writer, Michael Cooney seems to have made the same mistakes here that he did with his other screenplay Identity, which also had a great start but ruined it for me with it's lousy last half that was also illogical, his stories are just uneven to me, but I do like his effort for trying to bring something different to this mostly unoriginal genre.
Overall, I can see why they waited so long to release the film, but it deserves a much better treatment than the crap like Texas Chainsaw 3D, which made its way to movie theaters way to easily than this. The film lacks scares, thrills and the story leads to no payoff, but the performances are solid, the atmosphere, imagery are spooky and the concept is a nice change of pace. The movie as a whole could have been so much better and executed with a more terrifying impact, but it's a whole lot more decent than what it got treated as, so it's granted at least one viewing if you want something different from the norm. Just don't expect too much from this one.
The movie has its moments of grotesque eeriness that gets under your skin but just not a lot of scares or action. The story just gets lost in its own complexity of twists with not much payoffs. For a movie that is almost 2 hours long it just didn't accomplish that much or had any moments that stood out to me. The film does have a lot of spooky imagery with creepy locations, but just didn't take full advantage of them. The film starts off well as a psychological thriller and character study, and then when the horror elements seep in, the film's effectiveness fades away and becomes illogical.
The intense and focused performances are where this film shines. Julianne Moore can do any role justice and in this problematic film she proves it with her raw emotions and mesmerizing red head beauty. Julianne plays Cara Harding, a forensic psychiatrist who picks up the most challenging cases of her career when she meets her new patient who has a multiple personality disorder. Jonathan Rhys Meyers gives a captivating performance as David/Adam/Wesley and is probably the very best I've seen from him so far. Jonathan's performance could have been an over the top mess if approached the wrong way, but he made it organic and gripping to watch. The supporting actors were not half bad either and also made it watch able.
Directors, Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein prove that maybe two heads aren't that better than one to tackle a flawed story. They do create a certain atmosphere that evokes fear and some stomach turning images but didn't really know how to end the story effectively or answer all of our questions. Writer, Michael Cooney seems to have made the same mistakes here that he did with his other screenplay Identity, which also had a great start but ruined it for me with it's lousy last half that was also illogical, his stories are just uneven to me, but I do like his effort for trying to bring something different to this mostly unoriginal genre.
Overall, I can see why they waited so long to release the film, but it deserves a much better treatment than the crap like Texas Chainsaw 3D, which made its way to movie theaters way to easily than this. The film lacks scares, thrills and the story leads to no payoff, but the performances are solid, the atmosphere, imagery are spooky and the concept is a nice change of pace. The movie as a whole could have been so much better and executed with a more terrifying impact, but it's a whole lot more decent than what it got treated as, so it's granted at least one viewing if you want something different from the norm. Just don't expect too much from this one.
Started great but then....
Dodge-Zombie16 July 2022
There's some great acting in this movie and that helps most of the way through.
However it gets to a point where the acting isn't enough to make up for the story which stops making sense about 2 thirds in.
The amount of questions left unanswered and the sudden lack of sense coupled with plot holes stops this being a great movie and drops it into mediocrity.
Not recommended as it feels unfinished.
However it gets to a point where the acting isn't enough to make up for the story which stops making sense about 2 thirds in.
The amount of questions left unanswered and the sudden lack of sense coupled with plot holes stops this being a great movie and drops it into mediocrity.
Not recommended as it feels unfinished.
From forensic psychology to hillbilly voodoo: messy, incoherent, but fun
lee-9669629 April 2019
I caught this film on Netflix the other night in the "recommended for me" section. It certainly looked promising: a taut psychological thriller with Julianne Moore as Dr. Cara Harding, a forensic psychologist trying to disprove a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder in mental patient David/Adam/Wesley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
But it quickly morphs from the cooly clinical and scientific to hillbilly voodoo and fundie religious hokum replete with a hot, steaming, incomprehensible -- some of it kind of fun in its incoherence -- compost heap of plot elements: the 1918 flu epidemic; skin rashes; chronic coughs yielding -- ughh -- dirt; slip-and-falls; spinal injuries; atheism; Catholicism; faith healers; vaccines; curses; snake venom potions; apparitions on video; and a suddenly discovered -- and quite laughable -- silent film, replete with +90 year old narrator. There's even a test for red-green color blindness.
And, like the antagonist, this film suffers from an identity crisis. Is it a psychological thriller? A slasher / stalker film? A medical mystery? A serial killer whodunnit? A witchcraft / occult movie? I enjoyed just trying to figure out what the producers had in mind. This is like a film made my committee (or someone with multiple personality disorder).
