If you want to waste 2 hours of your life, you should watch this. Otherwise you will end up saving 2 precious hours of your life that can bring happiness rather than the disappointment that will accompany the ending of this movie. Literally I tried to find something from this movie on which basis I could give it a good or at least average review, but this is not up to the standard of an average movie. I am highly disappointed in this. If you don't believe me, then go for it. Poor acting skills and poor directions make it even worse. No proper story line or script. Its seems so childish. A lot effort is missing in the section because of which it couldn't become that much horror, it should have been.
14 Reviews
An Obnoxious Insult To Its Audience
hieulee31 December 2015
Having had the opportunities to watch some surprisingly good indie films, I stumbled upon Adaline and decided to try my luck on it today. Unfortunately, the movie was just too painful to watch.
Firstly, the poor writing as well as directing makes Adaline worse than a child play and just randomly develop without proper pace or any logical connections between each scene. There was so much nonsense that it seemed like the director just got rid of characters from the screen or resurrected them whenever he felt like doing it. I found this ridiculous and hilarious at the same time as it left the whole audience with uncountable WTF moments throughout the film. Secondly, the acting looks stiff, boring and fake, making it hard to evoke people's curiosity and to terrify them as a thriller/horror movie was meant to do. In fact, I could not tell if it is thriller or the kind of horror where you die of boredom. The only bright spot of Adaline is its cinematography peppered with some nice shots of Golden Gate Bridge and interesting use of angles. I am glad I finished it at the end of 2015 rather than wait until 2016 to torture my brain at the beginning of a wonderful new year.
Believe me, I really try to leave a positive review on every film I have seen but this so-called movie is just impossible. It was funny that the whole audience in my room actually gave a big round of applause when Adaline ended. I guess they were really happy that they could finally escape their mental abuse with courtesy.
Firstly, the poor writing as well as directing makes Adaline worse than a child play and just randomly develop without proper pace or any logical connections between each scene. There was so much nonsense that it seemed like the director just got rid of characters from the screen or resurrected them whenever he felt like doing it. I found this ridiculous and hilarious at the same time as it left the whole audience with uncountable WTF moments throughout the film. Secondly, the acting looks stiff, boring and fake, making it hard to evoke people's curiosity and to terrify them as a thriller/horror movie was meant to do. In fact, I could not tell if it is thriller or the kind of horror where you die of boredom. The only bright spot of Adaline is its cinematography peppered with some nice shots of Golden Gate Bridge and interesting use of angles. I am glad I finished it at the end of 2015 rather than wait until 2016 to torture my brain at the beginning of a wonderful new year.
Believe me, I really try to leave a positive review on every film I have seen but this so-called movie is just impossible. It was funny that the whole audience in my room actually gave a big round of applause when Adaline ended. I guess they were really happy that they could finally escape their mental abuse with courtesy.
Suspenseful
jenneknox17 December 2015
Not as bad as some of these other reviewers say, I actually found it pretty entertaining. I nearly jumped out of my seat during more than a few parts of the film. I will admit, there are moments when the film is a little slow, but the performances were decent with a special nod to Jeremy Walker who played Marvin. Wow, I can't imagine it's easy to play a mentally challenged person and he did it quite convincingly. Jeremy's performance reminded me of when Leonardo DiCaprio played Arnie in Gilbert Grape. I suggest giving it a watch for sure, you won't be disappointed.
I don't suggest watching it right before you go to bed!
I don't suggest watching it right before you go to bed!
Gives TV Movies a bad name
tarquinotterfield-1245610 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
To compare this to TV Movies really insults TV Movies as some make the effort and produce something actually watchable on a similar budget.
This film was terrible, 1 dimensional characters, poor writing and just a complete muddle, it wasn't clear what genre it was aiming for and managed to underwhelm in several.
In essence a poorly acted lady inherits a house and starts to see dreams or visions of herself in a wig from another life. It really never pans out to mean anything and eventually turns out to be a film about abusive exs or something?
Also there's a pretty offensive mentally handicapped dude for really no reason at all, unsure if its the writing or the acting but his handicap appears to be just dressing and talking funny, hes pretty much just a normal otherwise. Stick a dude in dungarees and glasses and suddenly hes mentally handicapped WTF???
Poor effort all round people avoid like the plague.
This film was terrible, 1 dimensional characters, poor writing and just a complete muddle, it wasn't clear what genre it was aiming for and managed to underwhelm in several.
In essence a poorly acted lady inherits a house and starts to see dreams or visions of herself in a wig from another life. It really never pans out to mean anything and eventually turns out to be a film about abusive exs or something?
Also there's a pretty offensive mentally handicapped dude for really no reason at all, unsure if its the writing or the acting but his handicap appears to be just dressing and talking funny, hes pretty much just a normal otherwise. Stick a dude in dungarees and glasses and suddenly hes mentally handicapped WTF???
