A Resurrection (2013) User Reviews

My Review Of "A Resurrection"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 5/10 · 2 April 2013]

"A Resurrection" is a dark supernatural tale from director Matt Orlando that focuses on a small town during a tragedy. The film is about a young boy named Eli who is picked on in school and who's brother is tragically ran down by a high school rival. Days after the funeral the group of bullies are held in detention as unexplained events begin to unfold that predict dire consequences for the high school kids. The movie stars Mischa Barton, Brenden Meers, Devon Sawa, Michael Clarke Duncan, J. Michael Trautmann, Stuart Stone and Matthew Willig.

For me personally I am split on how I feel about "A Resurrection". The film was shot very well with a complete seriousness to the story's subject matter. It held a continuous dark foreboding and atmosphere of unease which kept the film in a complete suspenseful state of drama. The acting came off as believable and I felt these characters come alive in this twisted story of loss and resurrection. The movie hit on a pretty prevalent subject that plagues communities and schools across this nation with underage drinking, bullying and teen violence not to mention the social inequalities. All this made for a very dramatic and intensely entertaining plot line in the film. My issue lies with the fact that the horror was mediocre. It was as if the director made a staunch attempt to avoid any elements that a story like this practically demands to be displayed. There was no real scares or moments of intense chills in scenes that needed to be and the sequences that lead to death were completely shied away from which was very disappointing.

"A Resurrection" is a safe "PG-ish" film for fans of supernatural melodramas but if you're a straight up horror fan then your going to be very disappointed because the horror is non-existent in this film . The story is a good one and the suspenseful and dark atmosphere make the film a nice movie to watch with your grandmother or someone who doesn't like other more gory horror films but it is also a film that could have been better in so many ways. So I am conflicted on the movie because I liked what it turned out to be even though it wasn't what I hoped for. So for anyone setting out to view this film just keep in mind that it is a psychological thriller more than it is a horror film.

The Sibling and the Six Souls

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 24 March 2013]

In Middletown high school, the outcast Eli (Jonathan Michael Trautmann) is bullied by the braggart Brandon (Nick Jandl) and his friends. They are hold in detention by the principal Addison (Michael Clarke Duncan) to be interviewed by the psychologist Jessie (Mischa Barton), who is engaged of Deputy Travis (Devon Sawa) that is the son of the local priest.

Jessie and Addison realize that the mentally disturbed Eli misses his big brother Devon (Patrick de Ledebur), who was murdered in a hit-and- runner. When Eli finally talks to Jessie, he tells that Devon was killed by Brandon. Further, Eli tells that he found the body of his brother and a witch has put an evil spirit in his body. Now he needs six souls to live again and he will seek revenge against Brandon and his friends. The skeptic and atheist Jessie does not believe in his words.

"A Resurrection", a.k.a. "The Sibling", is a low budget horror movie with a tense story but all the potential is wasted in a terrible conclusion. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Despertar do Mal" ("The Awakening of the Evil")

For a low budget movie this is actually not bad at all. A suspense that keeps you watching & waiting. Worth seeing. I say B-

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 8 July 2013]

"I'm standing outside Devon Dregers grave site and he doesn't appear to be in his hole anymore." After bullies push him too far Eli (Trautmann) and the group end up in detention and psychologist Jesse (Barton) is called in to interview them. When news that one of the bullies is responsible for the death of Eli's brother Jesse thinks she has found the answers. Then Eli tells her something that changes everything. This is a movie that is actually not that bad but nothing amazing either. For a lower budget movie like this it is very much worth seeing and the quality isn't that bad. The acting is OK also. This is at its core a horror movie but not a typical horror movie. I would call this more of a suspense because the whole movie you are waiting for something to happen that you know is coming. While not all that scary it does make you tense up in parts and wanting to see what the end will be like. Overall, a movie that is OK and good for what it is but again nothing amazing but it will keep you watching. I give it a B-.

"This is weird, man!"