Saving grace: A good faith try at making the crazy script work by Moore. And an enthusiastically evil performance Meyers, though he needs to take an intensive "American accents" workshop. That southern twangy thing was the worst, and so not right for upper Apalachia.
But all-in-all, I actually like really bad, messy movies, especially those that try so hard. Maybe Netflix knows me afterall? Hence the six -- how appropriate -- stars rating.
But it quickly morphs from the cooly clinical and scientific to hillbilly voodoo and fundie religious hokum replete with a hot, steaming, incomprehensible -- some of it kind of fun in its incoherence -- compost heap of plot elements: the 1918 flu epidemic; skin rashes; chronic coughs yielding -- ughh -- dirt; slip-and-falls; spinal injuries; atheism; Catholicism; faith healers; vaccines; curses; snake venom potions; apparitions on video; and a suddenly discovered -- and quite laughable -- silent film, replete with +90 year old narrator. There's even a test for red-green color blindness.
And, like the antagonist, this film suffers from an identity crisis. Is it a psychological thriller? A slasher / stalker film? A medical mystery? A serial killer whodunnit? A witchcraft / occult movie? I enjoyed just trying to figure out what the producers had in mind. This is like a film made my committee (or someone with multiple personality disorder).
Saving grace: A good faith try at making the crazy script work by Moore. And an enthusiastically evil performance Meyers, though he needs to take an intensive "American accents" workshop. That southern twangy thing was the worst, and so not right for upper Apalachia.
But all-in-all, I actually like really bad, messy movies, especially those that try so hard. Maybe Netflix knows me afterall? Hence the six -- how appropriate -- stars rating.
It Looks Like Just Another Fright-Goof, but
doug_park200111 November 2013
6 SOULS has a compelling and unique storyline that nicely intermixes spiritual and psychological elements: There are some very original ideas here. It's well-produced and cinematized with realistic acting by all. It has the necessary focus but still leaves room for individual interpretation, the sort of film that you can watch multiple times, picking up new details and subtleties with each view. At times it seems pro-Christian, at times anti-Christian, or at least critical of the superstitious-fundamentalist brand of Christianity. Again, the religious elements are clear enough yet also vague enough.
The plot does drag and meander a good bit. There are also some of the usual tired old demon-tropes (people throwing up black goop, etc). Still,this film has a fairly solid mythos behind it and relies more on surprise and suspense than it does raw schlock. While nothing truly special, 6 SOULS is probably worth seeing if you like psychological/supernatural horror and have been disappointed by most other recent films in this genre.
The ending leaves room for an interesting sequel. . .7 SOULS?
The plot does drag and meander a good bit. There are also some of the usual tired old demon-tropes (people throwing up black goop, etc). Still,this film has a fairly solid mythos behind it and relies more on surprise and suspense than it does raw schlock. While nothing truly special, 6 SOULS is probably worth seeing if you like psychological/supernatural horror and have been disappointed by most other recent films in this genre.
The ending leaves room for an interesting sequel. . .7 SOULS?
Engaging story but questionable directing
phillamg10 April 2010
Based on a previous review here suggesting that fans of The Ring would like this I went to see Shelter and I think the previous advice needs more clarification. If you liked The Ring then yes, you'll probably like this. If however you thought The Ring had pointless cut aways and sudden close-ups just to try to build tension or make you jump, then you will be as equally frustrated with this film. Still in the latter group, I would assume that you loved Ringu and therefore you will appreciate the story this film is trying to tell despite the occasional ham-fisted way it goes about presenting it.
Jonathan (male lead) is really quite good, although Julianne comes across far too much as if she has been cast as Dana Scully. In truth this whole film would have been more believable if this had of been the story line for the X Files 2 movie. Knowing that going in will probably help get past the weird opening 30 minutes where it swings from place to place until we settle on the story it is wanting to tell. Despite the plot holes and some questionable decisions by the characters, I did leave the film feeling pleased and positive about the whole experience.
Jonathan (male lead) is really quite good, although Julianne comes across far too much as if she has been cast as Dana Scully. In truth this whole film would have been more believable if this had of been the story line for the X Files 2 movie. Knowing that going in will probably help get past the weird opening 30 minutes where it swings from place to place until we settle on the story it is wanting to tell. Despite the plot holes and some questionable decisions by the characters, I did leave the film feeling pleased and positive about the whole experience.
I enjoyed it.
