TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

the guy this movie was by far one of the biggest mistakes of my life. it starts out slow and the height of the movie is barely noticeable, even when you're in the thick of it, because the whole movie is full of fake jump scares and build ups that leave you feeling empty and bored. the shaking lights are absolutely TERRIBLE, the monster is quite frankly sub-par, and really? montages of a dead dog? whats you're problem? none of the characters were very good, Lila screamed too much, and ed was a POS. they messed up Marty when trying to make a scary mentally ill character uwu (already a trope that's been beaten to death and is, quite frankly, boring) and ended up just being the only relatable character in the film, and he died within ten minutes. the only scary aspect of this movie is how bad it is. this movie was the longest running joke I've ever been a part of, and there wasn't even a punch line. don't bother with this one. (i gave it a two for Marty, the only enjoyable character)

thelastblogontheleft This movie starts off like many a winter isolation movie before it — with a freakin' dog getting killed in the woods. This is our brief introduction to Martin (Brian Morvant), a dishonorably discharged veteran who is now suffering from a slew of mental illnesses and has isolated himself at the family's cabin deep in the woods of Maine. He leaves a vague but worrying voicemail for his brother, Ed (Dean Cates), which prompts him and their sister, Lyla (Lauren Ashley Carter), to stage an intervention… though they find something far more disturbing than expected when they arrive.Honestly, I was disappointed by this one. It felt like they tried to cram a bit too much into one movie, and a short one at that (with only a 76-minute run time it'd be hard for much of anything to not feel rushed). We've got the dysfunctional family dynamic (with Ed and Lyla annoying the crap out of me with their constant bickering), the psychiatrist-brother (the apparent justification for him being a condescending prick), the mentally unstable veteran, the government conspiracy theory, the cabin in the snowy woods, and, of course, the monster, whatever it is. I think if it was done better it would almost feel like a lost episode of The X-Files but, as it stands now, I don't want to even insult such a brilliant show by making such a comparison.The acting left much to be desired… from everyone, really, but they went with such a stereotype for Martin's character, with the long, drawn-out stream of consciousness babbling and the pacing and the literal tinfoil on the windows. It just wasn't believable and honestly it was distracting to have him constantly moving around the screen, pacing and doing his very best "crazy guy" act.Their whole confrontation with Martin and revealing that they planned to take him to a doctor — it's implied that it's a doctor that he knows and has some prior issues with — and his violent reaction are, I think, good (albeit extreme) examples of just how wrong interventions can go. It's tragic, in a way, that they went to help Martin and it wound up taking such an extremely dark turn. His suicide was indeed shocking, though, and one of the few interesting twists of the movie.He had previously been trying to tell them about how the military had experimented on him (and many others) — there's a briefly bloody scene of him pulling out some teeth he is convinced have devices embedded in them — and how he has a creature trapped in the basement that he found in a pod in the woods. He was convinced that the government is attempting to create some kind of assassins, and Ed and Lyla are still worried about WHO (or what) he actually has imprisoned in the house. The moment of Ed yelling "hello?" down into this pitch black void of a basement was surprisingly scary… just not knowing what might be ready to answer on the other end was briefly terrifying. He goes down to explore (what!?!?) and, naturally, the power goes out (check the 34872nd stereotype off the list) and he is attacked in the darkness. He narrowly escapes and sends Lyla to go for help, which means we get to hear EVEN MORE of her screaming. Honestly, she spends like 67% of the dang movie screaming her face off (or crying, or just being otherwise hysterical).This is the point where it is confirmed, yet again, that Martin was right, this really IS a conspiracy, as Lyla encounters a mysterious man (Larry Fessenden) in a car who wastes no time shooting her and cramming her body in the trunk. He goes to the house and takes care of Ed as well, and then we hear him phoning in to another mysterious person about the state of things before he himself is killed by the creature. I understand keeping this aspect of the story so brief — the tragedy of knowing how close they were to starting to understand, and knowing that Martin WAS telling the truth after all, is key. But, sadly, this part of the story is wayyyy more interesting than siblings arguing or Lyla screaming or any of the other things that filled a majority of the movie.Again, I think a bit more polished (and with better acting all around), this could have been a real gem. I will definitely keep an eye on this director, though, since I think he's going in a cool direction! I believe this was his third film and I've heard great things about a couple of his others since (Darling and Carnage Park), so we'll see!

