User reviews

Mack Phillips is happily married with three children. When a family tragedy shatters their carefree existence, Mack becomes bitter and depressed and the family starts to drift apart. Out of the blue he receives an invitation to return to where the tragedy took place, a deserted cabin known simply as The Shack. Thing is - the invitation is from God...

Well-intended but clumsy and long-winded. The aim was to portray the Christian message in a relatable way, especially how it pertains to tragedy and grief. However, it takes forever to get there, and does so in a folksy, licence-taking, sermonising sort of way.

Part of the problem is that the producers hedged their bets in terms of who their target audience was, trying to make it for Christian and non-Christian audiences alike and thus diluting the effect on both parties. Christians will probably find the movie overly simplistic and dumbed-down, and even inaccurate in some respects. Non-Christians, and movie-goers in general, will be put off by the overly long set-up before the important stuff, and then then how that is also drawn out. In addition, the message delivery is not too subtle, so the feeling that you're being lectured to may be off-putting to some too.

It's not all bad though. There are some good messages along the way and the end ties things together reasonably well. That would require watchers to make it to the end though...

I knew something wasn't the norm when too much time was taken over close spiritualist conversations. Sure enough the relationship with the daughter proved to be the peg that this movie hinged on. A lot of soulful moments learning about forgiveness. Not a movie to grab and hold one's attention and probably best watched alone so one can reflect upon life. Good for the soul.

I never thought I will appreciate movie genres like this.Lately I have been watching sci-fi, suspense and romance themed movies. At first I have no plan of watching this movie, but my attention was caught when a friend of mine told me what was this all about. I must say, the movie was "divinely crafted". This was the first movie that really punched my ego and played my emotions. Some parts of the movie can rip your soul and enlighten you about the divinity of God, the nature of life, the circumstances that we do not understand. The story was beautifully and intricately written, absolutely.

If you watch the movie, you will really feel that God was there, in front of you, talking to you, loving you, giving you ideas that encompass human comprehension.

"Why does it have to happen?, why do we have to suffer?, If God does exist, why wont he show then?", these are questions common to us, surely you have asked these questions yourself.

If you are that person who questions the incomprehensible course of fate, circumstance and life, this movie is for you.

Every day, the average person finds themselves working to do the right things. Whether this be for others, themselves or in other places, it feels good to do them. It brings closure and gratification to the doer knowing that someone else will feel good too. But in life, not every waking moment is filled with joy and happiness. Sadness and tragedy is also a part of this cycle and sometimes it happens to people who are not deserving of such horrible acts. For those who believe in a higher power, this becomes quite the challenge for the religious. So many questions begin to flood the individuals mind asking why and how come. The problem is, the more one thinks about it, the more consumed they can become. This is similar to what happens here.

The plot is about Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington), a loving husband and father of three children. One weekend in the summer he goes on vacation with his family, only to not pay attention during a certain moment to have his youngest daughter Missy (Amélie Eve) kidnapped. Sadly when she is found in shack, the worst of his nightmares came true. Sometime later, he receives a mysterious letter inviting him back to the shack. Wanting to take matters into his own hands, he sets off. When he arrives, he realizes he's come to meet God and thus begins his journey of self enlightenment. Based on the book written by William P. Young, the script adapted by John Fusco, Andrew Lanham and Destin Daniel Cretton makes good use of its character development on Mack. The direction was headed by Stuart Hazeldine, who had only lead Exam (2009), which was more of a thriller. For this he does a decent job.

Throughout the running time, Mack goes through many ups and downs while talking with his creator. Questions that many ordinary people would ask themselves too. Why must bad things happen to innocent people? What was the point? Why do bad people get away with good things? As time passes Mack begins to learn the answers to his questions and realizes certain things he never thought were possible. He also discovers things about himself and how that affects his wife Nan (Radha Mitchell), his son Josh (Gage Munroe) and daughter Kate (Megan Charpentier). How Mack interacts with the higher entity is also done in a unique way. Instead of just having God present himself as an all powerful being, he gets split into four different people. Octavia Spencer plays papa, the nickname Mack gave his god, Avraham Aviv Alush plays Jesus and Sumire is Sarayu. These three more or less are a reflection of Christianity's holy trinity. Then there's Alice Braga who is the personification of Wisdom and also has lesson to teach.

