Tethered (II) (2022) User Reviews

The Rope Will Guide You

[warehousereviews · 6/10 · 28 March 2022]

Its a slow burn that is for sure.

There was a lot that could of been answered or explained to give the movie a bit more coherence but was still very watchable. The main actor did a great job with the little he had.

I feel the pay off at the end did not match up to the length of the film, there was a lot of build up and suspense for a very predictable finale.

I think if you lke this film go and watch the 2020 film Hunter Hunter.

Very similar in pace and setting but with a better ending.

Movie Just Need Explanation, It's Not A Zombie Movie

[harryk-87581 · 6/10 · 21 December 2022]

First, to anyone who thinks this is a zombie infection movie, it's not.

The Solomon family was living on their own because of their demonic heritage in the family.

The ritual of throwing food / raw meat in the wood is in fact to give it to the father who becomes a demon and lives in the woods chained (The cave hank found with the chain)

The mother made 3 rules to keep and keep Solomon Safe. The first rule is to feed themselves when they're demons so they don't attack Solomon, Second humming the song which would help them recognize it is him ( At the end mom recognize him by the humming ) Third always have ropes around him for the sake of his safety.

When Solomon met Hank, he didn't want to leave with Hank because he knew his mother was in the woods ( He doesn't get scared by demonic screams ) but he still decides to go into the woods with Hank in the hope to meet his mother

Solomon in the end witnessed his mom's suffering and decided to end her. Unfortunately, the demonic power didn't stop there instead Solomon inherited the power which gave him visions to see ( His eyes getting pupils at the end )

Un-titillated...

[akira-hideyo · 5/10 · 18 March 2022]

It had everything to score a 9 minimum with its slow buildup to a great unique suspenseful horror flick. Then like a carefully calibrated, almost completed 10 storey deck of cards, the artist just gave a wild swing of hands to bring it all down at the last 10 minutes. No rhyme or reason for the shotgun ending but perhaps it "bears" a hint of being infected by yet another zombie plague. Goodness.

Um...what happened?

[miss_toucan · 3/10 · 20 March 2022]

This was enjoyable to watch up until the ending.

Despite it obviously being a low budget film, the acting was good, the direction was good, and I felt the story really had potential.

Maybe I failed to understand something, but I felt that it was ruined by the weak and confusing ending. I probably would have given this a 6 or 7 if it had ended differently.

It's times like this that I wish IMDB still had message boards as I would like someone to explain the ending to me as I obviously didn't get it.

An 88 minute advertisement for a 12 minute short film

[MyFriendsCallMeDirt · 4/10 · 28 March 2022]

It's artsy and atmospheric and the actors do a stand-up job, it's even craftily filmed, but about halfway through I realized nothing was really happening, and wondered if it could be condensed into a much shorter version. By the end, my mind hadn't changed and I wondered if it should have just been a short. Then I discovered that the director had, in fact, based it on a 12 minute short, which I am now eager to watch to confirm that this thing would have made an absolutely brilliant short film.

Hanging On

[jeroduptown · 5/10 · 23 March 2022]

Tethered didn't have enough plot line to keep you roped in. Intriguing, yes - a blind boy alone in the woods. But the plausibility is weak and his mysterious guest doesn't do much to build the climax of the film.

If you like rising tension......

[wctdoc · 7/10 · 20 March 2022]

A blind boy, his protective mother, and a goat named Millie, live in the backwoods of the Carolinas, fishing, trapping small animals and living off the land. But there is something ominous in those woods. What could possibly go wrong? Mother, former Baywatch babe Alexandra Paul teaches Solomon the rules of survival, before she disappears one night. Time passes, a strange hunter (Hank) happens upon the scene, seeking shelter for the night (what could possibly go wrong). Tension mounts as Hank finds the mother's journal and reads some of it to Solomon, until he comes upon a disturbing passage. Strange things are happening in the beckoning woods. What could possibly go wrong?

This is the first feature film for this talented group of North Carolina independent film makers (they have made some short films). They have produced a solid psychological thriller, using a combination of Hollywood and local talent, a good original (tension building) musical score and professional cinematography. Definitely worth the price of a ticket or a stream, and I cannot wait to see their next production.

A good idea not well executed

[osmiobr · 3/10 · 22 April 2022]

I can't help thinking: What battery brand was that in the tape recorder that lasts 10+ years? Who was delivering the groceries on the shelves? Etc etc. Another interesting idea that deserved better.

