Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Wizard-8 If you have read the basic premise for "The Visitors", you probably think you have a good idea as to how the movie will play out if you have seen your share of hostage dramas and revenge thrillers. Well, you are only partially right. The expected things DO happen, but what will probably surprise you is how long it takes for these things to happen. To be exact, more than eighty percent of the movie goes by before things start turning violent. And that eighty percent goes by extremely slowly, it doesn't seem to have a point - unless it's to show how slow and stupid innocent people can be towards something that's an obvious danger to anyone in the audience. I guess the acting is okay, and despite the low budget (less that 200,000 dollars from what I read), there is some genuine atmosphere. But in the end, there doesn't seem to be much of a point, whether it is to entertain the audience or say something about Vietnam.

MartinHafer Two old army 'friends' arrive at the home of a young couple. The husband (James Woods--in his first film) doesn't seem happy to see them. Later, you SLOWLY find out why--he testified against them in a trial during the Vietnam War, as the two had participated in a rape and murder of an innocent woman. Normally, you'd think that he'd throw them out or call the police...but he doesn't.If I didn't see on IMDb and in the film's credits, I would have no idea that this movie was directed by the great Elia Kazan (of "On the Waterfront" fame). That's because the film looks so amateurish in many ways--with blurry and sloppy cinematography. It also only has fair acting--as if the folks really were all rookies (which, in fact, they were). How far had the career of Kazan fallen that he ended up doing a film like this?! And, in my summary I mentioned eracehead's review--and I think they summed it up nicely when they mentioned the amateurish look and the fact that it took so darned long for the film to get moving. All in all, most of the emotional impact was lost by the time the big rape scene (which was VERY telegraphed--such as showing the woman topless while dressing early in the film and the fact that the men had been involved in the prior rape) occurred. I mention the rape scene, as I know many viewers DON'T want to see this sort of thing (too many memories for many victims, for example). All in all, an interesting idea that simply wasn't handled well.

penseur Although the production values are those of 1960s and 70s films which make The Incredibly Strange Film Festival, that is to say not good, this one is still worth watching if you happen to like film noir and see it on your cable TV schedule. A ex-Vietnam veteran lives with his girlfriend Martha and their baby, and nearby her father, a world war II veteran. Then in the snow covered winter landscape two Vietnam buddies show up in their car, and its obvious they are psychologically warped. They get on well with dad but when it is revealed they were part of a gang rape of a 16 year old girl in Vietnam, needless to say Martha isn't very comfortable. The tensions build. Martha gets around in a miniskirt and boots and the regular glimpses of her thighs are a fairly strong clue about events near the end of the film. 6/10

Sleepy-17 If you look at this in terms of Kazan's career and the way he puts his own experience in every film (even though I'm sure he'd rather not, but he just can't help himself), this is a masterpiece. If you look at it in terms of commercial cinema, you might describe it as an interesting failure. (Leonard Maltin's book describes it as a BOMB.) All I know is that I was on the edge of my seat screaming at the television, it must have had something going for it. The filming has a "Night of the Living Dead" kind of quality, and is just as harrowing. I wish I didn't relate to Kazan's misanthropic view of humanity, but I do. If you think you're an expert on what makes a good movie, skip this, it's not for you. If you're interested in looking at the dark and fascinating side of people who do evil things, don't miss it. A depressing but great movie. At least someone knows enough about this stuff to put it in a film; the bad part is when we have to live through it.