The Ferryman (2018) User Reviews

Tries too hard to be artistic

[pwirezati · 3/10 · 30 April 2018]

The movie has a decent premise and the acting is adequate if you ignore a twenty something playing a role apparently written for a fifteen or sixteen year old and thirty year old looking man playing her father, but any feeling of horror or even suspense is ruined by the overuse of artistic rhetoric. To start with, the scenes are beautifully filmed and that should be a good thing, but the camera lingers on them far too long to make sure the viewer sees how moody and skillfully framed it all is, how the light is manipulated just so, etc. Like a coffee table book, it is all gloss and no substance. Second, the sound... wow the sound... Large portions of the movie are shot without sound or with annoyingly heavy handed sound overlaid. The sound of the ocean to signify the nature of the entity is fine but once was enough, and the Ferryman crossed a river, not the ocean so the sound is incorrect to start with. But the long bellowing horns, whale song screeches, and amplified random noises detract from the movie entirely. The only person this kind of sound editing is going to impress is the kids you hung with in high school. Much of it sounds like samples from other works such as Ringu that are actually scary. It is really disappointing that so many beautiful stills could not be cobbled together into a decent movie. One star is for the acting of the dad, one is for the lovely use of lighting before it reached the over done point, and the third is for a good premise and cover shot. I am really disappointed. I hope someone takes this premise and makes a good movie from it.

Snore-fest

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 19 May 2018]

THE FERRYMAN is yet another indie horror flick made with no resources or, indeed, a discernable storyline. This one's British but feels American. The story is of a young woman who attempts suicide but survives, only to be pursued by a malignant spirit. It's a housebound, small-scale kind of picture, emphasising psychological antics over anything else. The old-fashioned tinkly piano music is fun but the rest is a snore-fest.