Not to be confused with the villain from the Phantasm films, this is a new title from Pascal Laugier, the French director who brought us Martyrs(2008), one of my favorite modern horrors.
As my most anticipated title for this year, because of the director's potential, it was time to watch this during October, which by the way will have more horror related posts on the way. Not that this post is essentially all the way horror, but more of a mixed bag.
Children are being abducted in a small town, disappearing completely. The town folks are angered, worried and hopeless as it all happens so sudden and unexpected. Rumors have been generated as to the presence of The Tall Man being responsible for this, but there are no eye witnesses.
Jessica Biel from the first remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(another reboot has been shown a couple weeks back) stars as the protagonist Julia. Amidst the folks of the town as a nurse, she is aware of the myth, but doesn't give it much thought.
Until her own child is abducted mysteriously, which she desperately goes after, but after a struggle in the kidnapper's car, she loses track of them and goes back to the town's local pub. There, something doesn't seem right despite her current shocked state and the help being given.
Suddenly, she must escape from the folks who notice that she has fleed the pub. Taking a secret hike, Julia reunites with the child. Midway through, a twist is revealed, turning the suspicion towards someone else. As Julia returns with the child at home, more insights are revealed.
I'm being obviously vague here, not showing you all details of the spoilers in order to protect the impact. But I can tell you this, the ending will eventually be recognizable mere moments after the quarrel near the caravan. And the mood of the film will have changed by then.
While The Tall Man is not a great horror or thriller, it does end with some food for throught. Thus, it ends up being alright, nothing too special, but as a standalone title, it stands out amongst the many similar ones who often have lame reasons for the vanished.
Rating: 6.5
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