| I agree Fancy , that whole sequence was suspenseful , tragic , haunting and unnerving . It was an effective horror tableau with regards to the visuals . I love the visual palette that Night created with this film , it could easily work without any dialogue , the cinematography is it's strongest point and he utilized the landscape to terrific effect . What i enjoyed was his slow and methodic pans , his penchant to linger with the camera leading up to the carnage and after . There's nary a cheap trick jump cut to be found , for the most part . This is a traditional use of the camera , not the usual post modern hype active style that has become de rigeur for young filmmakers . Not that that style isn't effective , but it's so prevalent now , it makes what Night did seem rebellious . Something came to mind after i let the film sink in a bit more , i couldn't put my finger on the style at first , but the cinematography sort of reminds me of an Italian giallo , shades of Argento , Fulci , Martino , Bava . Look at all those shots of the wind rustling in the trees , the shots of the countryside , the slow and deliberate buildup to the suicides , they harken back to that style of film . The visual compositions remind me of those films from the 70's and 80s . It's almost as if Night has combined a number of different elements . A environmental threat film from the 50s , giallos , nature gone made films from the 70s , and a bit of post modern end of the world nihilism ( Suicide Club and Kairo ) . There were also some obvious zombie film references , and at times it did feel like one , except without the actual zombies ( they're holed up in a farmhouse , with the threat outside and the old lady tries to break in ) . I guess that's why i loved this film , it hits all the proper horror notes , it's simplistic , but that's one of the reasons it's highly effective , it pays homage to those cheesefests from the past with a style all of it's own . For the people that are worried about the acting , i would say , across the board it's good , with minor exceptions , Zooey does seem a bit dazed at times , the acting worked for me , and Walhberg is great in this , although i'll be the first to admit , he definitely overemotes at times , but he's always done that , you either accept that by now or you don't watch him . Legs is great in a limited role , the little girl is fantastic , very believable as someone who is in shock the whole time but still ever hopeful . I can't complain about the acting , it worked for me , and it's keeping in line with that b movie spirit i mentioned above . Almost forgot , the music is highly effective , it never gets in the way of the action , it complements it . In some horror films the music dominates everything , for the most part , it's used here in a subtle manner . |