Grace (2009), dir. Paul Solet w/Jordan Ladd

[droidguy1119]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220213/

Apparently two guys fainted at this at Sundance. It sounds amazingly creepy, and there are a couple good writeups at CHUD. I'm looking forward to it.

[LickTheABCs]

Jordan Ladd is annoying and anytime anyone on CHUD praises something I'm weary, but I'll give it a shot.

[asianxcore]

Some reviews:

http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/grace-2009
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film/2207/review

[droidguy1119]

I don't trust Bloody-Disgusting. Of course, this guy above doesn't trust CHUD, so to each their own.

[NoirFan]

Paul Solet was my roommate and best friend a few years ago before he moved to L.A., so I'm all proud of him and shit. I'll definitely see this in the theater if I can, if only to support him.

[droidguy1119]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Paul Solet was my roommate and best friend a few years ago before he moved to L.A., so I'm all proud of him and shit. I'll definitely see this in the theater if I can, if only to support him.

Awesome.

[Seantn]

The whole "people fainting" thing always sounds like fake buzz to me. They said the same thing about Hostel when it came out.

[NoirFan]

Pretty positive review in Variety:

"Rosemary's Vegan Vampire Baby" might have been the title of "Grace," a satirical creepfest that mines modern motherhood for all its latent terror: Breastfeeding. Baby monitors. Mothers-in-law. Splatter freaks will suckle on "Grace's" high corpuscle count and others will laugh at the sendup of post-natal obsessiveness.

[asianxcore]

Thought I'd bump this as the film is on festival tours right now.

For all you Bay Area heads there is a midnight showing of Grace on May 1st at the Sundance Kabuki (via The San Francisco Film Fest). If you can't make it then there is a noon showing on May 4th as well.

[asianxcore]

Seeing it this Friday

Easily one of my most anticipated films of the year

[droidguy1119]

I await your reaction...definitely something I'm looking forward to as well.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by droidguy1119

I await your reaction...definitely something I'm looking forward to as well.

I will definitely be posting my thoughts/reactions to the film afterward.

Too excited!

[riley_dude]

IFFBoston EXCLUSIVE: Director Paul Solet Reveals Details About Grace’s Future DVD Release


Horror fanatics among you might have already heard about Paul Solet’s audacious debut film, Grace, which has been generating obscene amounts of buzz on the festival circuit (screenings of the film have reportedly even resulted in some people fainting). Last night, I saw the film at a packed midnight screening at the Brattle Theater as part of Independent Film Festival Boston and found the overall experience to be exciting and tense. Those of you hankering for a horror film that will make you deeply uncomfortable have a lot to look forward to in this film. While the movie’s theatrical prospects currently remain unclear, I had the privilege to chat with Paul this afternoon about the future DVD release of his film. Look for a brief review of Grace and my full video interview with Paul in the near future

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by riley_dude

IFFBoston EXCLUSIVE: Director Paul Solet Reveals Details About Grace’s Future DVD Release

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/04/28/...-solets-grace/

I'm guessing your post refers to those video interviews. Unless IFFBoston has another video going up today (those were posted today). Those two interviews are questions about the film and nothing about the DVD release.

The only thing I've heard in terms of DVD release from interviews is that Paul had lots of behind the scenes/documentary footage taken during the entire planning/filming of the film. Mentioned it was for the future DVD release.

When I had met Paul Solet at Fangoria L.A a couple weeks ago, my girlfriend and I asked him about any plans for a future DVD release. He mentioned that Anchor Bay actually helped finance the film, so they might have first dibs at it. Wouldn't be surprised at all if Anchor Bay released this

[asianxcore]

I was lucky enough to catch the West Coast premiere of Grace at the San Francisco Film Festival last night.

First off I have to mention that I have been following the film for some time now, so my expectations for it were extremely high.

Props to the San Francisco Film Society for picking such a gorgeous theater (Sundance Kabuki) to screen Grace at. The film was shown in two of the theater's rooms and one had a Q&A with Paul Solet and the film's editor (his name escapes me). Though Paul mentioned in the Q&A that women handled the material better than men (2 men fainted at Sundance), at the room I watched the film, two women got up and left after one particular scene

Onto the film itself....

The film was fantastic. I actually appreciated first off the technical aspects of it. For his debut full length feature, Paul Solet had a very nice eye framing scenes. There were also some very (subtle) visual choices as well camera-wise, that I appreciated. The soundtrack was also very nice, in the fact that it was very minimal, mostly ambient with most of the chaotic/loud tracks coming in during tense moments. Rejoice folks, no random Heavy Metal or "Soundtrack of The Week" score here.