Samiam313 August 2011
Supernatural isn't my cup of tea, but I will give points to Shelter for doing more than just keeping me in my seat. At times, it reminded me of Shyamalan's better days. Though very much a slow mover, Shelter is haunting and gripping, shot perfectly and never too superficial. Julianne Moore, is a compelling lead, and there is enough 'human' in the character to deserve some credit, and earn some sympathy from the viewer. Horror movies almost by nature, don't have a heart, but this is one of the few that has some.
The one problem with the movie, is that the plot is heavy. The first hour may seem a little disoriented, but the scenario brings everything together with enough coherency in the last act. The matter in which it does so however raises some questions that are left unanswered, and could qualify as plot holes.
As a straight to video release, one would not typically set high expectations. Shelter exceeded mine, It's not a film for an impatient viewer, but it's an appetizing ghost story if you are looking for one such film.
The one problem with the movie, is that the plot is heavy. The first hour may seem a little disoriented, but the scenario brings everything together with enough coherency in the last act. The matter in which it does so however raises some questions that are left unanswered, and could qualify as plot holes.
As a straight to video release, one would not typically set high expectations. Shelter exceeded mine, It's not a film for an impatient viewer, but it's an appetizing ghost story if you are looking for one such film.
Wow! Zooooom... CRASH!
BibChr23 October 2013
I can't easily recall a movie that started better and ended worse.
During the first few minutes, I kept thinking, "Man! what are all the negative reviews about?" The camera-work was not only good, but stylish and captivating. The framing, the acting, the dialogue, the plot — everything was firing on all cylinders. It had interesting characters with real relationships who said things that made sense, whose lines were delivered by actors who could act...
And then the darned thing just went off the rails. The more Julianne Moore's character went off on her own investigations, the more meandering and "Huh?" the story became. Then by the last half-hour or so, you're just waiting for the whole thing to be over. You've lost hope that it will make sense. Which is good. Because it doesn't.
Pity. It had all the elements for a really first-rate movie; but instead of coming together to form a coherent whole, they all scattered and left the viewer gasping for sense.
During the first few minutes, I kept thinking, "Man! what are all the negative reviews about?" The camera-work was not only good, but stylish and captivating. The framing, the acting, the dialogue, the plot — everything was firing on all cylinders. It had interesting characters with real relationships who said things that made sense, whose lines were delivered by actors who could act...
And then the darned thing just went off the rails. The more Julianne Moore's character went off on her own investigations, the more meandering and "Huh?" the story became. Then by the last half-hour or so, you're just waiting for the whole thing to be over. You've lost hope that it will make sense. Which is good. Because it doesn't.
Pity. It had all the elements for a really first-rate movie; but instead of coming together to form a coherent whole, they all scattered and left the viewer gasping for sense.
Secrets are sheltered badly in this religious thriller
TombRaider097 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers
If only the makers of Shelter knew of the irony behind their movie. A film titled 'Shelter' shelters its secrets so badly that there is nothing surprising in its thrills or mysteries. It's one of those movies where you have guessed the ending when there's still half an hour left to watch. Which in the case of Shelter would be before it even began.
It begins with an interesting premise. Dr Cara Harding (Julianne Moore) is not a believer in multiple personalities disorder, which she considers to be a sham which murderers seek to be acquitted of the consequences of their actions.
But when her father (Jeffrey DeMunn) introduces her to a patient (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) whose multiple personalities belong to murdered people, she is both baffled and resistant. She starts a quest to discover how the patient is connected to all the murders to see how he has absorbed their personalities. Of course, no one seems to pay too much attention to the fact that when the patient changes personalities, his neck almost snaps, but psychiatrists are busy people..
Unfortunately, from here the movie gets silly. Cults, religion, faith and not having faith, mysterious deaths and whatnot take the stage as all kinds of creepy images flash on the screen relentlessly to give story the extra mile. While some images are scary and well shot, it doesn't make up to the fact that the story has absolutely nothing to say about anything. In fact, I consider it a prime mistake to delve into religious dogma without coming up anything to say about it, since it is perhaps the easiest target to make a point about. Sloppy.
It begins with an interesting premise. Dr Cara Harding (Julianne Moore) is not a believer in multiple personalities disorder, which she considers to be a sham which murderers seek to be acquitted of the consequences of their actions.
But when her father (Jeffrey DeMunn) introduces her to a patient (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) whose multiple personalities belong to murdered people, she is both baffled and resistant. She starts a quest to discover how the patient is connected to all the murders to see how he has absorbed their personalities. Of course, no one seems to pay too much attention to the fact that when the patient changes personalities, his neck almost snaps, but psychiatrists are busy people..
