Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
jkadmire
I enjoyed this made-for-TV movie, partially because I liked Ashley Scott so much in Jericho. Wish she hadn't cut her hair. This movie doesn't have any gore or slashing, but relies on creepy clues and great lighting to manufacture the chill. The ending was unexpected despite the fact there were a sufficient amount of subtle clues. Perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. There is also a strong possibility of romance between appealing characters, as a good LMN movie should provide. The heroine shows compassion for elderly characters, which I hope becomes a common trend. This compassion leads to some valuable information for her, demonstrating that courtesy always helps. The houses shown belonging to various characters are amazing, so we have to assume these are professional people called to jury duty, which is, in itself, unusual. The title,"Summoned" refers to the fact that citizens are "summoned" to jury duty, or in this case, summoned to an untimely death. Worth watching in my opinion.
albrechtcm
Cuba Gooding, Jr. has been in some real dogs lately, so with "Summoned", I didn't expect much. What I didn't expect was for Mr. Gooding to make a couple of bland cameo appearances that added exactly nothing to the story. Any actor from Central Casting could as easily have filled this slot. And playing on Mr. Gooding's name to sell the film, well, considering his recent films, I'm not sure that was a brilliant idea either. Getting past that, this film had reasonable suspense but was of course disappointing since it made no sense whatsoever. In the beginning it appears that the spirit of an executed serial killer has come back to avenge himself on the 12 jurors who convicted him. But that's just trick photography. We eventually learn that a real live person is doing the killing. But why? Forget the many reasons you might dream up. There is no reason. Just senseless killing. For all that, the actors do a credible job and keep up the suspense. It's simply that the end and the entire exposition turn out to be so lame it makes you feel you've been cheated…again. And what in the world does the word "Summoned" have to do with this?
kevinbeswick507
Writer/director Peter Sullivan's thriller SUMMONED feels like what you would get if Stephen King and John Grisham teamed up to write a story together. It's a legal mystery in the form of a ghost story, about the spirit of an infamous serial killer who has returned for revenge.Ashley Scott plays Laura, a former juror on the Midnight Murderer case, who is now living a quiet life in Marin County. But when the foreman of the jury, who also wrote a book about the case, supposedly commits suicide, she gets suspicious. After two more jurors are found dead, Laura becomes convinced it's murder... and worse, the jurors are being hunted in order of the juror numbers. Guess who's next in line? She teams up with a cop (Bailey Chase), who thinks that they're dealing with a copycat until a couple of creepy scenes lead her to believe that the perp is really the serial killer himself... having returned from the grave. His partner (Cuba Gooding Jr) was an investigator on the original case and together, they make a startling discovery that will throw the whole trial into question. You may see some things coming, but this evocative thriller has enough surprises to keep you guessing.The performances are strong. Ashley Scott is amazing as the troubled lead who is still dealing with the death of her child, Bailey Chase is solid as a skeptical detective who needs some convincing on the supernatural front, and Cuba Gooding Jr. is good as the veteran cop with a secret. And, refreshingly, he's not the killer.Summoned is cut from the same cloth as movies like THE RING, and there's also some similarity to the underrated EXORCIST III. In fact, there's a decent scare in this movie very similar to a scene from that film. Most of the gore is off screen, but director Sullivan still knows how to make the audience uncomfortable and build a creepy mood. Recommended.
Tony Heck
"Saw him again this afternoon. Seems to be stalking me wherever I go." Five years ago serial killer Simon Bourdias was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Now mysterious deaths are occurring to the members of the jury. Juror number 5 Laura Price (Scott) starts to investigate and begins to wonder if the deaths are a coincidence or something more mysterious then she ever imagined. I have to say that after the last Cuba Gooding movie I watched I was very worried that this one would be bad too. Not to spoil anything but he is in this for about 10 minutes. That said this movie was not that terrible. While it does have the feel of a made-for-TV movie it is watchable and I have seen much worse. The movie is a little slow at times and a little repetitive but it does keep you watching and interested all the way till the end. Overall, one of the better B-rate movies that I have seen in awhile. Nothing amazing but this is worth watching. I surprisingly give it a B.