The acting was very strong all around. Though some of the very minor characters had some pretty laughable deliveries, the main cast was very strong and constantly engaging to watch. Jordan Ladd (Cabin Fever, Hostel 2, Grindhouse) was fantastic as the lead role of Madeline. I was a little skeptical at first if she could handle the lead role of this film as she had been very sparse in the films I had previously seen her in. Her slow descent into exhaustion, desperation and madness is a very interesting one and had me engaged the entire time. Gabrielle Rose is also terrific as Madeline's Mother in Law, Vivian. Her delivery is strong and she gives her all. She also gives some of the most creepiest performances in the entire film. The cast is very believable (as is the setting/world) which drives the film even more.

There are so many things I appreciated about this film, most of which I mentioned. The last thing I'll mention is that I appreciated that the film managed to dodge a lot of laughable cliches that are associated with it's genre. There are many things I was thinking about when I first read the synopsis of the film. How over the top would Paul Solet go with his material? Would he be completely campy? I'm glad to report that not only did he please a die-hard Horror Fan, but he really managed to make a film that appeals to fans outside the genre as well. This is a film that is deeply rooted in horror but I can honestly see it branching out to fans of other genres as well. I love the care and respect that Paul had for the material and treated it the way it deserved to be treated.

My only problems with the film were the somewhat uneven pacing at times and a subplot that I could have done without.

Don't expect CGI Zombie babies to be running around tearing necks apart, gore for the sake of gore or even MTV style horror editing (that seems popular nowadays). It's definitely (at times) a very odd movie with tinkles of Black Humor.

In the end what we have here is a film that you need to be patient with. It's indeed a slow-burn, but once it gets under your skin, there's no letting go.

I really hope everyone gets a chance to see this and judges it for themselves. Me? I obviously loved it!

[LickTheABCs]

^ Good review. I want to see it but I'm skeptical of any flick where Jordan Ladd is the lead.

Her boobs are nice, her acting.. not so much

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by LickTheABCs

^ Good review. I want to see it but I'm skeptical of any flick where Jordan Ladd is the lead.

Her boobs are nice, her acting.. not so much

I really believed her slow decline as the film went on and thought her performance was great. I've read reviews that said otherwise, but I was actually surprised she was able to keep me interested in a lead role.

Whether or not it was the film's intention, Grace did remind me much of films such as Cronenberg's The Brood and films like The Omen and (obviously) Rosemary's Baby.

As I mentioned in my mini-review, the film's pacing does hurt it a teeny bit. Based in it's synopsis, you think the film would be a lot more flashy than it is. Ends up relying more on a gradual sense of creepiness and uncomfortable atmosphere.

[LickTheABCs]

I liked it.

I agree about the pacing although it didn't really hurt the film for me.

Ladd actually wasn't that bad either. She had a good portion of the film to herself with only the baby to play off of and I was surprised she pulled it off.

The score was also very good.

[Gunde]

Yeah good movie.
But the hype about it being disturbing or shocking is stupid. It's just a bit creepy

[ChristianB]

Seeing Grace tomorrow at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival (Toronto Premiere). Can't wait! I just got back from seeing Trick 'r Treat.

Nice to see these theatrically instead of DVD.

[Rival11]

This was a pretty decent movie. My problem with it was not enough pay-off. Yeah I know "he purposely left it open like that at the end" but I'm really starting to not like movies that do that sort of thing; It comes off as a cop-out.

The directing was damn good though but I did not like the

Spoiler:

the death of the husband with the next scenes cutting right to her laying down in the doctors house...the guy she had call the doctor...any normal human being would have immidately dialed 911

Pretty good surprise - definitely a lot better than most big budget shit that tries to get this content right.

[dsa_shea]

Originally Posted by Seantn

The whole "people fainting" thing always sounds like fake buzz to me. They said the same thing about Hostel when it came out.

Thsi was the one thing I despised on the Sundance feature on the BD. They went on and on about how two people fainted. Wow!!!

[Slumbering Fist]

I was really underwhelmed. Its a good, solid film but not great. Definitely has some flaws. The buzz about it being hardcore or tough to swallow is extremely overrated. I can only assume those "fainters" were people with low blood sugar or perhaps ex-Amish who had stumbled into their very first movie ever.

[writer106]

I just got this in today through Netflix. I will probably watch it sometime in the next couple of days.

[old-boo-radley]

My friend reviewed this for anyone who is on the fence still:

http://www.oh-the-horror.com/page.php?id=556

I can't say I'm too terribly looking forward to it, considering I don't even own It's Alive III yet!