Unfortunately, from here the movie gets silly. Cults, religion, faith and not having faith, mysterious deaths and whatnot take the stage as all kinds of creepy images flash on the screen relentlessly to give story the extra mile. While some images are scary and well shot, it doesn't make up to the fact that the story has absolutely nothing to say about anything. In fact, I consider it a prime mistake to delve into religious dogma without coming up anything to say about it, since it is perhaps the easiest target to make a point about. Sloppy.
Plays like Ring without a video tape.
cteavin-14 April 2010
It's really rare for an American film to open in Japan before America, so I rushed to see it. Well, I might not have rushed had it not been for Juliana Moore who does deliver despite huge gaping plot holes littered throughout the film.
I won't give anything away about the story. There is a lot of development in the first half of the movie which might make the film seem s l o w for some viewers. When the mystery is revealed it is surprising but even given the careful buildup you might still have to make an effort to suspend your disbelief if only because of the plot holes (which I can not mention with out enumerating spoilers).
There are quite a few logical disconnects, too. In a age of cell phones when you're a busy psychiatrist why would you drive across town to do something which would take ten seconds by phone? Because it's a plot device.
Still, I enjoyed the film. I can not recommend it to my Japanese friends as there is a lot of talk about God and Faith which is lost on a truly secular country; but I can recommend it to people who like films like The Ring or The Exorcist. There are some interesting characters and a lot of good acting especially by the male lead who, well, you'll see.
I won't give anything away about the story. There is a lot of development in the first half of the movie which might make the film seem s l o w for some viewers. When the mystery is revealed it is surprising but even given the careful buildup you might still have to make an effort to suspend your disbelief if only because of the plot holes (which I can not mention with out enumerating spoilers).
There are quite a few logical disconnects, too. In a age of cell phones when you're a busy psychiatrist why would you drive across town to do something which would take ten seconds by phone? Because it's a plot device.
Still, I enjoyed the film. I can not recommend it to my Japanese friends as there is a lot of talk about God and Faith which is lost on a truly secular country; but I can recommend it to people who like films like The Ring or The Exorcist. There are some interesting characters and a lot of good acting especially by the male lead who, well, you'll see.
Routine
Leofwine_draca12 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
SHELTER is another routine Hollywood horror flick with a mildly interesting premise that quickly turns to nonsense around the halfway mark. Julianne Moore, delivering exactly the same kind of performance as she did in THE LOST WORLD, HANNIBAL, etc. plays a psychiatrist whose new patient is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, an actor I think a lot of. It turns out he has multiple personalities, but the more she investigates, the more she comes close to uncovering a horrifying secret linked to the past. The early psychological stuff is fairly interesting and reminiscent of IDENTITY and SPLIT, but the later supernatural stuff takes the biscuit.
Profound acting, some amazing ideas, painfully underrated.
nitzanhavoc28 March 2015
I've watched 6 Souls a few years back, before starting my project of documenting, rating and reviewing a list of Horror films. I can summarize this review for you TL;DR lazies by saying - wow, I'm so glad I've watched it again, stop reading and go watch it now.
The story, plot and script, while original and innovative just the way they should be, are far from being perfect, but even as the shortcomings of this great film they deserve more than the rate this film currently has here on IMDb (6.1? An atrocity, a travesty of justice, and pretty much BS). The film starts up and builds up as an Insanity Horror-Psycho Thriller flick, dealing with Multiple Personality Disorder (or lack thereof). Only towards the second half does the film expose its supernatural motive, as was shown in its trailers. The only other Horror film I recall using this rather cheap and redundant "deception tactic" is Insidious, and in my book comparing any film to insidious is a huge complement for it. The problem with 6 Souls is that the start up and build up lead us to a very disappointing (in my opinion) "highlight point", and since the turning point it's nothing but plot holes and lack of logic... Without these, the end would have been far less anticlimactic, and would have spared this film the Curse of Anticlimactic Endings, which has been ravaging the Horror genre for the last decade or so.
Having said that, I have nothing but praises for this film to add. In regards to the acting - main actress Julian Moore is excellent, and has received a much better film to star in after the disappointing Forgotten. However, the Oscar definitely goes to the exquisite, profound and awe-strikingly amazing Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Throughout the film, Meyers plays no less than 4 different characters, and gives each a different body language, voice intonation, facial expressions and acting personality. His role, even if nothing else, makes this film worth watching (and as far as other Horror actors are concerned - watching and learning!). In addition, the character of Granny (more than Joyce Feurring's acting, though not half bad) involves some remarkable ideas!