Poor effort all round people avoid like the plague.
so so bad
sarahyearwood3 December 2015
I have always tried to leave positive feedback. I like the idea of making someone feel good when they deserve it. Unfortunately, I chose to leave feedback that isn't good today. This movie was so bad, I just spent the last half an hour searching for it on Google, finally locating it on IMDb, and now leaving a review. It was not scary. It was so boring. I regret watching it.the main character doesn't scream until the end. I couldn't tell if this was a murder horror or a ghost horror. Its neither. Its the type of horror where you die from boredom. I'm trying to post this review, but IMDb wants ten lines. I don't even want to make the effort, but I feel like other people need to know how terrible this movie was. How did this even get a 7.6 on IMDb!? That rating beats Rocky 5. I would rather watch Rocky 5 on repeat for the rest of my life than be subject to this movie again. Please, whatever you do, don't watch this!
A total time wastage
mohina-6582213 August 2017
I usually don't leave movies midway just because i respect the hard work put by so many different people to create one. This one was a nightmare to watch - certainly not because of the horror content. I am fan of thriller and horror movies. This one was just a draggy movie and doesn't come in any genre. Scenes were so disconnected and it felt they have just put random scenes just to fill in the gaps. Bad script, Horrible direction and overall just a pain to watch.
Average and undemanding.
parry_na28 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Originally known as 'Adaline', this was repackaged and retitled 'The Conjured'. This blatant similarity to the popular 'The Conjuring' films gives you some idea of the originality on display here.
I wouldn't wish to do Bidisha Chowdhury's project a disservice; this is modestly budgeted and appears to be a labour of love, but despite the goodwill, and the cast doing their best, there isn't anything remotely new attempted.
The film opens in a gory way, which is out of place with the more sedate nature of what is to come. When Daniela (Jill Evyn) inherits a mansion from an Aunt in the middle of nowhere and her friend exclaims, "I didn't even know you had an Aunt," you are sure what the next line will be ("I didn't know I had an Aunt either," in case you're wondering). Nice bloke John (Lane Townsend) turns up and proves inordinately helpful one way or another. He'll be the main villain then, will he? Well, will he? No-one smiles like that all the time.
There's an abusive ex-boyfriend and a mentally handicapped character as further possibilities, but really, things are extremely predictable here. It won't keep you guessing. Undemanding chills, with occasional scenes of sex and gore to keep you from picking up the crossword.
I wouldn't wish to do Bidisha Chowdhury's project a disservice; this is modestly budgeted and appears to be a labour of love, but despite the goodwill, and the cast doing their best, there isn't anything remotely new attempted.
The film opens in a gory way, which is out of place with the more sedate nature of what is to come. When Daniela (Jill Evyn) inherits a mansion from an Aunt in the middle of nowhere and her friend exclaims, "I didn't even know you had an Aunt," you are sure what the next line will be ("I didn't know I had an Aunt either," in case you're wondering). Nice bloke John (Lane Townsend) turns up and proves inordinately helpful one way or another. He'll be the main villain then, will he? Well, will he? No-one smiles like that all the time.
There's an abusive ex-boyfriend and a mentally handicapped character as further possibilities, but really, things are extremely predictable here. It won't keep you guessing. Undemanding chills, with occasional scenes of sex and gore to keep you from picking up the crossword.
Great Cinematography
jsortwell17 December 2015
Not sure what these birds above were watching, I think some of these reviewers woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I thought the film was thoughtful and well plotted. Considering a low budget and indie nature of the film I thought it was very well done. I do agree about he confusion of the mental challenged character and not sure it was totally necessary but think the actor himself did fantastic with the role. There were moments when the film was a little slow but I did not mind it as I was on the edge of my seat in a few parts and really the eeriness of the ghost had me boggled. I would watch it again and suggest you watch it too.
Conjured from the Abyss of bad B-movie Hell
Stevieboy66615 September 2021
British title - "The Conjured" (how highly unoriginal!). A young artist called Daniela inherits an old house a couple of hours drive out of San Francisco but soon spooky things such as ghostly visions and Satanic pentagrams start to appear. She befriends a couple of locals, one being her neighbour John. She thinks he's a nice guy but any self respecting movie fan can tell straight away that he's a creep. John is played by Lane Townsend, obviously hired more for his looks than for his acting ability. The conversation between the two often has those painfully long pauses, Oscar worthy this isn't! At least Jill Evyn (Daniela) is not afraid to take her clothes off for the camera. The sex scenes must surely be the sole reason why this garbage is rated 18 in Britain, it certainly cannot be for violence or horror. The latter is very poor, a combination of weak ghosts and a laughably bad Satanic plot. The pace is very slow, at 96 minutes it surely could have lost some of its dull, pointless dialogue. On the plus side the camera work is good and at the start we are treated to some nice shots of San Francisco. One of the quotes on the UK DVD sleeve reads "I nearly fell out of my bed in fear!" Well I watched this in bed too, only I had a job to stay awake!