[doug_park2001 · 5/10 · 7 December 2013]

A strange outcast kid who likes to draw has recently lost his brother in a mysterious hit and run accident. He claims his brother is returning from the dead with the help of a witch, becomes entangled with the brother's former rivals, and the school shrink attempts to intervene. Some really crazy and tragic stuff follows.

A RESURRECTION is decently acted and quite well-filmed: The winter scenery adds a great deal to the atmosphere. The first 20 minutes or so are very engrossing, but the storyline then progressively staggers, quickly degenerating into a pretty ho-hum slasher flick. A RESURRECTION may be worth seeing if you're a big supernatural horror (or Mischa Barton) fan; but then again, you've probably seen this movie many times before.

There's a lot more they could have done with this. More back-story on the brother's death and why it happened might have helped.

The Look of Eli

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 23 January 2018]

Eli (J. Michael Trautmann) who is off his meds, believes his dead brother Devon (Patrick de Ledebur) is going to come back from the grave and kill the students who killed him in an unsolved hit and run. Jessica Parker (Mischa Barton) the the school psychologist is attempting to wade through all of this while her deputy boyfriend (Devon Sawa) is out investigating weird things such as Devon's grave being dug up.

The film is more mystery than horror as we try to wade through things with Jessica deciding if Devon is back from the dead or if this an elaborate hoax as the body count climbs.

I liked J. Michael Trautmann as the creepy kid. Unfortunately the film needs an upgrade in dialouge and horror. The production gets failing marks as a horror film, but passing grades as a suspense/mystery. Mischa Barton, one of my favorite B girls, was unconvincing in her scenes with Trautmann due to script dialouge.

A decent rental if horror is not the main goal.

What was with the sigma nu delta frat paddle located in the principle's (Michael Clarke Duncan) office?

This is actually a movie ? not some student school project??

[batterygross · 1/10 · 1 September 2013]

I do not want to believe that this is a real movie... I'll be honest as I can be.... people die or get hurt out side the screen, so you never see any gore or any violence you just see people and a few seconds later they are hurt.

The "Main" character of the movie is one of the worst actors I had ever seen in my life, to be honest the acting in the movie is some of the worst

The acting is very very bad The writing is dumb, nothing makes sense, at all, not the actions people take, the anything that happens

it's just something you need to skip and never watch. it's stupid, it's poorly written and it's all around bad

A Resurrection

[erik-zoobel · 4/10 · 16 March 2013]

A Resurrection is the story of a down to earth high school psychologist who tries to help a mentally ill student who actually believes his brother is returning from the grave for revenge on the students who killed him. He's a tough egg to crack and as he slowly feeds her clues into his brother's mysterious death, she has her sheriff's deputy fiancé verify the less than believable and vague information. And before she can get his mind right, she unwittingly falls into his plot to keep her and the other students locked in the school until his brother can arrive at six along with the evil spirit that now inhabits him, keeping him alive until he can take his six souls and leave him whole again.

Not Scary, Not Entertaining. Not Worth Watching

[helersk · 1/10 · 1 November 2014]

Mischa Barton couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag. Viewing her performance in this travesty was actually painful.

Michael Clarke Duncan brought himself down to her level. He should be ashamed of himself.

The supporting cast was an odd mix of irrelevant and absurd.

The plot (what there was of it) made very little sense. I suppose if this story had been handled by a competent director with actually talented actors at his disposal, then the end result might not have been so embarrassing to watch.

As it is, I very much want all those associated with this production to be banned from the industry. (Well, I really want them dropped into an active volcano, but I suppose that's too much to ask...)

He's Back. And He Has To Take Them!

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 3/10 · 19 May 2020]

-1 Star For This one seeming to take forever for something interesting to happen.

-1 Star for the unsatisfying ending

This one just wasn't very impressive. Sad that this was Michael Clarke Duncan's last role. Even having him in this one didn't help it.

Where Do I Start?

[Mehki_Girl · 3/10 · 30 May 2020]

Where do I start? It started off pretty good and then went downhill fast.