All in all - the frame story, the acting and some of the ideas presented in the script are no less than exquisite, and definitely compensate for the average (and below) plot and ending. Definitely worth watching, definitely worth more than 6...
The story, plot and script, while original and innovative just the way they should be, are far from being perfect, but even as the shortcomings of this great film they deserve more than the rate this film currently has here on IMDb (6.1? An atrocity, a travesty of justice, and pretty much BS). The film starts up and builds up as an Insanity Horror-Psycho Thriller flick, dealing with Multiple Personality Disorder (or lack thereof). Only towards the second half does the film expose its supernatural motive, as was shown in its trailers. The only other Horror film I recall using this rather cheap and redundant "deception tactic" is Insidious, and in my book comparing any film to insidious is a huge complement for it. The problem with 6 Souls is that the start up and build up lead us to a very disappointing (in my opinion) "highlight point", and since the turning point it's nothing but plot holes and lack of logic... Without these, the end would have been far less anticlimactic, and would have spared this film the Curse of Anticlimactic Endings, which has been ravaging the Horror genre for the last decade or so.
Having said that, I have nothing but praises for this film to add. In regards to the acting - main actress Julian Moore is excellent, and has received a much better film to star in after the disappointing Forgotten. However, the Oscar definitely goes to the exquisite, profound and awe-strikingly amazing Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Throughout the film, Meyers plays no less than 4 different characters, and gives each a different body language, voice intonation, facial expressions and acting personality. His role, even if nothing else, makes this film worth watching (and as far as other Horror actors are concerned - watching and learning!). In addition, the character of Granny (more than Joyce Feurring's acting, though not half bad) involves some remarkable ideas!
All in all - the frame story, the acting and some of the ideas presented in the script are no less than exquisite, and definitely compensate for the average (and below) plot and ending. Definitely worth watching, definitely worth more than 6...
DAVE'S NOT HERE
nogodnomasters21 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The film starts out as a great psychological thriller. Cara Harding (Julianne Moore) is a psychologist like her father (Jeffrey DeMunn). She does not believe in multiple personalities. Her dad finds a case in David/Adam (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) that challenges her. She investigates the lives they claim to be, only to discover the impossible.
What was unfortunate was that this film moves from a clever thriller to a less than stellar horror film. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the film. Cara's attempts to prove Dave/Adam as a hoax, blowing up in her face, time and time again was great. Too bad they couldn't wrap it up. Still it is well worth a view.
Parental Guide: No F-bombs, sex, or nudity.
What was unfortunate was that this film moves from a clever thriller to a less than stellar horror film. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the film. Cara's attempts to prove Dave/Adam as a hoax, blowing up in her face, time and time again was great. Too bad they couldn't wrap it up. Still it is well worth a view.
Parental Guide: No F-bombs, sex, or nudity.
Great start,then it plunges into nothingness!
chrichtonsworld31 August 2010
Actress Julianne Moore to me seemed an actress who chooses her projects carefully. This movie proves that it is just random. For the love of god I can't think of a reason for an actor or actress to do this kind of role other than money. There is no challenge at all. The story had a strong start but then took a deep dive. I understand that it is hard to come up with new angles on certain psychological issues but why use them in the first place. The writers and the director didn't know to solve their problem either and took the easy way out. While in the first half there is room for more interpretations in the second half there is only one interpretation left which asks too much of the viewer especially with the whole hillbilly nonsense. Jonathan Rhys Myers was adequate enough although there wasn't a moment he was menacing enough to be taken seriously. People kept dying in the movie and only in one scene did it seem to affect me since the drama was laid on so thick there was no escaping it. The slow pace and the loud sound effects ruined the creepy ambiance that was created. Loud sound effects usually are effective if it is followed by a strong scene in which something bad happens. In this movie we only have the loud sound effect,which is a very cheap trick to attract attention especially when nothing is happening on the screen to justify these sounds. I wished I could be more positive about the movie. But sadly the whole movie felt like a complete waste of time. Don't bother watching this movie!
God bothering mumbo jumbo.
