Hobbs End

Rating:
Summary: Reasons to Embrace "Civility"
Review: After the death of her husband, Lacey finds herself living on the somewhat reclusive boundaries of the snowy town of Hobb's End, with her need for only a few personal touches (like running water and firewood to keep the wretched cold at bay) interfering with her solace. One of those happens to be a need for a handyman, something she fevently denies but that her friend decides to help her out with by setting her up with Tom; her handyman. Still, when Tom shows up out of the proverbial blue, things go from strange to eerie as someone comes calling from the depths of the 12 acres surrounding Lacey's home. Yes, sometimes anonymity and the removal of civilization can be a good thing, bring a person tranquility and the peace of mind many so desperately crave. Othertimes it can be reversal of this, a deep-seeded nightmare of sorts, especially with a serial killer named Micheal Bodine - nine-year menace of town after town and recent escapee from prison transport-on the loose.

In the world of serial-stalker movies, Hobb's End accomplishing nothing groundbreaking, keeping everything that isn't already "by the books" well out of its reach. The characters are fairly predictable, with Micheal Bodine being a little off the "deep end" of the past-haunted spectrum and becoming the exception by providing a few entertaining spills to keep the storyline moving, leading to atypical interactions that you'd expect your predator/prey relationships to uphold. The storyline is also fairly common as well, with the presentation of reasoning perhaps a little warped and the path taken a bit twisted but still leading down to the same conclusive motivations that we've been the benefactors of a million times over. Still, that makes me question whether or not a movie has to be original to be enjoyable; and the answer I come up with is not always.

Personally, I liked the persona of Bodine as he played his game of cat and mouse with his potential victim, toying with her psychologically before attempting to victimize the flesh in ways only sharp utensils can accomplish. The madness within him seemed wonderfully real in portions of the movie sometimes, too, and his singing of Christmas tunes made my mind dance with mistletoe and visions of merry mutilation for a few hours afterward. I also liked a little subplot running through the movie about the town and a curse that possessed it, making the movie and the menace all the madder as he seemingly took on the traits of something that demanded blood every twenty-five years. Together, these prodded through the sometimes monotonous "is he dead or isn't he" questionmarks posed by a character not willing to finish "the deed" in a mostly gore-free rendition of depravity.

If you want something free of the burdens of civility and have close to two hours to burn, this showing works out pretty well. You simply need to remember that it isn't original, that the chases are long and the bloody renditions of the psychological dance aren't unique, and you've possibly already seen this movie. If these don't frighten you off, perhaps Mr. Bodine might be a fit that you can learn to love

Rating:
Summary: im glad it was only 4.99
Review: seriously, sometimes i watch a movie and i think to myself "do the people involved in this project really even care how bad their work is?" or did someone order a group of people to come up with an idea for a movie and make it in a month. to say this movie is bad would be like saying rosie odonnell is kinda ugly. i wont give it the honor of the worst movie ever made, but it is irrelavent, boring, unconvincing, stupid, unstimulating, i could go on. and on. and on... look at the price tag and youll realize there is a reason that its so freaking cheap. its filmed and acted like a soft core porn movie without the sex(which would have made it bearable) DO NOT BY THIS MOVIE!!!!!! or buy it, whatever i dont care

Rating:
Summary: Overlong horror melodrama
Review: The plot of "Hobb's End" is fairly simple. It's about an escaped convict in a sparsely populated town called Hobb's End out in the snow. The convict appears at the house of a woman whom's husband had recently died and he takes on the psychological identity of that husband, except with violent and gory behavior.

The film has typical independent horror film faults: subliminal "scary" flashes that have nothing to do with the movie, confusing deaths (did that guy just get beheaded?), and a corny song probably sung by a relative of the producer. Also, the film is almost unbearably long at 108 minutes, and could have easily ended 30 minutes earlier and it would have been a better film.

The only saving grace is Catharina Conti as the female lead. She is a beautiful woman. Even if this movie makes no sense at all and is really not scary at all, you can't take your eyes off her. I had never heard of this actress until I had the misfortune of seeing "Hobb's End", but I hope that she can appear in films better than this rubbish.

Rating:
Summary: SOMEBODY HELP ME
Review: This movie, obviously a labor of love from star/producer Catharina Conti, is one strangely crafted film. Visually, it's very beautiful with the real house, the surrounding woods and the naturally falling snow. It has a haunting ethereal balance that lends much suspense to the story. Basically, it's a two character story, starring Ms. Conti and Brennan Elliott. Now, I have to admit that it does seem long and there are some plot holes that are hard to justify. But I was extremely impressed with the acting. Ms. Conti has a vulnerability and a charm not usually seen in other actresses. She had an identity of her own; a woman still grieving over the death of her husband, unable to let him go, commenting at one point, she'd hold on until something really drastic happened. This happens when an escaped serial killer manages to worm his way into her home. Here's where Elliott comes in. His performance could have been taken overboard; after all, when you're playing multiple personalities, it's easy to go from mild to malevolent. Elliott does it convincingly, sometimes in a quiet look or an unexpected outburst. It's rare to see an actor with such smoldering sexuality bashfully peck a kiss on a woman in such a childish, adolescent way, without coming across as forced.
His game of cat and mouse with Conti is suspenseful, if a little slowly dished out, but the performances are so good, I didn't mind staying with them. And in his last scene, Elliott gives one of the best speeches for a soon to be dead villain I can recall. He actually made me feel a little sorry for him.
HOBB'S END is by no means a classic, but I would certainly enjoy seeing these two actors in future movies.

Rating:
Summary: SOMEBODY HELP ME
Review: This movie, obviously a labor of love from star/producer Catharina Conti, is one strangely crafted film. Visually, it's very beautiful with the real house, the surrounding woods and the naturally falling snow. It has a haunting ethereal balance that lends much suspense to the story. Basically, it's a two character story, starring Ms. Conti and Brennan Elliott. Now, I have to admit that it does seem long and there are some plot holes that are hard to justify. But I was extremely impressed with the acting. Ms. Conti has a vulnerability and a charm not usually seen in other actresses. She had an identity of her own; a woman still grieving over the death of her husband, unable to let him go, commenting at one point, she'd hold on until something really drastic happened. This happens when an escaped serial killer manages to worm his way into her home. Here's where Elliott comes in. His performance could have been taken overboard; after all, when you're playing multiple personalities, it's easy to go from mild to malevolent. Elliott does it convincingly, sometimes in a quiet look or an unexpected outburst. It's rare to see an actor with such smoldering sexuality bashfully peck a kiss on a woman in such a childish, adolescent way, without coming across as forced.
His game of cat and mouse with Conti is suspenseful, if a little slowly dished out, but the performances are so good, I didn't mind staying with them. And in his last scene, Elliott gives one of the best speeches for a soon to be dead villain I can recall. He actually made me feel a little sorry for him.
HOBB'S END is by no means a classic, but I would certainly enjoy seeing these two actors in future movies.