I like it

[dragonofsniper · 7/10 · 18 March 2022]

The movie have nice story and the actors played well ! There is some minor things that you can feel it's a low budget movie , maybe it was produce with higher budget will be fantastic and worth 9/10.

In general I advise to see it!

A slow and painful way to waste time

[romneymeredith · 1/10 · 30 August 2022]

First, let me state that as I am typing this around 3pm CDT on August 30, 2022, there are undeniable signs of vote packing - 14.8% of the total are for a 10 star rating, more than all of the 7, 8 and 9 star combined (13%). This is not possible unless bad actors are inflating the rating as we see often, and STILL the overall rating is 4.5 stars - people like me are down-voting it on purpose to get it closer to the real rating which IMHO should be around 2.

As for the movie, this is one of those that had a decent concept and decent acting but it was way, way too slow. Almost nothing of any note happens until near the end and I had guessed within the first 2 minutes of the movie that the creature lurking near the tree in the background where the blind son (Solomon) was looking is the mother (Nydia), for some reason mutated - this is never made clear but you could tell she 'evolved' because of the clues they put in the movie (a hunter named Hank near the end of the movie finds a journal addressed to the son with the first pages legible but later filled with increasingly unreadable gibberish addressed to the son, and it's in some kind of huge, tree-limb covered nest).

Anyway, Solomon is abandoned by Nydia with no clear explanation given to the kid as to why she left, in a house without utilities close to woods. The reason she split was that she was turning gradually into a creature of some kind (her with some makeup and contact lenses as it turns out) and she's chained up out in the woods. Before she left she taught the boy some rules, never to go out without the rope around his waist attached to the house and to always split the game and fish he caught in two and throw half into the woods. She herself is chained to prevent her from attacking him and I guessed that immediately as well when he found the chain (but then couldn't she have attacked him then???). A plot hole. And of course she's eating whatever he does throw into the woods as we see animal bones in one scene in a pile, otherwise she'd starve.

Anyway, Hank kills a deer and after defending himself against the kid who panics he eventually befriends him, obviously concerned since the kid looks like a hillbilly, is blind, lives on his own and is running out of canned food. Sounds promising, right?

WRONG - we see almost every stinking movement of this kid, so boring and slow as he manages his way to and fro. And the hunter speaks to the kid as if he is a little child. So aggravating. Obviously a very low budget though the camera work was okay.

At the end of the movie Hank, having several times heard this weird screaming, goes out with his rifle to set a bear trap and gets killed by Nydia, and of course the budget doesn't allow for a kill scene to be shown, all we ever see are some fake scratches on his dead face. Apparently Hank gets off a shot and Solomon, hearing it, makes his slow, slow way to investigate, finds the dead hunter, then his mother rushes out to get him but the chain stops her short. So the kid starts humming their favorite song, something she told him always to do when he felt bad, and she recognizes it and starts humming it too. He comes closer with tears in his eyes, close enough for her to rush him and she hugs him, recognizing her son. At this moment Solomon (the kid) naturally takes the opportunity to stab her to death. Sorry, ma! Shortly thereafter his white eyes develop the same eerie, reptile-like retinas his mother had and the movie ends. There was a father involved but he was out of the picture when the movie started and I am only guessing Nydia killed HIM, perhaps in some kind of ritual that these creatures go through. That clue was dropped when the hunter found and read a different journal in the house to Solomon but stopped reading it when he came to a page where Nydia wrote angry words about the husband trying to take Solomon and there's a drawing of the chain she was tethered to.

Never answered: what kind of creatures were they? What was their story? How did the mother get chained in the first place? I have to assume she did it when she was still mostly normal (before she left we hear her cough a few times, I suppose that was signaling the change). What happened to the father? Why didn't the hunter the morning after he left the kid go to his vehicle if he had one (it was never shown) and get the authorities to rescue the kid? Here's something odd - he apparently doesn't possess a cell phone since there was no standard scene of 'I can't get a signal!'. There was no boat shown and there was no lake or river ever shown that he could have used it on, only a rocky and turbulent stream too small to navigate on, so how did he get to the woods??? Before the mother mutated her vision was perfect (and though her eyes are different her vision is still fine) so why did Solomon have completely white eyes that ended up matching hers? What was the point then of him being blind??? And what is the point of mutating and living like an animal chained in the woods? If I knew that was happening to me I'd kill myself but only after taking the kid somewhere to drop him off with someone. But seriously, what was the end game for the creature? I don't get it.