Scunner12 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The first half of this film is actually a very good psychological\supernatural drama which is thoroughly enjoyable. Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are both excellent. Sadly however in the second half it descends into the kind of god bothering mumbo jumbo so common in American cinema. Why it was released outside the U.S first is a mystery when its message, that having no faith in god (even if you're a six year old girl) can make you prey to some kind of hillbilly voodoo cult, is unlikely to appeal much outside the U.S market. Had they kept the sky fairy nonsense to a minimum and not smacked us around the head with the idea that atheism is bad it could have been decently entertaining, but sadly they didn't and it ended up being an unpleasant, cringeworthy mess.
scary dang old movie
moparchris22 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Man I tell you what. This thing started off as creepy as a black cat squished out on the road. I was watching with my hands on my eyes as the danged old soul sucking stuff started getting crazier & what not. Then the devil, yes scratch himself, started sneaking around doing goober booby shah shah crap. Just when I was about to poop my panties, something strange happened. The thing turned in ta like "huh"? And nothing, just got all dumb & stuff & didn't make no more sense. That was about it.
I don't quite know what they was thinking when they made this but it seemed like they done lost their way somewhere in the writ-in of this thing. Maybe they all got drunk or strung out on the marijuana's & just messed everything up.
I don't quite know what they was thinking when they made this but it seemed like they done lost their way somewhere in the writ-in of this thing. Maybe they all got drunk or strung out on the marijuana's & just messed everything up.
Pleasantly surprised....
gvreekum28 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I am actually a former critic and wrote for national media for many years up until one day about 15 years ago I decided that I just wanted to watch films randomly and without knowing as much as possible about the pre-history, making and content (so that I could really start enjoying movies again - like I did when I was much younger).
So I do not read, follow or try to be up to date with any movie journal that is out there...and when I pick a movie to watch I do not even read the back side of the cover/inlay....I just watch it....
And today I watched Shelter...and I enjoyed it.
I thought I was watching a psychological thriller, but then "Shelter" 'surprisingly' changed to a serious horror movie (what is my favourite genre).
So if you like horror, or thriller with a super natural twist even, you will enjoy 'Shelter.'
So I do not read, follow or try to be up to date with any movie journal that is out there...and when I pick a movie to watch I do not even read the back side of the cover/inlay....I just watch it....
And today I watched Shelter...and I enjoyed it.
I thought I was watching a psychological thriller, but then "Shelter" 'surprisingly' changed to a serious horror movie (what is my favourite genre).
So if you like horror, or thriller with a super natural twist even, you will enjoy 'Shelter.'
Could of been so good....disappointing but watchable.
rectangul_iyze11 April 2010
Adding together the presence of Michael Cooney as the writer who gave us 'Identity', which boasted originality and a fast paced story AND with the addition of Julianne Moore who eats this genre for breakfast, my expectations for this were high. The movie starts off well, 'on the edge'; with Jonathan Rhys Meyer's character being introduced perfectly. Plenty of reason to call it a horror/thriller at this point with excellent use of sound to create the jumpy vibe. However the direction from the Swedish duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein soon starts to really let the grip of the film slip. OK admittedly there are plot holes and the pace is slow after the initial quick start which covers a lot of explanatory material for the theory behind the story. But to have taken the obviousness out of that, the direction could have been so much more original and less armature looking, with close ups and set ups for jumps so obvious and dull. The first 30 minutes or so of the film has the horror edge, after that a Sunday paced drama with a frankly ridiculous set of ideas behind Meyers character which are not overly original sets this up to mainly let moviegoers expectations down. Meyer's brilliant acting including his shift in accents and characters and Moore's usual type cast brilliant acting make this watchable and average. This could have been so good and does not fit into the horror/thriller genre well and do it justice. An average supernatural thriller with a couple of jumps at best as horror. What a shame.
Very spooky psychological supernatural thriller
mrcibubur6 August 2010
This is a very enjoyable entertaining and enthralling suspense film to see. Definitely not a horror film but it does have its horror moments for sure. Starts out as a horror thriller but as others have commented before me, by the end we have an undoubted supernatural drama thriller.
Julianne Moore and Jonothon Rhys Meyers are excellent in this movie and deliver the story very well indeed. You wont be bored with this movie and if you want compare it with The Ring and Identity, that is upto you. this had the same impact on me as 'Orphan' and had me jumping out of my seat at the scary bits! Sometimes suspense is created in the movie without it being explained later and perhaps the director was exploiting our curiosity to overload and then leaving us a touch disappointed. I am not at all disappointed with the movie, I loved it and I am still trying to work out 'who' Mr Jonothon was really playing.
Those affected by the 'cough' clearly receive their'fate' during the movie. We don't hear of the preacher until quite late in the movie and the same can be said about the 'Granny'.
