Too much of everything

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This movie starts off in a bit of chaos, as we see the main character, Tyler (played by Stephen Chambers), in the midst of a struggle with his friends after he is having a breakdown following his mother's overdose. We quickly switch to them, presumably several years later and following Tyler's hospitalization, joining back together at his mother's cabin in the woods for some male bonding (and for Tyler to find some closure after his mother's traumatic death). The tension between the group is palpable, particularly from Chris (played by David Patrick Flemming), who Tyler had stabbed during the altercation before his hospitalization.They did a great job at letting us really get to know each character throughout the course of the movie. Maybe a little too well, really… it's a solid 45 minutes (half of the run time) before we even SEE "the corridor". But really, I thought there was some meaningful banter, which surprised me especially considering the seeming banality of the plot so far. I thought they all fit a bit too stereotypically into their roles at times, but ultimately each showed their strengths and flaws effectively. The acting wasn't amazing, but I thought they did a good job at being fairly natural, and I think the intelligent script made up for any lacking in their ability.The corridor itself is pretty neat to behold, and I thought it was a unique idea, at least nothing I've ever seen before. The special effects in this movie aren't anything to write home about, but I thought the corridor was subtle enough that it didn't need much — it's not flashy or overdone. The guys' reaction to the corridor was a bit surprising to me, with them immediately rushing to "guard" it so they could, ultimately, get some money and fame from its existence. It was fascinating how quickly the corridor's power started to affect them, with each guy sort of standing in awe at his newfound abilities. That part of the movie was awesome, I thought — I found my mouth hanging agape a little bit when Everett is guarding their new friend and watches the plane go by above, hearing the communications clear as day.It has a few very effectively chilling scenes, which were impressive. Everett's accidental encounter with the hunter, for one — you can feel how desperate but primal his reaction was. When Tyler sees his mother outside of the house and she tilts her head to let out an almost mechanical scream — very reminiscent of The Thing.Ultimately, we learn that their collective subconscious is not quite powerful enough to withstand such a force. All of the flaws and shortcomings we'd learned about earlier in the film start to rear their heads and they all revert to the most intense versions of themselves. There's some really surprising (and well done) gore to appease anyone who was wishing there was more blood (the scalping is… whoa). And while the ending is a bit cheesy with the crappy effects and possibly a bit too mysterious and vague for some, I thought it was decent.I can't help but think that this was a pretty awesome idea, just maybe not executed to the best of anyone's ability. A solid try, absolutely, and some really great moments, but just not quite there.

When he discovers his mother has died from an overdose, Tyler Crawley (Stephen Chambers) suffers a bout of paranoid schizophrenia, attacking his concerned friends with a knife. After a stint in a mental institution, Tyler tries to get his life back on track with the help of medication, and agrees to spend a weekend with his pals in a remote snowbound cabin in an attempt to patch up their friendship.Then things start to get really weird…While Tyler is in the woods scattering his mother's ashes, he sees something inexplicable—a translucent box of energy. When he tries to tell his friends about the phenomena, they think he is having a relapse, but after dragging them out to the woods he is able to prove that he is telling the truth. The astounded group enter the box—which gradually grows in length to become a corridor—where they experience a collective consciousness that expands their senses but which also causes madness.The Corridor is every bit as confusing as it sounds, and with no satisfactory explanation of events, it is bound to irk many viewers. I wasn't all that bothered by the lack of exposition, being used to watching very strange movies that force the viewer to figure things out for themselves, but I was irritated by the dreary pace (nothing much of interest happens for the first half an hour), unlikeable characters and dull dialogue: successfully making it to the end of the film proved a major feat, despite a spot of gnarly violence at the hands of Everett Manette (James Gilbert), whose exposure to the bizarre expanding corridor of supernatural energy results in him becoming a homicidal maniac who garrottes a hunter, scalps one of his friends and crucifies another.On top of all the stupefying nonsense that supposedly passes for a plot, this film also boasts one of the most ridiculous hairstyles in horror: Matthew Amyotte plays Robert 'Bobcat' Comeau, who is supposedly going bald, but the actor has clearly had the top of his head shaved for the role, leaving a daft wisp of hair flapping about. It looks bloody silly, but is probably the most memorable thing about the whole film.3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for… you guessed it… Bobcat's Friar Tuck hair!