WHY did I watch this movie (for free thank goodness!) without checking out the honest 1 star reviews on IMDB? I almost always do, dang it, but at least I hope you profit from my review and avoid this movie like the plague it is, unless you suffer from insomnia.

Great suspense and mistery

[josmanaba · 10/10 · 16 May 2022]

Blind kid and mom live in a dark dead forest, looks like some post-apocalyptic world, she teaches him how to survive alone and be always tethered to a long rope to avoid getting lost, one day in the forest he finds a big heavy chain, mom fast takes him away from there, even more strange, mom tells him to always throw food to some part of the forest, one night mom reads him a tale about fierce creatures that killed people, then mom just leaves at the middle of the night without explanation, the blind kids grows up alone, catches small animals in traps and throws part of them in that part of the forest, someday a hunter kills a deer, it's an average man, shares the food with him, the hunter finds mom's diary, it says they (mom, dad and blind kid) can't live with the rest of people, then there is a horrible roar outside, the hunter goes to the forest to hunt the animal, he finds another big heavy chain coming from a small den, there is a notebook inside, he doesn't come back so the blind guy goes to the forest to try to find him, he does, but the hunter is already dead, from the den comes out mom in chains, she's different, looks like part human part werewolf or something else, her eyes are like alligator eyes, he knows there is someone there but he doesn't know its mom, he sings because he's nervous, she responds to the song and sings too, he recognizes her, she attacks him and he kills her with a knife, then, his white blind eyes turn alligator style.

It's a great dark beautiful movie in a low budget, full of questions that all get answered at the end : it's not post-apocalyptic, its just a family that went to live deep in the forest because they know they turn into dangerous creatures, the first heavy chain was dad's, mom left because she knew she was turning into a creature, the blind guy turned into creature at the very end, without rope or chain he will probably go to kill uncontrolled, the food they throw at the specific part of the forest was to feed dad and later for mom. Great story, great performances, great photography, sound and customs, the story develops slowly so the viewers have time to process the pieces of the puzzle that we get one by one. We need more movies like this.

likable characters

[samanthejpg · 7/10 · 8 November 2022]

The beginning is a little slow and it all LOOKS like Bird Box. There's a blind boy living alone in his secluded house in the woods and one day he finds a nice stranger. The stranger and the blind boy make such a nice pair and I enjoyed seeing their dynamic, very wholesome. I also like that they never specify exactly what the "monster" is. It's left up to your own interpretation. All you get is a visual of the terrifying demonic looking eyes, which I really loved. It was an okay movie, pulled at my heart strings a little, and had pretty good suspense building. I enjoyed the watch once it got past the initial world building.

Beautiful cinematography but flat...

[xxmisssvxx · 5/10 · 3 April 2022]

This film reminds me of It Comes at Night (2017), a slow burn that really has no purpose. It starts off semi-promising but feels like it loses its plot as the film progresses. It feels incomplete, playing on loop just to keep you watching for something that appears to exist in your head fueled by seclusion.

I was not impressed with this one personally, but I will say that the cinematography is beautiful. It's dark, depressing, moody, lingering, but lifeless. The ending seems to have one of those what I like to call "suicidal" endings where it disappointingly dies.

I wish the storyline was better.

remake of a short

[znwch · 20 March 2022]

It is artsy and pretty to look at but nothing happens in the plot. The first 40 minutes could have been condensed into a 10 minutes flashback. The ending was pointless and confusing. The whole thing is too cliché.

Oh my God

[jsco5000 · 3/10 · 22 March 2022]

The film could have been beautiful, but you don't know what the topic is, what is terrifying, and the reason for the film's story!! A movie with a strange story, but the tuner is stupid!

Don't watch

[johnspwn · 1/10 · 21 August 2022]

I actually cried a few times during the movie. It's very unique and original. I will say the ending goes above and beyond horrible endings - it totally ruins the movie and makes you want your time back.

The short film was enough...

[ashe-87627 · 3/10 · 26 March 2022]

Not everything needs to be a feature film.

I saw Tethered (the 12 minute short film) in 2017 and found it slow... the ending annoyed me as well.

12 minutes was enough! Can you imagine how even more dragged out it is now... over an hour just to get to that crappy ending, oh boy!

Try finding the 12 minute version. Gets to the crappy point quicker.