If there is a message in the movie, I guess it is that - don't lose faith or there will be consequences. I was expecting a connection with the execution of Kilkirk with Bernberg but I did not see it in the movie. At the times Caroline (Moore) was a paranoiac doctor psychologist but thats not her fault.
Shelter, as I now understand it in this movie, is interpreting protection for those who do not keep the faith. It is not however a religious film in any way, we have to think a little bit why the victims who became victims during the movie and who were reported as victims , why it should happen to them.
So who was the real killer?
Julianne Moore and Jonothon Rhys Meyers are excellent in this movie and deliver the story very well indeed. You wont be bored with this movie and if you want compare it with The Ring and Identity, that is upto you. this had the same impact on me as 'Orphan' and had me jumping out of my seat at the scary bits! Sometimes suspense is created in the movie without it being explained later and perhaps the director was exploiting our curiosity to overload and then leaving us a touch disappointed. I am not at all disappointed with the movie, I loved it and I am still trying to work out 'who' Mr Jonothon was really playing.
Those affected by the 'cough' clearly receive their'fate' during the movie. We don't hear of the preacher until quite late in the movie and the same can be said about the 'Granny'.
If there is a message in the movie, I guess it is that - don't lose faith or there will be consequences. I was expecting a connection with the execution of Kilkirk with Bernberg but I did not see it in the movie. At the times Caroline (Moore) was a paranoiac doctor psychologist but thats not her fault.
Shelter, as I now understand it in this movie, is interpreting protection for those who do not keep the faith. It is not however a religious film in any way, we have to think a little bit why the victims who became victims during the movie and who were reported as victims , why it should happen to them.
So who was the real killer?
Starts well but will leave you feeling like you've wasted 2 hours of your life.
alan-51-11197411 May 2011
I'm giving this 1, simply because the first half built the expectation that this movie may be halfway decent.
Julianne Moore's performance is great as usual, the cinematography and score are above average for Hollywood and Jonathan Rhys-Myers gets to overact in a variety of different characters... sounds OK right?
Wrong! The second half of the movie descends into an oozing morass of nonsense and bible-bashing claptrap. I'm not even objecting to the overly religious theme per se, it's that even this is completely incomprehensible in this movie. I could drive a bus through the holes in the plot.
What's worse, the ending leaves way for a sequel... please NO!
At the end, my partner and I both started shouting expletives at the screen.
With Shelter we wasted four hours total of our lives and I am writing this so that you don't have to.
Julianne Moore's performance is great as usual, the cinematography and score are above average for Hollywood and Jonathan Rhys-Myers gets to overact in a variety of different characters... sounds OK right?
Wrong! The second half of the movie descends into an oozing morass of nonsense and bible-bashing claptrap. I'm not even objecting to the overly religious theme per se, it's that even this is completely incomprehensible in this movie. I could drive a bus through the holes in the plot.
What's worse, the ending leaves way for a sequel... please NO!
At the end, my partner and I both started shouting expletives at the screen.
With Shelter we wasted four hours total of our lives and I am writing this so that you don't have to.
A schizophrenic movie, but largely enjoyable
Caribstu11 September 2010
SHELTER It's hard to review this film too much without giving away the whole thing. It is a psychological suspense thriller of two halves and the film has a real feeling of schizophrenia, not just from Meyer's lead character but it's direction from Swedish duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, the first half is tense and gripping, the second half becomes more action and fabled story telling. This schizophrenic nature is reflected in how I received the film, I thought Jonathan Rhys Meyer's performance including his shift in personality was brilliant but detested the crass narrative at the end when watching faux sepia film footage in the library.
The first half of the movie concerns itself with character and plot development, there's a well studied and crafted build up. Meyers is excellent in helping this aspect along, and what is appealing with Julianne Moore is that by being completely normal and not at all the first person who comes to mind for this role, makes her somewhat perfect for it. Moore's character Caroline makes some questionable decisions, the kind that make you say " no why would you go in there.." but they're not running in your underwear through the woods holding a toothpick when Jason's around type decisions and actually it doesn't hurt the film but create real moments of suspense. The first half is a both entertaining and an enthralling suspense film, bordering on horror as it does have its horror moments.
The second half of the film then moves into a supernatural thriller. You are never behind the plot, always a step or two ahead but again this doesn't hurt the film. As our main characters head into Appalachian mountain country they seem to get trapped at the end of a lane and possibly directors Mårlind and Stein didn't know how to get out from deep in the Pennsylvanian woods. They make an effort to put in a twist or two and so wriggle their way out of a corner, unfortunately up to that point I was engrossed in the film but it rather loses it's way a little. I will say that it does end well and is worth watching, it's just because of the midway turn it takes from suspense thriller to supernatural drama it's hard not to compare the second half of the film to 'Skeleton Key' which ultimately is a much better film all round.
