Alicia
I love this movie so much
Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Asad Almond
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow" is a really long title for a fairly short movie. This one only runs for slightly over 6 minutes and a lot of this is also the ending credits already. Writer and one of the two directors of this Canadian production is Rodrigo Gudiño. He got some nice awards attention that may have helped him with future projects. I cannot second this though. I did not think it was a particularly good movie and I found it not memorable at all. 2/5 is still pretty generous in my opinion. It was not scary, always bad for a film from the horror genre, and neither the action nor the characters were really interesting I have to say. The best thing about it was probably that it was over so quickly and I really hope Gudiño managed to improve in the almost 10 years since this was made. I do not recommend the watch.
bob the moo
Newspaper cuttings of child disappearances, suggestions of a cult being involved, a photograph sent to an investigator from someone called Johnny Hollow – all of the things are connected, and the photograph holds the answers if we can only look closely enough.I am not really sure what to call this film; for sure it is a type of animation but then we also have real elements, although technically none of it "moves" since the majority of the film is spent with the virtual camera moving in and around the photograph, providing information behind the image of 4 people and a baby seemingly smiling for the camera. Much like the "enhance" feature in shows like CSI, the movement of the camera into and around the photograph goes far beyond what "looking closely" could provide, and it really opens up the image. It is surprisingly compelling, and I did find myself leaning a bit closer to see everything as the camera/eye moved around and in/out. What helps the sense of building immensely is the great soundtrack by, erm, Johnny Hollow (not sure if that is a real name or not!). The music builds tension, and steps up at all the right points.The Gothic imagery, and the hints of ominous violence in and around the photograph build with the sound, and while there is not a narrative per se, it does engage and start to get quite gripping until the creepy conclusion. A very well imagined short film, with a good idea which is well delivered on with great camera movement and invention. Pleasingly creepy and tense.
Holt-2
I can't describe this movie too much, because anything will give it away. It's a very short film, but there's ridiculous amounts of depth to it.The entire movie is an exercise in interpretation and inference. I saw it this weekend at Texas Frightmare Weekend and got to talk to the director one on one after. The DVD contains two other shorts, and they are solid, but nothing like this movie that forces you to tell the story to yourself spark your imagination.I could never have guessed what I was getting into when my buddy insisted we go see his screening, but I am still totally excited that we did. If Rodrigo Gudino has this kind of vision and creativity, he'll soon be listed as one of the greats. Whether or not you like this or his other two movies is completely your opinion, but give it a shot, because I guarantee that it will be different. This day and age, that is hard to come by.
larley
I saw this tonight, during Nuit Blanche in Montreal at the Fantasia/DJ XL5 show at Place des Arts, and it just blew me away. I wanted to find it on YouTube, or even for sale, but no such luck. Now I want all of my film-fanatic friends to see it.I very much enjoyed the way it was shot, and the general feel of it all. The music was just plain awesome, and really worked well with the general aesthetic.Hopefully it will be made available in some way or another in the near future, as I'd love to watch it again.And congrats on the Genie nomination!