Clues are there, just have to pay attention!

[gaeasmom · 7/10 · 10 November 2022]

Have to be honest. Came here to see what the heck I missed. Had I paid closer attention, I would have understood it better.

Loved the atmosphere and slow burn. Well-acted and tense. The movie actually contains most of the clues you need to understand what happened, just don't be playing with the doggo while watching, lol.

I agree with people that the end was disappointing, but I don't really feel like I wasted my time.

Tethered kept my interest, though not my puppy's, and I did watch a second time knowing what to keep an eye out for. Yep. Clues were there, just not as transparent, hit-over-the-head and in-your-face as many other movies. Maybe being so oblique is why it's not as satisfying as it could be.

Overall, I would recommend the watch, but would not consider it a 'must' watch.

INSULTINGLY BAD

[richkiel · 1/10 · 1 August 2023]

There are dumb movies that let you know from the start that they are dumb and will remain dumb, so if you keep watching, it's your choice, and you are not being cheated.

And then there are movies that set up a bunch of things that tease a worthy payoff, and then they provide none whatsoever. This is one of those films.

There are so many things in this film that could have developed into an interesting story, but that never happened. The film makes a huge deal out of a mysterious rope, yet never provides payoff. It teases the revelation of past events that will illuminate what has happened with the protagonist, but never happens. Nothing is resolved, and the 'reveal' at the end is so stupid and illogical, and unrelated to any of the elements we've been seeking a payoff for that it just boggles the mind.

I feel cheated. This film literally seems to aim to insult the viewer, and that is the ultimate sin it can commit. Also, it treats the two protagonists with contempt. It introduces them, promises to make our investment in their relationship and development worthwhile, and then it gives you nothing.

Totally dissapointing movie

[bonitastephanova · 1/10 · 28 June 2022]

For me the movie has potential, but the story doesn't have any line , and the end is so stupid, that i couldn't believe my eyes. No sense, total lost of time.

Low-budget masterpiece

[joethepimpernel-73909 · 8/10 · 4 April 2022]

For a low-budget movie it had excellent production values. Good character development, excellent acting, a mysterious plot that keeps you intrigued.

The ending was pretty lame, but I don't really see how you could have a satisfying ending, but that was only about 2% of the movie.

For entertainment value, it was right up there.

I'm with everyone else on this one

[artzgrrl · 3/10 · 23 August 2022]

From the beginning, I was thinking that this was a solid 7 or 8. The atmosphere was haunting. The acting was kinda good. The plot engaging enough to keep my interest UNTIL the last 10 minutes. What happened? No really - what in the world happened? I am so confused and now I am annoyed that I started to get invested in what ends up being not a real story after all. Don't waste your time.

Disappointing.

[joshuabenhaggai · 5/10 · 3 April 2022]

This movie had everything to make it a 8 or a 9 but the ending was like going all the way to Newfoundland for fish and chips and getting frozen supermarket in a box fish dinner microwaved. Just soo disappointing.

ultimately disappointing

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 17 December 2022]

Solomon is a young blind boy living in an isolated cabin with his mother (Alexandra Paul). She has set up a rope around the property for Solomon to navigate. She has also set up traps for little animals and fishes to live off the land. One day, she disappears and leaves a message warning he to not leave the rope line. As a young man, he lives alone and rigorously tied to the ropes. He encounters Hank (Kareem Ferguson) in the woods. There is a menacing presence lurking outside the ropes and it's becoming a struggle to survive.

This starts with a sense of The Quiet Place. It's a high-concept indie horror. The potential is there, but I kept fearing a less-than-compelling reveal. In the end, that's what this gives us. Before that, my dread of a bad reveal kept building. I had hopes still with one potential resolution. This is not the worst. The resolution is a bit lazy.

Good Potential

[taylermac · 5/10 · 19 November 2022]

This movie had some good potential. The set up was intriguing and the slow starting pace did a fair job of drawing the viewer.

The acting was alright, but given it's more of an indie film you could overlook it and I still felt endeared to the characters. However, some of the music felt inconsistent and actually took me out of the immersion. Similarly, some of the visual shots seemed to be a good set up for a close up or some sort of follow up scene/dialogue but ended up leaving you hanging. (i.e. Hank reading the journal to Solomon felt cut off and I wanted more from the scene)

The final reveal was predictable and left me wanting something more. Ultimately the world building and story were on the right track, but the final product just felt a bit lacking.