How sad is this?

Crappy film

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

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

In this review I'll try my best to leave spoilers out so other folks can see what I've seen and make up their own minds about this film. I can go ahead and say, however, that it's not the bloodfest that some reviewers have said it was. I found myself shouting at the screen a few times at husband Chad because he was a spineless abomination. You will end up asking yourself throughout the film, "What did this wife see in this jerk? Why'd she remain with him for so long?"Cinematography-wise, the movie was okay. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't find the audience it was looking for. It may have been low budget but it would've played well on the big screen. In a way, it's a poor man's "Hostel" or "Saw". It wasn't a total waste of time; the acting was on point and the right (horrific) atmosphere was created. I guess it's one of those films you take for what it is. Check it out anyway. Mileage may vary, though.

"Farmhouse" is almost unthinkable--although it initially comes across (and perhaps was marketed) as "torture-porn", it transcends that label and turns into something like a modern, original "Twilight Zone" episode. It relies on a great story, which tells us just enough to keep us guessing up until the (genuinely) shocking ending; it is full of marvelous details (as several have pointed out, this movie does for cheese graters what "Jaws" did for the ocean); most importantly, it has a clear, moral vision of the world which guides all of the characters' actions. The two protagonists of "Farmhouse", a couple mourning the recent loss of their child, make a genuine claim on our sympathies and are wonderfully acted throughout. Best of all, both of them are allowed to be somewhat resourceful--they aren't the usual stick figures who go off in the woods by themselves, or walk down into the basement unarmed to investigate a strange noise. Steven Weber and Kelly Hu are also terrific and fearless as the smiling, vaguely Biblically named farm couple (Samuel and Lilith) who take them in when they get into a car accident. The torture scenes are tense and inventive, but we aren't coerced into enjoying the pain of the victims (although we do enjoy the evil relish displayed by Hu and Weber). And the ending is the opposite of M. Night Shymalan's twists-for-twists sake; it changes the meaning of everything we've seen and casts a chill similar to classics like "The Maltese Falcon". My only (tiny) reservation is with the video game/medieval costuming at the end; this movie doesn't need such gimmicks. If the last shot doesn't haunt you, you're too jaded for decent company.

This is a very decent psychological thriller horror with some excellent acting and there is nothing cheap or cheerful about this movie, I like movies which make you think and ask questions and this film - a little bit like Lovely Bones recently - makes you do that.The film in a way also reminds me of the recent horror Vacancy with the couple on the run and the couple conveniently being in a range of a farmhouse when they crash the car.Chad has a gambling problem - but why was he gambling? And how was the 25K paid? I assume the house where they lived was rented, not owned, and they gave the furniture away to a neighbour, so took nothing away with them in the car, or so it seemed.The girl clearly had a problem in childcare and a healthcare issue with her baby. They both had a problem and the visitation to the farmhouse was a sort of addressing of their guilt and wrongs, so how I seem the drowning of the girls head and the prompt for Chad to justify himself as a man and try and save her.There is A TOUCH of SAW 6 in this morality (if there is any morality).The deaf guy is a key character in the story but is he the only worker to be employed on such a large vineyard 30 miles from anywhere? Absurd but intriguing. The sinister couple too busy bonking to put their hand to the hands on management of the vineyard.Great ending but I still don't get the opening scene when Scarlet the girl is a child and is flash backed again at the end. Need to watch again for further curiosity.Overall, excellent thriller, not top-drawer but enjoyable in this specific film sector although why they persist in including mindless eroticism (sex scene with the open door) is quite beyond me. A theme of many of such films of dateI have some AFTERTHOUGHTS to my original posting.Of course what has happened is that the couple have wronged with the death of their child and perhaps cashed in an insurance Policy to meet the gambling debt and fund a getaway. But this is wrong through the eyes of God and the car accident is their penitence and punishment for eternity, hence the role played by Lil and Samyel, although brutal and horrific, is intended to send a very clear message - and it surely does.In life there is no second chance. there is also a slight moral connection with the Cohens A Serious Man (but only slight).Wow, this is a real thinking film, there is definitely a similarity in this movie with what happened to the little girl in Lovely Bones and the couple in the car crash. Enjoy this movie, its great!

This definitely takes torture films to a whole new level with it's brutality and very dark subject matter with a twist that will shock you to the core. I thought the performances were all pretty good but sometimes fell flat but nothing distracting and is very graphic and twisted in some scenes that is definitely not for the squeamish. There was dread throughout the moment it started and it will have you guessing how it's going to end and you will probably be wrong because it's devastating and horrific. The production values are pretty basic lifetime movie of the week material but that doesn't make it lose its effectiveness and being downright disturbing and dark, very dark. Overall this is a pretty solid thriller about a couple that tries to start a new life after the death of their child but wound up fighting for their lives and I recommend this slow trip to hell for the twist alone.