Steve Ramsey I seem to be in the minority here, but I really enjoyed Pod and I don't quite understand its low IMDb rating. Most of the negative reviews criticize the film for its lengthy scenes of dialog and lack of action or horror. I think the problem is expecting Pod to be a horror or sci-fi film that it isn't trying to be, possibly due to its trailer.The lengthy scenes of dialog and conflict were precisely what I enjoyed most about the movie. It's a solid script willing to take its time establishing the dynamics between all three siblings. Once brother and sister Lyla and Ed meet with their brother Martin, Pod unfolds as a psychological thriller. The tension grows until all hell breaks loose in the final act. Lauren Ashley Carter delivers a superb performance as Lyla, portraying a young woman in conflict with her family, yet conveying a real emotional connection to her siblings. When the action comes late in the film, Carter reaffirms my belief that she is THE Scream Queen of modern indie film.Brian Morvant also delivers a strong performance as the mentally unstable Martin. Is he schizophrenic or are his ramblings actually true? Morvant plays these scenes with conviction and believably. I was fascinated by the story and very anxious watching and wondering how it would unfold. Pod takes risks with its main characters in a way most big-budget films won't dare. Don't watch this movie expecting a sci-fi or horror film that plays out as you would expect, but rather take the time to enjoy the dialog and appreciate the performances.

Peter Pluymers How to describe "Pod" ? An experimental short film with hysteria as a central theme? Or is the author trying to visualize a personal nightmare? Looking back, it wasn't really an exciting film . And personally, I think the used argument that it's reminiscent of the best of the X-Files is a little exaggerated. The episodes of the X-files at least had a decent storyline. "Pod" is a simple linear story without significant highlights and a total lack of explanation. The film's pace is the same as the credits in the beginning. Reading all the names was practically impossible. But perhaps that was intentionally.The complete story can be summarized easily since the content is really brief. Everything starts after an alarming phone call from Martin (Brian Morvant) to his brother Ed (Dean Cates). Martin is an ex-marine suffering from PTSD (I assume anyway) who's dumped in the family cottage. Ed begs his sister Lyla (Lauren Ashley Carter) to go to the cottage and check on Martin and see if his condition is really worsened. Once there, they find Martin as mad as a hatter, telling a confusing story about secret experiments and disappearances during military missions. He claims that he trapped something called a "Pod". He was able to overpower it and lock it in the basement. Is it reality or a chimera playing tricks on Martin because of his paranoid phase?Looking at the state Martin is in, manic and confused, you can only conclude that he's ready again to be taken to the nearest madhouse in a straitjacket. But to be honest, his brother and sister don't seem to be mentally stable either. Lyla has or gets an alcohol problem. She'll react in a hysterical way very quickly and immediately she believes the story of Martin. So get ready for some continuous hysterical screaming and wailing. Also the relationship with her brother Ed is not really that great, which leads to constant bickering between the two of them. Ed is a control freak (that's probably why he's a psychiatrist) and doesn't believe in the hallucinatory story. Logically, he's the one entering bravely the cellar to prove that it's all poppycock.Does the film have anything to offer? In short, nothing really. In terms of performances only that of Brian Morvant is commendable. He's very convincing as the lunatic brother. Cates and Carter are simply irritating. As a short film it has its charms and technical it looks, even with a limited budget, not so bad at all (nice shots at times). But as a film it's inadequate in many ways. The cabin-in-the-woods theme isn't exactly original anymore. Though there's a paranoid and claustrophobic atmosphere in the house thats covered with aluminum. And it all feels pretty chaotic. But you can't call this really horror. And which relationship there is with the X-files, I can only guess. Furthermore, the creature looks awful. The rare moments you'll catch a glimpse of it, the screen becomes all blurry and shaky. The moment Larry Fessenden appears, the story takes a different turn. Don't expect much explanations or insights. It all remains fairly vague. And it all ends with a very predictable scare moment. Before you know it, you're watching the end credits. Maybe the story is explained furthermore in Pod II.More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT