Eden Log (2007) [Blu-ray]
Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

A man wakes up deep inside a cave. Suffering amnesia, he has no recollection of how he came to be there, or of what happened to the man whose body he finds besides him. Tailed by a mysterious creature, this forgotten man embarks upon a journey through this strange and fantastic world to find his way to the surface.

User Comment: tiana90_9 from United Kingdom, 29 December 2007 • I do not want to include spoilers in my comment so I will keep it short. The reason for this is that the success of the film lies in the haunting atmosphere and the journey on which it takes the viewer more than in any actual plot. Indeed, the film is centred around one character and the viewer more or less watches events unfold from the character's viewpoint. The world first time director Frank Vestiel creates is truly haunting and very original, it is miles away from most of the clichés used to recreate a futuristic world. The atmosphere is eerie and dialogue is kept to a minimum. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. The plot is however a little unclear and some sequences are quite long, and they are the more oppressive as the viewer is plunged in darkness. But overall a very original film with very interesting camera work and haunting and beautiful visuals especially considering this is Vestiel's first full length feature with a limited budget at his disposal. Definitely one to watch on the big screen.

Summary: A man wakes up deep in a cave, in what seems to be an abandoned and empty world. Covered in mud, he sets out trying to find where and who he is.

User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York, 18 May 2009 • A man wakes up in a dark cave uncertain who he is or how he got there. He then begins a long climb to the surface through a cave system and through a buried city.

Dark (literally and figuratively) quest tale that plays kind of like an arboreal-Matrix film. Operating at time like a classic quest tale the film also has echoes of films like Tarkovsky's Stalker and Solaris, not to mention the martial arts film Circle of Iron. It's a heady mix of ideas that only occasionally springs to life. The problem is that the films pacing is erratic at best. Some sequences move along at a good clip but others drag on and on. I understand that we're suppose to be following his slow progress but at the same time there is only so much fumbling in the dark that we can watch before getting bored. Yes I understand this is a dark environment but at the same time I'd like to have a sense of place (beyond the dark underground) and direction until we get to the areas with the stairs we have no real sense where anyone one is moving.

I know I'm picking but at the same time this could have been and should have been a better film, There are pieces that work and the visual style is often dynamite. I think the problem is that when I got to the end of the film I was kind of left hanging. I was like that's it? And while I will freely admit I may have missed something I 'm pretty sure I didn't.

Ultimately I'm mixed about the film. As much as I can pick at the film there is something about the film that is haunting. There is something that has stayed with me some twenty plus hours after seeing it. Perhaps it should be chalked up to being an interesting misfire. I recommended it for those who want heady scifi over guns space ships and are willing to take a chance.

Summary: Too much fumbling in the dark and unrealized ideas make this an interesting misfire.

[CSW] -3- As one person out it "The problem is, while it starts off great (with a suspense level that tries to match titles/movies like CUBE), it starts descending into a mess, were it seems not to know what it wants to tell you or where it's heading for that matter." The ending tries to bring out where it was headed but by then I was tired of the darkness. I think I agree more with the second user comment above who gave it a -2.5-but since any good sci-fi ends in an idea instead of an action, I decided that the idea was good enough for the -3- rating even though I found the film a bit tedious.
[V3.5-A3.5] VC-1 - No D-Box.

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