THE NOT SO AMAZING 'GRACE'

This is probably the worst movie I've watched so far, paving its way into the list of one of the worst movie this year, well, at least on my list. I don't know about yours.

I wasn't sure what the movie is about and so I read the synopsis and deduce that it's a horror-thriller flick. Well, it does seem like an interesting movie although I'm always skeptical and scared when watching horror movies.

In short, "Grace" is basically about a baby who feeds on blood.

The only one thing I like about the movie 

Yes - the poster

Madeline was 9 months pregnant when she and her husband met with an accident. The tragic accident took her husband's life and basically killed the baby she had inside her. However, she is not willing to give up the baby and insist to carry the baby till it's due. Miraculously the baby came back to live after her birth but soon Madeline discover that Grace's (the baby)  main food is blood. Madeline obsession in caring for the baby's needs drove her pretty much into insanity, which could cause her to lose custody of her baby girl. How did she fight back?

Did you know it has actually won the dramatic Audience Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the Sundance film festival 2009.

Why do I not like 'Grace'?
Well, as interesting as the synopsis may be, it is really not. Basically I think it's because the director had employ some artistic techniques in the movie, making it a artsy-fartsy cinematic film, rather than one that entertains. Usually artistic scene focus and stay on one single shot for as long as few minutes,  for instance, a scene of Madeline draining blood from the cattle she bought took about 5 minutes of the screen time. This technique usually make the movie a bore and creating a super slow pace for the movie, which explains why I kept fast-forwarding most scenes, dying for some drama. Dialogues are minimal, consisting of short, uninteresting sentences...

If you expect super gory, bloody, terrifying scenes, well, I'm sorry but you won't get that with "Grace". Yes there are blood here and there but it's not like filmed in a way to create fear or horror. If it is meant to inject that thrill feeling, then I think it had kinda failed. It's really pretty boring.

"He (the director) relies upon a precise and slow-building technical elegance, supplemented by fearless performances and the ever-elusive gift of a genuinely frightening story, to violate the sanctity of a mother’s love and create true horror. Seething with a kind of sophisticated terror uncommon for its genre, Grace effortlessly uncoils an atmosphere of immense discomfort and subtle intensity, while quietly creeping into the spine and slicing into our most primal fears."

- Sundance Festival Review

Sadly I beg to disagree. "Slow building technical elegance"...well if that means the movie is super draggy and it makes you feel like it's never ending, then yes.

"Sophisticated terror and slicing into our most primal fears" is really over dramatically phrased although the sentence is beautifully penned by the reviewer. I mean I didn't feel more than an ounce of fear when watching the movie so I just don't get how is it true horror. The murder scenes are predictable and extra thoughts weren't even dedicated to make the murder a more creative and intelligent one. The only thing that work perhaps is the sound effects but then again they are nothing compared to those hard-core horror flicks. Even the crappy "Midnight Meat Train" contains scarier elements than this one.


"uncoils an atmosphere of immense discomfort" - Perhaps the MOST discomfort I feel was when watching an old couple making love. Sorry but who would want to watch that? But artistic films (remember "What Time is it There?") tend to feature some of the most awkward love scenes like older people making love to each other or masturbating. No offense, they have the right to enjoy their sexual life but maybe it's best they kept it off-screen.

I agree though that the film has incorporated themes of love within a thriller-horror storyline but generally, what is so great about that when there are other horror films, with greater effects and impacts carrying the same theme of love...

But then again what do I know right? To be fair, I am not really the right person to give comments on the technical cinematic aspects of a film, especially an artistic one but usually,  for me, it is very hard to enjoy an artistic movie because I don't usually know what the director is trying to imply using those techniques. For me though, I always enjoy movies with great themes to discuss and explore and brilliant scripts that cleverly play with the dialogues. Sadly, "Grace" is just one of those films. Acting wise - not outstanding in a way that make me go like "Wao! impressive acting". In fact, I actually like none of them in the movie.

Perhaps each scene in "Grace" could have brilliantly capture various other meaning if you delve deeper into it, but on the surface, it really is not a great watch. So rent "Ju-On" or "The Ring" instead if you are planning to get goosebumps. But if you want to see it for yourself, you know, to see if it's really that bad, then by all means go for it. Besides, it's an award winning film.

TC-My Rating:

Lotsa Lurve
TammyC signing off from home