THE CANAL is yet another faceless instalment in a never-ending run of cheap haunted house type movies in which ordinary families are scared out of their minds by apparitions and the like. You know exactly how these films will play out before they start: lots of dark sets, attempts at suspense, brooding atmosphere and the like, and not a whole lot of substance.
The entirely unsympathetic Rupert Evans (HELLBOY) is a poor choice of lead, playing an uninspiring guy who moves into a murder house with his wife and young child. Eventually the family are caught up in a series of sinister events, and THE CANAL is always ready to play up the psychological angle of the hauntings, to make you wonder if the events are really happening or if they're just in the main character's head. As if we really care. The film also contains the most blatant rip-off of RING that I've yet to see.
The Canal
2014
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
The Canal
2014
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
72% - Critics
49% - Audience
5.8Keywords: christmashusband wife relationshipsupernaturalpregnancycheating
Plot summary
Film archivist David (Rupert Evans) has had a rough time lately, suspecting that his wife Alice (Hannah Hoekstra) is cheating on him with Alex (Carl Shaaban),one of her work clients. This stress is compounded when David's work partner Claire (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) gives him a reel of to-be-archived footage that shows that his house was the setting for a brutal murder in 1902. David begins to believe that he has a spectral presence in his house; becoming progressively more unsettled and unhinged, he ends up following Alice to a nearby canal--and discovering that she is indeed having an affair with Alex. When she goes missing shortly afterward, David contacts the police, only to become the prime suspect in her disappearance. As the police grow more convinced that David has murdered his wife, he struggles to find proof of his growing suspicion that something otherworldly was responsible instead.
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Low rent, low budget, predictable
WHO WANTS TO SEE GHOSTS?
David (Rupert Evans) works at the archives. He has recently moved into a new home with his family. Six second David is not keeping his wife happy. At work, he comes across some old 1902 footage showing that a murder took place in his house, a man killed his cheating wife. He becomes obsessed with killings and the nearby canal, seeing ghosts in every film of the house.
The film starts out a bit slow, and I suspected it was going to be a dud. However, it builds up and the ending made the slower parts worth while to stick it through. Good ghost story.
Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity...a little of each.
A Psychological Masterpiece with Gore
Despite some of the poor reviews I've read here, I found this to be a completely coherent and excellent psychological Thriller/Horror movie! Yes you will see some themes borrowed from other films, but let's be honest every movie does that. The cinematography was amazing. The score was arranged with a lot of attention to details and made it perfect backdrop to the film. Transitions and shadows were creepy and eerie. About the only thing that annoyed me what's the editing in which the way the editor wood chop out frames causing a time jump effect. This worked okay as a transition but awful during actress dialogue. All in all it was a great movie.