7/10
The first half of the movie concerns itself with character and plot development, there's a well studied and crafted build up. Meyers is excellent in helping this aspect along, and what is appealing with Julianne Moore is that by being completely normal and not at all the first person who comes to mind for this role, makes her somewhat perfect for it. Moore's character Caroline makes some questionable decisions, the kind that make you say " no why would you go in there.." but they're not running in your underwear through the woods holding a toothpick when Jason's around type decisions and actually it doesn't hurt the film but create real moments of suspense. The first half is a both entertaining and an enthralling suspense film, bordering on horror as it does have its horror moments.
The second half of the film then moves into a supernatural thriller. You are never behind the plot, always a step or two ahead but again this doesn't hurt the film. As our main characters head into Appalachian mountain country they seem to get trapped at the end of a lane and possibly directors Mårlind and Stein didn't know how to get out from deep in the Pennsylvanian woods. They make an effort to put in a twist or two and so wriggle their way out of a corner, unfortunately up to that point I was engrossed in the film but it rather loses it's way a little. I will say that it does end well and is worth watching, it's just because of the midway turn it takes from suspense thriller to supernatural drama it's hard not to compare the second half of the film to 'Skeleton Key' which ultimately is a much better film all round.
7/10
Potential but nah.
niko_virtane10 October 2022
Im not gonna tell about the plot since you can read it for yourself. Moore did what she could with the tools she was given. Meyers not so good,the difference is not big enough(you will know what i mean if you watch). I think if the story would have been told in a different angle this could have been good. Unfortunetly this way it lacks the chills the story could have given. Simply there are some stupid turns. I did like the little melody Adam wrote,should have been used maybe a bit more. And that spooky granny was creepy but again not used to perfection or even to a good level.
5 stars because it was watchable allthou dissapointing.
5 stars because it was watchable allthou dissapointing.
Pleasantly surprised
davejessop-130 July 2010
I had never heard of this film until I found it a few days ago. I had enjoyed Identity a lot and was expecting more of a psychological thriller - the first half of the film was exactly that and then turned into a pretty good supernatural horror.
Julianne Moore is as gorgeous as ever and plays the part very well - a bit like Tally in The Forgotten. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was excellent - the only film I've seen before with him in it was Alexander and can't remember him in it but this role was a revelation - he actually reminded me of a young Daniel Day Lewis. The always underrated Jeffrey DeMunn was good too.
This film is no Omen or The Shining so 8/10 is a pretty fair rating in my opinion.
Julianne Moore is as gorgeous as ever and plays the part very well - a bit like Tally in The Forgotten. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was excellent - the only film I've seen before with him in it was Alexander and can't remember him in it but this role was a revelation - he actually reminded me of a young Daniel Day Lewis. The always underrated Jeffrey DeMunn was good too.
This film is no Omen or The Shining so 8/10 is a pretty fair rating in my opinion.
I quite liked this movie.
Sleepin_Dragon3 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I quite enjoyed this, it's one of those films I saw the trailer, was wowed by it, and wanted to be utterly blown away by. Excellent in a number of ways, principally the performances of Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the latter in particular fantastic. A very dark story, with some cracking concepts. Lost its way a bit when the Witch Doctor was introduced, those scenes were so over the top they spoiled it a bit.
I wonder if M Night Shyamalan took anything from this when it came to developing Split.
Some genuinely creepy, dark moments, not least the moments with Cara's father, and then daughter suffering at the hands of David. To begin with it's a little slow, the directing could have been a bit punchier, but as it opens up and moves along it becomes rather engrossing.
Dark, watchable, but could have been so much better, 7/10
I wonder if M Night Shyamalan took anything from this when it came to developing Split.
Some genuinely creepy, dark moments, not least the moments with Cara's father, and then daughter suffering at the hands of David. To begin with it's a little slow, the directing could have been a bit punchier, but as it opens up and moves along it becomes rather engrossing.
Dark, watchable, but could have been so much better, 7/10
Good until it wasn't
killercharm27 August 2021
Good until it wasn't. Then it was disappointing. The only way this kind of story works is if you are thoroughly convinced that he is indeed what he is purported to be; only then will the flip be overwhelming. Since the first element wasn't convincing enough I was barely whelmed at the reveal.
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