Pascal Laugier certainly made a splash on the horror scene with 2009’s Martyrs. It may have divided audiences on the merit of it’s torture-porn, but there’s no denying that it showed off Laugier’s willingness to push boundaries.
You would think that for his follow-up he’d be upping the ante even further (which would have put him in Lars Von Trier territory), but instead he’s decided to keep it pretty mainstream with The Tall Man.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t look rather chilling though.
It’s certainly seems to be more suspense than horror, which I will admit was a bit of a letdown. However, on the plus side, it was met with mixed reviews when it screened at this year’s SXSW Film Fest.
No, you didn’t read that wrong, I did indeed call “mixed reviews” a plus. You see, while those that didn’t enjoy the film, called it “convoluted”, “disjointed” and many other words that aren’t fit for our PG-13 publication, those on the side of the aisle thought it “ambitious” and “complex.”
So there’s hope yet that Laugier has once again done something memorable, the question now will just be on which side of the fence you come down on.
Synopsis:
In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace – abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as “The Tall Man.” Town nurse Julia Denning (Biel) seems skeptical… until her young David disappears in the middle of night. Frantic to rescue the boy, Julia lives every parent’s darkest nightmare in this twisting, shock-around-each-corner thriller from acclaimed director Pascal Laugier.
Last Updated: July 2, 2012
