Oh Dear. I have given this film 1.5 stars.
The Tall Man was written and directed by Pascal Laugier (House Of Voices, Martyrs).
It tells the story of a small town named Cold Rock, whose children are disappearing one by one. Over time, a legend has grown up of a “Tall Man” whom various townsfolk claim to have seen abducting the children.
When her child is taken, the local nurse, played by Jessica Biel (Total Recall, Hitchcock), sets out to unravel the mystery and unearth the truth behind “The Tall Man”.
On the face of it, this appears to be a great idea for a story and in fact it is. The problem is, it just doesn’t work. There are so many elements that don’t fit together. The film is narrated, thus removing the need for quite a lot of thinking on behalf of the film makers, while at the same time implying that the audience is a bit stupid. And guys! Having one of your main protagonists as a mute doesn’t add to the tension. It is at best slightly irritating.
Although there are some twists to the story (which I didn’t see coming), they are not exiting enough to override the general air of mind numbing tedium which accompanies watching this film.
There also seems to be have been something of a problem with editing here. Almost every single scene feels just that little bit longer than necessary, leaving you constantly wanting to shout “get on with it!”
It is a shame too because The Tall Man has a pretty good cast, Jodelle Ferland (Silent Hill, The Cabin In The Woods), Stephen McHattie (300, Watchmen) William B. Davis (The X-Files) and Samantha Ferris (The 4400, Along Came a Spider), all respected individuals who should have known better.
All in all, there isn’t very much to recommend about this rather strange offering, however, maybe the kind of people who are amazed by any kind of twist in a film would find this entertaining, who knows?
The Tall Man is available to buy now on Blu-ray and DVD
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