There's even an appearance from Graham Greene as another character portrayal of papa when Mack hits an even harder roadblock. Tim McGraw is also cast as one of Mack's closest friends. For all the actors involved, they all perform very well. For those who believe in a higher power, this film may even give insight to those who wonder themselves. The emotion looks authentic and the feeling of loss is relatable. If anything, Sam Worthington still can't seem to get rid of his English accent every now and then. He's convincing most of the time, but every so often his original accent slips out. However even with all these positives, the film still has moments that are off putting. For one, the idea that God is always happy and believes even he does no wrong. It seems almost too sure of oneself. Almost arrogant sounding and in some scenes. It just doesn't sound right.

The other problem is expected Christian movie clichés. Some are just so blatantly foreshadowed, it can be quite obnoxious. It's understandable that something's are supposed to be emotional and heartfelt, but then there are points where it begs the question why must a story always try to lead it's audience to a sense of false security. Just stop it already. Aside from this though, the music and camerawork were well executed for this production. Declan Quinn as the cinematographer to this movie had a number of captivating scenes that had beautiful scenery. Having experience in other coming of age movies like This Is My Father (1998), In America (2002) and Ricki and the Flash (2015), Quinn has an eye for getting the right shot. Areas like the shack, where Mack meets God or even being at home is visually pleasing. The music is also on the same level with Aaron Zigman composing the score. Utilizing as much piano as possible, many of the key strokes used are grounded and touching. Since this isn't really a franchise it's not expected to have a main theme really.

This movie may seem rather heavy at first, but the overall message to the story is interesting enough to at least have viewers listen. While it does have some strange moments about God in general and the usual Christian genre clichés, the main cast perform well. The characters develop nicely, the camerawork is pretty and the music is effective.

I am not a regular church goer, nor did I have high expectations for this film at all, and I do not cry in films, but this movie made me ball. Most Christian films fall flat and can be subjective, but this was different. I knew people who were fans of the book and highly anticipated the film, but seeing it is not a movie, it is an experience not to be missed. The values of forgiveness and true faith are challenged and as the viewer it was overwhelming. Better than any of the Oscar nominations this year.

Greetings from Lithuania.

So the best thing i can say about "The Shack" (2017) after somehow managing to see it - it is not a terrible movie, but it isn't a good movie either but the worst thing about it - its just boring as hell. I do not use this word often when watching movies, but "boring" perfectly describes "The Shack" - script was so uninvolving, so simple, mediocre at its best and lacking anything of what makes movies involving - its just straight our boring.

Performances weren't particular good either, but they weren't bad neither - everyone did what they could with the material they have had, nothing more and nothing less.

Overall, "The Shack" is a lame and very predictable "spirituous" movie. It is not a terrible one, but it lacks everything of what makes movies involving in a first place - staring from good script and solid directing - this one doesn't had it and this movie dragged as hell for me. Can't recommend it.

If you are spiritual, but not religious, see this movie. If you are religious, see this movie. If you have suffered a great tragedy or loss, and you are in pain, see this movie. If you have tried to make sense of spirituality and religion but could not, see this movie. It is full of wisdom and metaphor and not your standard religious dogma. It's the best spiritual movie I have yet to see.

The Shack is a misunderstood modern parable. Most people fall into two camps: those who revere it above the Holy Bible, and those who tear it apart as blasphemy. Both sides of that coin are too stupid and illiterate to recognize The Shack for what it is: a creatively written parable, filled with metaphors and artistic license, all designed to stir the imagination, feelings and thoughts of the audience. The only controversy this film is garnering is from ignorant religious who refuse to acknowledge how stilted and blind their understanding of Christianity truly is.

I'm not really a huge fan of most "Christian" movies. I say that as a Christian and as a pastor. But for the most part I find them formulaic to the point of boring and usually badly (even horrendously) acted. And usually the more seriously they try to take themselves the worse they end up being. So I confess that I had very low expectations of "The Shack." I watched it because my wife wanted to watch it. She had read the book (I've not bothered with it either - for no particular reason) and wanted to see the film adaptation. Well, I watched it with her and I was pleasantly surprised. All in all, I thought this was a pretty well done movie and an interesting story.

