Movie Review: 11/11/11

credit: 11/11/11

It’s interesting to think that I can honestly state that there are a handful of movies out there that rely on a child being the antichrist and, therefore, the key to ending the world if they’re allowed to come to power. Whether or not those movies are all that great is another matter entirely, but the point is that they do exist, and it’s not entirely different from one story to another. One thing to note about 11/11/11 is that the threat is a little closer to home when Jack and Melissa, and their son Nathan move into their new home and start to experience various issues that crop up, such as a rat that continues to be seen scampering around the home, a nanny that reads to Nathan out of a book that Jack had already disapproved of and thrown away. Not only that but the neighbors and the realtor that shows them the house before they move all act rather strangely, as does their next-door neighbor, who continually asks about her cat. In reality, one might think that moving away from the problem would be the best choice, but of course, in a horror movie, things are only bound to get worse. 

credit: 11/11/11

As horror movies go, this wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best.

Horror movies are a little too easy to criticize since so many of them have one misstep or another. But this one had the feeling of a movie that was trying to keep to its own budget while trying to impress the audience. The effect didn’t exactly come off as anyone might have hoped since the movie ended up looking like something that could have been shown on TV with the same overall effect. There was barely anything to be afraid of  or excited about when it came to getting into this story  

It does feel as though the movie focused too much on those who were attempting to keep the kid safe, and not enough on the idea of how the kid had been selected. 

Getting into the story is kind of tough since the characters simply don’t feel as though they’re that impressive, and the fact is that the people who meet to seal their pact with the devil and protect Nathan, who is apparently the gateway to hell on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2011. Apparently, this is the only time that the devil can accomplish his goal of hell on earth and through a human conduit. It’s kind of interesting how the devil follows a certain set of rules that keep him on such a tight leash when anarchy appears to be something that one might attribute to the former archangel-turned-devil. The focus on this part of the movie is still as thin as anything else as it feels as though the director is trying to cram too much into a single movie without taking the time to develop each element of the movie in a manner that might have made it feel a little more complete. 

credit: 11/11/11

Something about this horror movie made it feel a little too easy. 

The lack of depth in this movie definitely has something to do with the general feel it gives off since the movie tends to roll onward without really digging into the meat of anything that could help to paint a more impressive picture of what’s really going on. The reason it feels too easy is that there isn’t enough of an explanation as to why one thing or another is happening. There’s not enough exposition in other words, which could have been used to round things out in a more effective manner. For a simple horror movie that has to do with the oncoming apocalypse, it’s fair to say that this movie is entertaining enough to be enjoyed by those who don’t want to think too much. Plus, the twist at the end is nice since it indicates that not only did the father get faked out in a very big way but that the evil found another path into the world. Other than that, it feels like the outline of a story, not the entire story. 

The characters didn’t feel as fleshed out as they needed to be. 

So here’s the deal, the audience gets to meet several of the characters and even gets to know them well enough to understand what they’re there for, but at the same time, there isn’t a lot of backstory that might lead to the success of the movie. Nathan is the supposed gateway that will be used to usher in the apocalypse. But why? The neighbors are worshipers of Satan, but how long has this been happening? If there’s any solid explanation, then it’s tough to see since this movie is more or less ready to hit one point and keeps moving right up until the end without pause.