It had this lazy larconic pace and delivery. On hearing that a body is missing from its grave, a main character says, well, that's creepy. Cop finds decaying corpse with its head blown off and he phones it in, I mean he phones it in.

Trapped in a dark school with corpses piling up fast, does anyone use a cellphone to call for help? No (I understand the students on locked down on punishment may have had theirs taken away.)

Apparently, this town is so small they have only one cop who is just lazily and slowly moved from spot to spot accomplishing nothing. Never see him wishing anyone. Shouldn't he have been at the school questioning the kid about his mother's dead body on the livingroom? Nope.

Keeping with slow and lazy, what was with the psychologist's reading? Does she have a learning disability? Need her reading glasses? Illiterate? That was bizarre.

The whole thing barely explained it's supernatural elements. Just some mumbo jumbo about needing 6 dead bodies to bring back the dead.

The ending makes no sense, but you won't care.

Retro Psycho Thriller Flick

[joeknapp · 10/10 · 25 March 2013]

I enjoyed watching A Resurrection. Unlike the dumbed-down horror flicks offered today, this movie recalls the era when thrillers like this actually had a great story behind them. I saw the end coming from a mile away. But, when the end finally came, it wasn't at all what I expected. That was a welcome surprise. At first I thought that too many people had been killed. After all, only six souls had to be taken, according to the Bruja's spell. But, after thinking back on it, I realized that some of the departed were not victims of the dead brother. They were killed by others instead. When is the last time a horror movie made you think? It's been a while. If you're fairly young, you may not have ever experienced an intelligent horror flick. Go rent Psycho. The camera work and editing are top quality and often quite creative. The acting is varied, but excellent in the most important characters. Eli is an example of casting perfection. I took my girlfriend to see this movie and she jumped and screamed at all the required scare points. That's a whole lot better than looking over at your girlfriend to find she's fallen asleep! It's also refreshing to walk out of the theater talking over the story. Too often these days I walk out, sometimes before the movie ends, wondering why I wasted so much money and thinking about asking for a refund. Go see A Resurrection. It's easily worth twice the price of admission.

Decent Film...Deserves a Higher Rating! Interesting storyline.

[MissOceanB · 7/10 · 1 July 2013]

Definitely believe this film deserves higher reviews. If you're looking for heavy gore and very creepy ghost/supernatural stuff, then try something else. That said, Resurrection knows when to use the right sound effects and visual effects to give you a little scare and has its moments. Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP), Mischa Barton and Devon Sawa were great, even though a lot of people seem to question Mischa Barton's acting skills. She did well in this film! Without giving too much away, the concept of supernatural resurrection and the occult basis for this film make for an interesting and curious storyline that isn't quite like any I've seen or heard of before. And there are parts of the film that will leave you questioning what you thought was going to happen and curious as to why it played out the way it did.

Enjoyed it, give it a chance! Don't judge it simply by its ratings as one man's treasure is another man's junk.

Teen Horror - murder boy seeks revenge

[cjstanford-65097 · 5/10 · 3 March 2023]

Well, nothing new here. Ok entertainment Although the high school students appear too old, maybe they just got held back a lot. The plot becomes evident well before the 1st half. Murdered high school "good guy's" younger bro finds a local witch who helps lil brother deal with his Tragic loss through dark magic and there's a 6 day waiting period, sort of like buy a registered firearm. However the zombified older brother stil has tasks to complete before his Pinocchio self become a real boy. Small town student psychologist and financee & deputy whatever, just happen the two normals on the track to discover naughty witchcraft. Who will live, who will perish, how gory is it, who's left for Sequel the producers are hoping for. Doesn't really matter since a this one is too weak to launch one. Nice talent for a 2nd rate film.

A Resurrection that's worth a look!