First, I thought that Sam Worthington did a great job playing Mackenzie. Abused - and watching his mother be abused - by an alcoholic father as a child, Mackenzie grew up and managed to become a pretty good dad to his three children. Then tragedy strikes. On a camping trip his youngest daughter is kidnapped and murdered (and presumably raped - this was never said but was certainly implied.) Mackenzie and his family are devastated, of course. Mackenzie becomes depressed and angry. He had had a distant faith before all this happened, but it was destroyed by the events. Then one day he receives an invitation to go to the shack where his murdered daughter was taken by the kidnapper. Not knowing what - or who - to expect there, he goes, and begins a journey of discovery and healing when he finds himself in the company of God - the Holy Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all there.

It's an interesting portrayal of God. The Father (Papa, as God is known in Mackenzie's family) was played by Octavia Spencer. Apparently this was criticized by some who couldn't stand the idea of God being black. Or a woman. Or a black woman. Whatever. The point was that this was an image of God Mackenzie would be comfortable with. And God was very comfortable - admittedly almost too comfortable at times, although in the end Mackenzie is forced to confront some painful things before his healing can start. Certainly, though, it's a very "touchy, feely" portrayal of God that some might be uncomfortable with. I thought, though, that it provided an image of a very tender God who stands with his children and never abandons them - even though they sometimes feel abandoned. And it raises a lot of the difficult theological questions that all of us grapple with. The presence and the power of evil; God's role in evil; issues of judgement and forgiveness. They're all there. I wouldn't say that it's an entirely orthodox portrayal of God by any means. And, yes, to acknowledge one of the main theological criticisms the story received from a lot of Christian circles - it does have a universalist tinge to it for those who are offended by that theological viewpoint. (I would say that I'm not a universalist - because being a universalist is itself being judgemental - but I'm open to the possibility that God might be - so that didn't really bother me.) I did like the fact that the Father in one scene switches from a black woman to an older male for scenes where Mackenzie needed a real "father figure." I enjoyed the playfulness of Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush) and the gentleness of Sarayu (the Holy Spirit.) It was really a very warm and comforting image of God.

It's not going to be to everyone's taste - and, being an overtly Christian, faith-based movie - it's going to push a lot of people to the extreme ends of the "loved it/hated it" spectrum. I'm not sure I got as far as loving it - but I did enjoy it very much. (8/10)

Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington) grew up under a drunken abusive father who hides his violence using religion. Mack is married to religious Nan (Radha Mitchell) with three kids. Willie (Tim McGraw) is his best friend. His religious doubts are pushed to the limits when his youngest Missy goes missing. A child killer is suspected and evidence leads to a rundown shack. Missy is assumed killed and his family is shattered. Then he gets a mysterious letter from papa inviting him to the shack. There he meets Papa (Octavia Spencer), Jesus, and Sarayu as well as others such as Sophia (Alice Braga) and Male Papa (Graham Greene).

I bought into most of the first hour as a kind of modified biblical Job story. While it's nothing special, it does seem like it's building up to something better and more poignant. Then the movie goes on for over another hour and it's a slough. We're stuck with sad sack Sam Worthington and the magical black character. It becomes a lot of religious psychobabble and melodramatic tea service. The story should climax to a poignant and enlightening resolution. Instead, it rambles on and on endlessly. Even walking on water leaves one bored to death. It might be filled with religious significance and debate but it's done in a terribly boring way. As an aside, I would change the name Mackenzie Phillips or just simply use Mack as Mack. It's a little odd to use Mackenzie Phillips. It's like using John Wayne but make no references to John Wayne.

Why do a lot of modern male actors have voices like they've been stabbed through the voice box ???. Speak up men !!!, so we can understand you, it's not cool to whisper !!!!.

When I saw the trailers for this film, I had no idea what it was about. It seemed to be part magical and part depressing, never really covering what the movie's content was. For anyone who is curious, it's about a meeting with the Holy Trinity. Consequently, while most "Christian" films are almost cringe-worthy, this one wasn't half bad. Of course, there are still elements of it that made me roll my eyes, but these scenes were mere bookends to a great theological discussion-starter. In fact, I would almost prefer this film without the framing, since most people would probably relate to the main character, regardless.

The trouble with the framing device used for the conversation with God is that it doesn't feel natural. There's a forced quality that pushes the main character into the situation where he encounters God, merely contrived so that he is near rock bottom when God appears. I will give it props for accurately portraying severe depression, but the method it uses for flashbacks leads the viewer to potentially think the interaction with God started much earlier than it did. This is also in addition to the "cheap" way to get the main character to interact with God at all. The "dream/coma" trope is overdone anyway.