Five young men (not teenagers) get together for a retreat in the woods. It's in snow country, and there is a lot of snow. That's good for snowball fights, snow angels, yelling for the sake of yelling, and yellow snow. Okay, so they are older, bigger, stronger, and more accomplished than teens, but still exhibit some of the same behaviours.Tyler is mentally disturbed, in that he witnessed his mother die from overdose, and just might have had something to do with the dying part. Then he spent time in a mental institution to deal with it. Nice beginning, I suppose, but it casts doubt on all that follows. Are the proceedings supernatural, or is the whole film just about the extended delusions of an unbalanced mind? Is the film supernatural horror or psychological drama? Sigh.Tyler makes a big deal of going away from the others to spread his mother's ashes in a spot nearby that was of some significance. He chats about it when he gets back. Is he OK? Is he OK to drink alcohol?Jim figures he's 'shooting blanks;' that is, does not have viable seed. He's trying to figure out how to tell his wife. Bobcat has lost his hair, but gained a lot of kids, and likes to play recorded football games. Everett and Chris both play guitar. They catch up through talking.This is all rather dull through the first 36 minutes. Then the weirdness and SFX start up. Of course Tyler witnesses it first; he's the least likely to be believed. He sees bright light in the middle of darkness, and sees an odd being who looks just like his dead mother. Tyler confides in Chris, who promises to go with him in daylight.There is a bit of transition, but the other four witness what Tyler experienced. Together they set about exploring it. Driving a snowmobile through it does not work; the motor stopped. Their telephones do not work. All of them feel great, but they all start having nosebleeds. Everett stays; he wants to experience more right away. The others decide to go back to the cabin.They try to figure out how to monetize it. Not surprisingly, they start having contentious exchanges; the possibility of huge amounts of mostly free money seems to open their ability to irritate each other. Everett meets Lee Shephard in the woods; Lee offers to help fix the non-functional snowmobile...then he witnesses the corridor of lights. Lee takes to it quicker than all the others. Everett notices this and garrotes him.Their behaviour continues to become more weird. Tyler starts to look like the most sane one of the bunch. The corridor expands to the cabin.Will the friends survive this experience? ------Scores------Cinematography: 6/10 Hand-held camera for some sections, uninspiring for the others.Sound: 8/10 Mostly good.Acting: 6/10 Competent, but not engaging. The actors were good soldiers. Unfortunately, the best actor by far, Nigel Bennett, had very little screen time.Screenplay: 0/10 Pointless.

The Corridor tells the story of 5 childhood friends meeting in a remote wooded cabin to mourn the loss of one of their mothers. The trip also doubles as a chance to get their friend back on his feet since he suffered a violent mental breakdown after his mother's suicide. This is heavy stuff and this film doesn't shy away from the difficult scenario. Each character is dealing with their own midlife difficulties as well and the cabin stands as a reminder to all of them that those simple days of youth are drifting far behind them now. The entire setup is presented with such a delicate precision in both acting and writing that I found the story seeping beneath my skin long before the horror aspects began. The snow covered winter setting just added to the bleak and somber tone. These men seemed like real people with real problems and not your ordinary horror movie cutouts. Soon one of the men discovers an indescribable supernatural entity in the woods. From there we begin a slow and not so subtle descent into madness and the unknown. This film has some similarities to "The Dreamcatcher" in it's setting but is vastly different in tone. "Dreamcatcher" was popcorn bubble gum horror with some fun moments and few actual scares. The Corridor stays on target and rarely lets you up to breathe from the opening shot to the final haunting music piece "Various Stages" that is played over the credits. I've read several critical reviews addressing the lack of explanation with the encounter. The same critique was given to this summer's Sci Fi Horror epic "Prometheus". Both films raise more questions than answers. Instead of wrapping it all up in the last 20 minutes, you are left with a great deal of mystery to ponder. This is closer to real life, situations are more often then not left unexplained. An explanation would on have lessened the actual horror. When it was over I sat until the end of the credits. This is something I rarely do. For the next few hours I couldn't get it out of my head, always the sign of a well done film.