"Walled In" definitely looked like a horror movie with massive potential and several aspects about the synopsis immediately appealed to me, like the guaranteed horrific theme of claustrophobic death, isolated buildings with a macabre past, lunatic architects and a slowly unfolding serial killer plot. I became even more convinced of the potential after witnessing the terrifically uncanny opening sequence in which a small child is trapped between four walls and screaming her lungs out whilst cement slowly filling up the concrete grave. This is a harsh and nightmarish sequence that you don't expect to see in modern day horror movie, so I started to feel very confident this could become a gem of a film. Unfortunately I shouted victory way too early again, as the walls of the productions literally come crashing down promptly after the opening credits. The screenplay is adapted from a graphic novel written by Canadian writer Serge Brussolo, and I certainly don't doubt the idea makes an absorbing book, but the film version is unstructured, confusing, preposterous and utterly implausible. Furthermore, the film itself is extremely unpleasant to look at what with its grainy photography, grim ambiance and vile characterizations. "Walled In" is one of those movies that make you nervous and uncomfortable without actually scaring anyone, so I was really glad when it was over. Sam Walczak is a freshly graduated engineer and the heiress of her family's destruction company. Her father offers her the opportunity to be in charge of her very own project: organizing and supervising the demolition of a remote and sinister apartment building, originally designed by the notoriously eccentric architect Joseph Malestrazza. The building has a dark past, as reputedly over 15 previous tenants were entombed in the walls, and Sam quickly experiences there's truth in the rumors. Together with the slightly offbeat teenage son of the evicted caretaker, she develops a theory that the mysteriously vanished architect might still be entrenched in the building. Pretentious and lethargic, "Walled In" is basically a totally absurd movie with an overload of transparent red herring and atmosphere building elements that are boldly stolen from other (and much better) genre classics. The ending is downright pathetic and actually a direct insult on the viewer's intelligence. Don't expect any gore or bloodshed, neither, just a whole lot of wannabe shocking undertones leading absolutely nowhere. The performances are very much below par and the overall conclusion regarding the film is, simply put, embarrassing. If these walls could talk
they would advise us to throw all copies of this movie in a hole in the basement and subsequently blow up the building.
