So much average

Absolutely the worst movie.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Admittedly, I was only paying some attention to the first 30 minutes of the film, but I only did so because the dim, harsh lighting and the constant use of rock (?)/modern songs were both getting on my nerves (irrational, I know, but they just happen to be two of my film pet peeves). It seemed overall pretentious. When I finally tuned in, however, I did like the concept. Very interesting and unique. Of course, the "pushing human limits" concept is not very new to the horror genre, but the way this particular film framed it definitely is. All of the characters were, quite frankly, bland to me. They were there and they existed, it seems, mostly to push the plot. Which is fine, but as a result, none of the acting really seemed noteworthy (well, except Quaid - he was noteworthy in that he seemed to be overacting all the time? I'm not exactly sure what it was, but he had some kind of exaggerated affectation that distracted me continuously). The plot itself was a little frustrating because of some of the ridiculous choices the characters made. I won't go into further detail, but I thought the end could have been avoided quite easily (I know, I know that much of horror relies upon people's mistakes, but all I'm asking for is that the mistakes seem realistic rather than just silly for the sake of plot). To sum it up: interesting concept but the execution of it fell short.

Dread is another film I can add to the list of terribly underrated Horror films. As a Horror freak I've had my share of films of the past 2 decades, and I must say watching this one has been a very rewarding experience.The screenplay and script are unique and well made, the story is very original and unfolds in an interesting and compelling way. This is not a fast paced thriller, but more of a psychological Drama with fear as a motive. It doesn't have any surprising scares like a Slasher or a Ghost flick might, and in a way it's more disturbing than scary. The acting is great if you ask me, the entire cast is professional and talented.Dread is a different type of Horror film, The Horror bit doesn't start before the final quarter, and until then it's mostly drama. Also, the type of horror isn't all that original, nothing surprising or shocking unless you've never seen "torture porn" before. However, the disturbing conclusion of the film is presented without any visual gore, more like "mental gore" and cruelty. Call it what you will, the effect is immense.All in all, Dread is original and well made, and I'm real frustrated with IMDb users for rating it so low. All I can say is that I hope you give it a chance, as it's a great film and definitely recommended!

Proof you can make a tense, riveting film on a shoestring and a reminder that Clive Barker is a great horror writer. Solid performances, well paced, often shocking and truly frightening complete with haunting imagery. Executive Producer Anthony DiBlasi who worked on the last few Barker films shows real skill as he steps into the writer/director chair and love of the material as he deftly handles it all making this one of my favorites. A movie built on developing the characters, that makes you care about them and what happens to them is a rare thing, solid performances from the main characters come together to make this one of the best horror films of 2009. Make it a marathon and watch the other films produced by DiBlasi and Barker Midnight Meat Train, and Book of Blood together exemplify of what can be done when a writer and filmmaker work together to bring more literal translations of the original work to the screen unlike so many book adaptations who's films barely resemble the novels.

"Dread" is an adaptation of a story by Clive Barker, and it starts out on a very interesting premise: exploring our fears. That's Quaid's motivation for his thesis study: he decides to interview people and have them tell their most vivid memories of being afraid. Quaid has a deeper, darker motivation for this: when he was 6 years old, he saw his parents being murdered by an axe killer. In his quest he will team up with Steven, an agreeable fellow student, and with Cheryl. Each of them has a personal story of haunting fear, too. Of course, as is expected, Quaid's childhood trauma and dabbling into people's darkest fears do not mix well."Dread" evolves as a psychological suspense -with moments of great intensity thrown together with scenes that are included just for shock value or, what's worst, as a rushed and stereotypical means of character-building (e.g. the scenes at the pub, at Quaid's studio or with the two girls that they hook up with at the beginning, where we're supposed to learn about Quaid's personality). Despite its ups and downs, though, it is a pretty solid suspense, with sobriety of characters, a compact and believable plot that follows well, and good subplots (e.g. Abby's story, with the best performance of the movie from actress Laura Donnelly). And one good point about this movie is that it is never boring.The last half hour is the most intense, as the accumulating events and actions come to their conclusion."Dread" is, in my opinion, a quite good movie in its genre. It's not ground-breaking and it may remind you of something you have watched or read before. However, it has good points, well-done scenes that will keep your attention, and it's always entertaining. Warning: don't expect anything at all like "Hellraiser".My score: 7/10.