A Great Indie Thriller
pfflyer100512 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Spoiler alert....I am revealing some spefic details of the film.8
I really enjoyed watching this film. As an low-budget Indie it is quite good, especially for the cinematography, which I thought was top notch. There is splendid use of shadow effects, wonderful angles and lighting. There was some decent acting throughout, and I particularly enjoyed the job Jeremy Walker did as a developmentally disabled young man, Marvin. I have worked with special needs students, and I felt that he did a good job portraying one. The kindness that was shown him by Danielle, the main character, was refreshing and helped to highlight her vulnerability. There were a number of scenes that made me jump, some that made me tense up, and some that left me guessing, especially as to who the "bad guy" was. What more can we ask for in a thriller? It would be interesting to see what Bidisha Chowdhury, the director, could do with a larger budget....
I really enjoyed watching this film. As an low-budget Indie it is quite good, especially for the cinematography, which I thought was top notch. There is splendid use of shadow effects, wonderful angles and lighting. There was some decent acting throughout, and I particularly enjoyed the job Jeremy Walker did as a developmentally disabled young man, Marvin. I have worked with special needs students, and I felt that he did a good job portraying one. The kindness that was shown him by Danielle, the main character, was refreshing and helped to highlight her vulnerability. There were a number of scenes that made me jump, some that made me tense up, and some that left me guessing, especially as to who the "bad guy" was. What more can we ask for in a thriller? It would be interesting to see what Bidisha Chowdhury, the director, could do with a larger budget....
Good movie. Recommended
wizardbard12 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I think that the crew and cast did an amazing job with this film considering they were operating with an extremely low budget. The acting was good and natural, the cinematography was very well done. As a psychological terror thriller it comes off very well. There were some truly scary moments and several sub plots that added a great deal to the watchability and tension in the movie. Much better than a lot of indie films that I've seen. It's been accepted to 10 or more film festivals and was awarded the best horror film medal in at least one of them. Most movies don't even make it to one, so getting into 10 of them (both domestic and international) is quite an achievement. I'd love to see what the producer and director could do with a larger budget.
Well Acted, Well Produced, Well Done
tonyurgo-9706513 December 2015
Adaline has good production values with a solid cast and a well told story. It looks great and the story has plenty of twists and turns and elements of surprise.
The pacing is good and the different locales - San Francisco, then a rural town in Marin County - offer a nice contrast to setting and atmosphere. The lead female protagonist, a frustrated painter trying to get her work seen, inherits an old house and sees it as an opportunity and new start to her work and life. Of course the house comes with a past and secrets that spill into the present when she arrives and settles in.
It's an interesting mix of horror, suspense, supernatural and mystery genres - there's something in it for everyone. Recommended.
The pacing is good and the different locales - San Francisco, then a rural town in Marin County - offer a nice contrast to setting and atmosphere. The lead female protagonist, a frustrated painter trying to get her work seen, inherits an old house and sees it as an opportunity and new start to her work and life. Of course the house comes with a past and secrets that spill into the present when she arrives and settles in.
It's an interesting mix of horror, suspense, supernatural and mystery genres - there's something in it for everyone. Recommended.
Great Cinematography
valleazteka13 December 2015
This film was an experience none the less. It was truly great to see it take place in the Bay Area.
The cinematography was a pleasant surprise. The locations were super interesting and it was great to see the bay area for what it is. Diverse and BEAUTIFUL. The shots of the Golden Gate Bridge were priceless. The creepy , spooky houses were really awesome as they gave validity to the plot that revolved around the inheritance of such a home.
The acting was well done , and although the film slowed down at times the collaboration that brought this film together was a delight.
Happy viewing and support the indie film !
The cinematography was a pleasant surprise. The locations were super interesting and it was great to see the bay area for what it is. Diverse and BEAUTIFUL. The shots of the Golden Gate Bridge were priceless. The creepy , spooky houses were really awesome as they gave validity to the plot that revolved around the inheritance of such a home.
The acting was well done , and although the film slowed down at times the collaboration that brought this film together was a delight.
Happy viewing and support the indie film !
Good late night flick
robbinlee-116 December 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed ADALINE - it was full of surprises, suspenseful, and beautiful to look at. Being an indie film one might expect the production values to be a bit uneven, but the film flows along and keeps all the balls in the air. The cinematography in particular stands out: foggy moonlit night scenes, a dusty spooky attic filled with mystery, the hustle and bustle of the city. The music and the soundtrack deserve mention as well.
The audience I saw ADALINE with was very absorbed with the film and seemed to find several plot turns genuinely surprising. Always a good sign. Overall a positive viewing experience. Recommended!
The audience I saw ADALINE with was very absorbed with the film and seemed to find several plot turns genuinely surprising. Always a good sign. Overall a positive viewing experience. Recommended!
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