The Tall Man (2012)

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

Director:

Pascal Laugier

Writer:

Pascal Laugier

Stars:

Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, William B. Davis

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

This film is about a legend that has been started by the town folk of Cold Rock. Since the children in the town have been going missing, people have said it's an entity known as 'The Tall Man' who has been taking them. Julia Denning (Jssica Biel) is the local nurse whose husband died years earlier. She is soon personally involved as her child is taken. She tries to track down where the child is taken, but finds that there's more to what's happening than she knew. The towns-folk start to turn on her and the truth comes out. But there's still more to the story - who is 'The Tall Man'? And what is the truth behind the disappearances?

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Plot Keywords:

nurse | disappearance | urban legend | washington state | written by director | 

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Taglines:

Fear Takes a New Shape

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and terror, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Screamworks Records [Sweden]

Country:

USA Canada France

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

In the Shadow of the Tall Man

Filming Locations:

Salmo, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

EUR15,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,212,903

Company Credits

Production Co:

Minds Eye Entertainment, Cold Rock Productions BC, Forecast Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (HDCAM)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jessica Biel also worked on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) with Andrew Bryniarski, who plays the character Leatherface, a tall man that kidnaps people (Bryniarski is 6'5, making him the tallest actor in all Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies).

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Goofs

When the sheriff arrives at the building with Julia in the back seat, she manages to escape from the car by easily opening it from the inside. Today's police cars are designed so that the suspect cannot escape regardless of whether or not the door is locked or unlocked; in such a way her the door can only be opened from the outside.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sheriff Chestnut: Not a single thing.

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Connections

Featured in Made in France (2015)

User Reviews

The reason you like Martyrs will dictate whether you like The Tall Man

This is a well conceived, well directed and well acted film. The atmosphere throughout is very ominous and the twisting plot keeps us questioning both what is happening, and what our feelings about the unfolding events are.

It is, in my mind, quite similar to Martyrs, the writer/director's previous film, in that they both have sophisticated concepts behind them that we don't often find in horror. That's not to say, however, that all fans of Martyrs will enjoy this. Martyrs' disturbing content was relevant to the overall concept of the film. This film has an interesting concept but doesn't require the 'shock' to make it's point. So, if you are hoping for something really disturbing, a 'Martyrs 2' if you will, you will probably be disappointed. If however, you want something fresh that makes you question and think, then you should get something out of this.

I can't say that this is as good as Martyrs, but very few horror films are. It is however, a lot better than many seem to think and it's low rating seems to suggest. This film is an interesting next step for the writer/director. It feels like his movie, it just doesn't leave you feeling mentally scarred at the end, which is fine by me.