Highly Overrated But Still Good

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I don't know why the IMDb score and Metacritic score are so low on this one. That's one of the reasons I put off watching it for a while but I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing it; it's one of the better horror films of recent years, and I'm a huge horror junkie. If you like disturbing horror that gets under your skin and doesn't rely on jump scares or constant gore then this is for you. The film is beautifully shot and has some exceptionally creepy visuals. It's sporadically violent and cruel but every moment of blood letting or grotesquerie is expertly handled and actually frightening rather than pure gross-out. I urge you not to watch the trailer as it contains spoilers I wish I hadn't known before going into it. If you want to know what to expect, I'd say it's got elements of films such as The Shining and The Ring, but it has a very unique feel. There's a nice dose of drama along with the horror and Rupert Evans is thoroughly believable and engaging in the lead role, much more so than your average modern horror protagonist. Highly recommended!

It's not easy to make me shiver cos I've seen more horror movies than the devil himself but I must admit that this movie gave me the chills to the bone!! The acting, sound effects, camera work, background music, lighting, direction and what not! Everything was just BRILLIANT! It's a bit a horror and thriller! You have your jump scares and those moments when you are at the edge of your seat clinging onto the Bible.I don't want to say anymore. My advice is to watch this movie and decide yourself but from my end, I sure as hell hope this director and team make more horror movies cos you got my attention which means you got my money!! THANKS!!

The Canal is a genuinely creepy Psychological horror film about a family who moves into a house that has an horrific history and it's past starts to influence their lives in a dramatic way. Not being a great lover of Horror films ( they bore me more than scare me) it's good to come across an independent film like this that actually does the job it's meant to. Sure , it's silly at times and the decision making by the characters is puzzling at best but i found it really watchable and i really liked the ending. The acting from the child , who must be more more than four years old , is really good too.6 out of 10

Heh, I swear... I don't think I've had to wade through SO damn many Bull$hit reviews in all my life. "10 stars!" "MOST BRILLIANT HORROR FILM! GO SEE IT NOW!" "BEST FILM EVER!" Please... Anyway, ultimately I guess I did enjoy the movie; I did give it a '7', which at the beginning, I wasn't even sure whether I even wanted to finish watching it.But, as the story goes on it DOES get better. Without giving anything away, it's interesting how they gave us a surprisingly effective ending (meaning the whole last 'movement', not just the last few minutes) that wasn't your usual cop-out ending that you normally see in these types of films. I really don't want to get more specific than that because I do not wish to ruin it for you. Let's just say that it kind of leans one way and then kind of twists the other way : )I felt that the style was a little off-putting at first, employing techniques making it a BIT too jumpy at times. It could be kind of jarring. I mean, it's not that I cannot appreciate good jump-scares with loud noises if it is done well. But, to me at the very beginning I think they did it a bit too much in conjunction with normal, mundane things. Like when he was just simply loading the film. BUT... thankfully, as the substance and mood of the film began to solidify and build more and more tension, these elements seemed to fit and merge with the overall tone of the movie better, rather than seeming quite as out of place as it had in the beginning. The A/V style kind of struck me as about 65% David Lynch (excellent) and about 35% MTV (not so much) Heh, maybe not quite THAT bad... One thing that I REALLY did like was the haunting, ambient sound throughout much of the film, which is more consistent with the Lynchian mood that I like.The acting overall was fine; the main guy played it with just about the right 'balance' (in a manner of speaking) between uncovering the past evidence and history of what happened with his house and still raising our concern somewhat about his mental state (that is all I'd better say about this, but like I mentioned before, the film doesn't 'cop out' stupidly like others that have similar themes) Without revealing any details, I personally liked the way they resolved the ending; because I think it really gave it a nice 'punch'... One thing I WILL say though is that no matter whether ultimately he was right or wrong, the main policeman was a complete and TOTAL D*ck.For me personally, the A/V style of this film would not be among my very favourites, but trying to view the movie objectively in order to help others determine whether they might enjoy it or not, I feel that overall this film was suspenseful and creepy with an effective ending which added to it's entertainment value. So, maybe for ME it wouldn't quite be a '7', but I think that for people in general it would be a good film (considering that there are SO many really LAME Horror films out there) So, IF you like your Horror movies with strong Psychological undercurrents and you don't mind some Supernatural elements being thrown in, there is a good chance that you may very well enjoy this film.