With all this being said, why should you even watch this film? Well, despite its flaws, The Shack (2017) does one thing right. It does it so well that I can forgive some of the weaker elements of its presentation. There are many misconceptions about God and the Trinity that we as a society have accepted as fact. We wonder why God allows bad things to happen, while also wondering why "justice" remains out of our grasp. This film addresses these tough subjects in a way that is not only thought-provoking but profoundly convicting in its theology.

A fantastic interaction with the Holy Trinity, wrapped in some common tropes, I give The Shack 3.5 stars out of 5.

If you enjoyed the book--you will love the movie. The movie addresses the ageless philosophical question, "Why does God let bad things happen?" It presents some theology in an unorthodox fashion--but not a heretical one. I found it more inspiring than Narnia--which I dearly love. The film follows the book closely, but not 100%. As a film and story it's not perfect--but it's very close. If you have an open mind, I suggest you see it.

I did not consider this to be a Christian movie even though it appears that way. It is more of a spiritual film that explores a theme that is relevant to the whole of humanity and that is forgiveness. This is a content based film rather than one based on procedural expertise or artistry. Its power is in its message rather than the level of technical accomplishment, script or acting and with regard to this, I found it hit the spot very well.

Many people are extremely uncomfortable with movies that are spiritually centred especially those that are not historical or reportage based. This one deals directly with questions that affect us all; those of being able to put negatively perceived, traumatic experiences behind us and really move on. Films of such potent and pointed content can be threatening even to the most intelligent viewers because intelligence has nothing to do with the heart and it is a trend in our present society to belittle the spiritual heart in favour of more 'rational' thinking. So when a movie comes along with a relatively simple message, our suspicious minds can see it as manipulative.

This is one of the reasons this film has received so many negative reviews; namely because so many people cannot handle their own inner issues and so when confronted with films like this, they become angry and direct their anger at the film, using religion as an excuse to dismiss their message: it's largely an anti-spiritual thing and ironically defies logic.

It's a pity that so many people relate spiritual films like this one to their own personal, often negative experiences with Ministers and church when even Jesus said – in this film – "I'm not exactly what you call a Christian, am I?"

This movie had a profound effect on me and I woke up the next day suddenly needing to do a life review of all the people I had to forgive. After I did it, I felt a weight I had been carrying for years had been lifted.

That's the power of a spiritual film.

This movie started off relatively well with a feeling of potential. However, the movie quickly turned into a religious preaching session and pumped out cliché quote after cliché quote.

On a side note, if God is in fact that smug and annoying I'll stay in limbo when the time comes thanks.

Okay, I liked it. I don't call myself a Christian. I was raised Catholic but I don't practice.

Just because someone isn't a Christian or a fundamentalist Christian or whatever else there is doesn't mean this is a bad film. If you're a spiritual person, much that is in this movie rings true.

I liked the performances from Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and the rest of the cast.

A very touching story of a man in great pain looking for answers. And there are plenty of them around today.

After reading the main review displayed on the page, one which was of little to no help, I decided to write my first review for IMDb to help viewers with the movie.

This movie is based on the book by the same name, written by William Paul Young.

I really do empathize with people trying to write about, or depict, God in human form and understanding, for we know human thoughts and rationale's are unlike God's thoughts.

The movie has very good acting, especially with a seasoned actor like Sam Worthington. Sam (Mack in the movie), plays a role which anyone who has the capacity to love others, can relate to.

Sam is required to draw us into his character, his thoughts, his emotions, which once understood, can be easily related to. His emotions are raw human emotions, his rationale and logic, basic human instinct and understanding.

As the story unfolded, I could understand exactly his position and related to his motives and plight.

This movie isn't really about God, the Holy Bible is the most published book in the world and readily available to anyone who wants to know Him, the movie is about loss, pain, guilt and healing, extremely strong emotions that anyone who has lived a full life will understand and relate to.

The story is of course fictional but has the capacity to challenge anyone with the big tough questions of life and painful circumstances dished up from it at times.

It's worth the watch.

This is the first film I have ever watched that has left me feeling angry. The reason I was angry was because I couldn't work out why I disliked it so much.

The film was visually quite appealing the acting wasn't awful, the dialog wasn't the worst. The direction was not too bad. The reason came to me after thinking about the film for a while.

It tries to manipulates you in a similar way that church ministers would try to manipulate children at school assembley (British thing). The ministers would come to school and preach to children making arguments which made little or no sense, mix in some truth into the nonsense to try to make his point.

