El hombre de las sombras

This is simply an excellent movie. It portrays a good story that is cleverly presented. I would say it's one of those movies to ponder for some time, and that alone is enough reason to watch it. Obviously I have to say that the score here doesn't do it justice at all, but anyway, it seems that many people have lost the eye for a good story. The acting is great, perhaps the best asset of the film. Jessica Biel stands out with her performance, which is intense and totally committed. Her character is nicely built and the twists of the story will not let you down. This is not a classic horror flick, but it doesn't come short of thrills and cliffhanger moments. I particularly like a story that makes room for imagination, the type of films that don't give you everything on a silver plate, and this is one of those movies. I have watched a previous movie by Lugier, 'Martyrs', which I would recommend to people who are always in for extreme emotions, but most importantly, this director is not out to please, but to tell a good story and leave a mark on the viewers. 100% recommended.

In the decadent Cold Rock, in Pittsville County, USA, children are going missing and the urban legend is that "The Tall Man" is the responsible for the disappearances. The widow nurse Julia Denning (Jessica Biel) lives in an isolated manor with her son David (Jakob Davies) and the housemaid Christine (Eve Harlow). When David is abducted by The Tall Man, Julia grabs on the back of his truck trying to save her son. But The Tall Man hits her and escapes with David.

Lieutenant Dodd (Stephen McHattie), who is investigating the case, find Julia fainted on the road and brings her to a dining. When Julia goes to the toilet, she makes a discovery that will change her life.

"The Tall Man" is a surprisingly great and original drama with many twists. The screenplay surprises the viewers many times along 106 minutes running time and the unusual theme may be unpleasant for many people. But the only problem is the title that misleads the viewers and disappoints those that expect to see a horror movie or a thriller. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem das Sombras" ("The Shadow Man")

First of all my wife wasn't a big fan of this movie. Not enough explanations for her and I get that but all in all I thought The Tall Man was original as a story. This story has never been told before and for that it gets some credit from me. It's nicely filmed with enough dark passages, twists and intrigues to keep you interested. It's not a horror movie though. A thriller yes but certainly not a horror movie. The cast is good with good performances, nothing bad to say about them. I liked the fact that I thought I figured it out completely but that at the end I was completely wrong. I like movies that can surprise me. Nothing more boring then a movie where you know exactly what's going to happen next. And that's not the case with The Tall Man at all.

The Tall Man – CATCH IT (B-) The Tall Man is a very interesting movie about an 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 (Jessica 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. The First half of the movie is really enjoyable as it's a complete thriller about a town, a woman, missing children and tall man. But once the shocking revelation was made after 50mints the movie becomes more of a social message than a thriller till the end. This doesn't goes in favor of the movie because maybe it's the biggest cover up in the town we still want some chilling running from the evil. Jessica Beil is great and perfect for her role but the twist they have in the movie only works if the woman is as strong as Jessica Beil. On the whole, it's a good thriller in first half and an okay movie in the second part.

Indescribable, other than to say there are so many twists and surprises there is no way to guess what's next...or how it ends. And this movie has plenty of depth that allows for interpretation. Definitely not a one trick pony!

The movie started slow, and I was bored for the first 15 minutes, but I hung in there and so glad I did. It's a really good movie! The acting is terrific. The characters are complex, each conveying some "good" and some "bad" as well as some mystery. The plot is complicated but eventually everything comes together. What you thought you knew, you eventually realize was far off base.

The constant twists are very effective at moving the storyline along at a pretty fast pace (I.e., you don't want to miss scenes or you will not get the full impact). Everything gets explained, but you have to pay attention to every scene.

Kudos to the writers and producers for tying up the storyline in a neat bow. So many other movies leave lose ends all over the place and fall short on the logic/explanation, but not this one. Stick with it until the end and you will be happy that you did!

Not a perfect movie, but far better than average and definitely worth a watch. It's a really good example of what lesser films "should" mirror to be better.