[Charged_Fan · 9/10 · 2 November 2014]

After once again not expecting much from this movie due to the generally lower ratings and reviews given here, I was once again very pleasantly surprised. Without giving away any spoilers, and starting with the characters and actors themselves, I am convinced that Mischa Barton could turn in a Meryl Streep level, Oscar-winning performance, yet the majority of people reviewing on these types of sites would be ripping her to shreds. I'll admit I am a fan of hers anyway—although admittedly more of some of her work and less of others--but instead of being disappointed as I was expecting, I found her performance very solid in this film, as I have her roles in other thriller/suspense movies she's done. It was nice to see her in another more adult role, and unlike many horror-type films, if anybody is making dumb moves in this movie, it is not her lead female character. In fact I thought she portrayed this role of somebody thrust into an impossible situation that challenges her beliefs yet forces her to consider and even accept that perhaps some things truly are possible very believably. And I truly thought she handled it as ably as anybody could have, from her initial empathetic approach to dealing with an obviously emotionally disturbed youth through the various stages required as she begins putting pieces together! Finally, I appreciated that a movie gave the female lead the chance to be the thinking one, and in this case, the most heroic despite being imperfect and flawed (for instance, not being able to come up with the Lord's Prayer when needed, and some choice lines that I found notable in one sense or another), albeit in an impossible-to-win situation.

As far as the other characters are concerned, it took me a few minutes to realize I was watching the kid from the original Final Destination movie (having done something of a Michael C. Hall transformation into adulthood from the looks of it to me). As the Deputy, if there was one character I found frustrating, it was his—but only in the way the character was written. As one other reviewer mentioned, you kind of know what's coming—but this movie doesn't play it out as many would have, and the Deputy is less than the heroic character I expected he would have been when he finally gets to the school. Albeit, he does play a key role in the unexpected twist toward the end. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is as always solid—my only complaint being that we didn't get enough of him (that's not a cut to the script, just an acknowledgment that we won't get to see much more of him in the work he's left behind), and another likely heroic character not coming through as might have been expected. Finally, although I don't know the kid playing Eli, I agree with others who defended his performance—as a kid who's just lost his beloved brother in such a brutal way, the only person who ever loved him, I found his brooding, angry Eli (yet sympathetic as well in at least one sense) seemingly well-handled for the situation. Without giving anything away, I'll also say that despite many saying this writing and movie was horrible, the portrayal of Eli was spot-on, there are unexpected twists with several of the key characters, and I also found myself thinking about this movie for a while after watching it.

So as others have said, if you like your movies to show a lot of brutal killings, this is not the movie for you. But the sound effects, the tension throughout, and a few unexpected jumps provide more than sufficient suspense. So if you instead appreciate a more thoughtful, suspenseful supernatural tale that does not play out exactly as you might think it would, you should find this movie worthwhile. I do not claim to be an expert on movies dealing with the supernatural, but this movie tells a story of one such situation that seems as believable as any other supernatural approach would be—and for that, this movie and these actors told the story as well as could be expected and better than many such movies. I will certainly be buying it for my collection--and as one other reviewer noted, it does end in a creepy way that definitely leaves it open for a second part, which I for one would look forward to.

Decent film.

[sal10851 · 6/10 · 20 July 2013]

A Resurrection is a story about Eli who is a high school outcast trying to deal with the death of his older brother Devon who was recently killed in a hit and run incident.

For such low ratings on IMDb this film was pretty good. There is a slow build up but once the story gets going it keeps a good pace. It deals into the occult which is not seen too often these days. The direction that the story takes is quite interesting. There was a few scenes that were unnecessary and had nothing to do with the story. Not much gore and violence which is refreshing for a change. I was pleased with the cinematography which I thought was outstanding. The acting was flawed except for a few actors including Devon Sawa, Mischa Barton and Michael Clarke Duncan(RIP). The character of Eli never makes a big impression on me as grieving brother would. With all that was going on in his life it begged a lot more emotion from the character.

Overall this film was well put together and it definitely worth a peek.

Hes coming för you

[bjornrhein · 6/10 · 31 July 2022]

Must be the most popular sentence in horror movies , well I think this film has a great story , reminding of " dead mans shoes " a bit - its a low budget movie, and I wish they had put some money in it to raise up the quality - this could have been better, and acting is not 100 either ,, but its a good movie , see it.