In a nutshell that is this film, a huge amount of muddled nonsense mixed in with a tiny bit of something that makes sense, and concludes with a predetermined answer which makes it feel like the story has been written backwards so the argument fits the answer.

Terrible film.

This is a wonderful family film. Here's a tip for Hollywood. My friend and I go to a matinée pretty much every week. There are sometimes, at most, a dozen, sometimes a half dozen, people in the theater. For this one? The room was a good half full. Now tell me why Hollywood insists on producing nasty, foul, poorly-written and acted pieces of trash all the time? Really. Anyway, this one gives you so much to think about. There are several instances of symbolism in this picture that took my breath away, that brought me to tears. Well written, well-acted, this one is so worth seeing. I am anxious to see it again and trust me, that isn't often the case. I took away from that theater a new feeling and I've thought about several of the lines of dialogue many times since. The truth and the trust of this picture will stay with you. I know it did me. I am always surprised by Tim McGraw. The man can surely sing, but he can also act. He's a natural. Octavia Spencer seems to be in about every movie there is lately - well, not quite but still - however, there is a reason. She is wonderful. She brings her role to life every time. And she most certainly did in this one. Trust me, this is one you want to see. Take your family. Take your friends. Or go alone. Doesn't matter. Just see it.

There's been a wave of Christian and religious-focused films that have hit theaters over the past few years, as Hollywood has realized it can tap into an underserved movie-going audience. 'The Shack' is Summit Entertainment's latest effort to connect on an emotional level unlike many other films that are out there.

Based on the bestselling novel by William P. Young, 'Shack' is a deep, personal look at forgiveness and healing. When the Phillips family experiences an unthinkable tragedy, it takes a particularly tough toll on the family's patriarch, Mack (Sam Worthington). What unfolds is a transformative journey of spiritual awakening and self-discovery.

Mack wrestles with the weight of his guilt as a father who was unable to protect his daughter, and tries to reconcile this with his faith. When he visits the site of the tragedy and is at the end of his rope, Mack stumbles into a magical, beautiful world where he comes across three mysterious strangers who invite him into their home - Papa (Octavia Spencer), her son (while unnamed, it's Jesus, played by Avraham Aviv Alush) and Sarayu (Sumire). The three represent the Holy Trinity in human form, and help Mack deal with his grief in addition to unresolved issues from his own past.

On its surface, it's easy to write off 'Shack' as a schlocky, over the top Bible lesson. But this isn't the case. Sure, there are plenty of scripture-based statements made (especially by Papa), but nothing is delivered in a judgmental tone. The dialogue is not masterful, but it's apparent that it was written with care - and to appeal to a wide audience. This balances out the mediocre acting, as Worthington has done far better in other films (his inconsistent accent and struggles with tapping into his emotions are the biggest strikes against him here). Supporting roles by the likes of Radha Mitchell and Tim McGraw are good but nothing spectacular. Additionally, the soundtrack is solid and enhances the tenderness of the scenes.

'The Shack' is sad, yes. But it's not sad without purpose, and its underlying message is one that should resonate with many.

The best part of this movie was that it led me to this fantastic review by hungba-43166.

Author: hungba-43166 from Hong Kong 25 May 2017

"This is my first ever review on IMDb. Usually, when I watch a terrible movie, I just forget about it and let it slide. THIS piece of crap, however, made me so angry that I feel it is my duty to warn others to not watch this highly immoral load of garbage. The movie is basically a big PR work for Christianity, saying "god is good, trust god", while every bit if reasoning trying to explain why is utter nonsensical horsecrap. "Yes god let an innocent little girl get raped and killed but he is good because he loves you and is with you always. No, really! See? I'm crying! So it must be true. " I am intelligent enough to not let this filth be my basis of judging Christians, but I can see how some may watch this and want to go out and hurt religious people if they thought this was widely representative if their beliefs. Please don't, be a good person, unlike the makers of this rubbish film. Basically, if you take this film seriously, it will confirm to you that god is full of crap and if you ever see him/her whatever you should kick the crap out of him/her to teach god a much needed lesson. I have made a note of the actors, writers and directors involved in the making of this absolute garbage and will try my best to never watch another film they are involved in. I suggest you do the same. If there is indeed a way to determine if one should go to heaven or hell, that judgement should be based on whether they enjoyed this film or not. If they liked it, they should burn in hell. I guess I am going to heaven after all."