Fantasia 2012 - The Tall Man

One reason The Tall Man caught my attention is because I am a sucker for a spooky kidnapping story. They are great to share around a crackling fire while holding a cold one. This particular tale begins in the damp and foggy small town of Cold Rock, Washington. Cold Rock is one of those towns that you should drive right on through and never look back because your gut is telling you that something bad has happened there. Its tourism is at an all-time low and the town is literally falling apart. Plus, to top it all off the town is trying to survive an economic disaster, which caused the schools to shut down and doomed all the businesses.

 

Our beautifully made-under protagonist Julia Denning, played by Jessica Biel, is a widow and an important part of the town, just like her doctor husband used to be; she is a nurse and takes care of the remaining town folk with intense motherly affection.

 

This gloomy town has another issue that surpasses all other problems. There is a man, who will take your children right from under your nose without a peep, and he will walk out into the night and your precious children are never to be seen again, EVER! OH the horror! Julia starts to investigate the legendary "Tall Man" and the audience is taken on a mysterious voyage in search of the truth.

 

Director Pascal Laugier chose incredible locations to shoot this film. The landscape is a great backdrop for all the creepy events that happen. The town is situated in the middle of nowhere, naturally, and surrounded by thick beautifully dark green forest. There is so much space for a tall, weird child kidnapper to roam about and do his thing! 

 

Pascal Laugier has an incredible attention to detail and he created a steady, creepy tone throughout the film that had me a little freaked out during certain parts. I do not scare easily, and this one gave me sweaty palms and a quickened heartbeat towards the end of the film. I won't reveal too much because there are some twists and turns in the plot, but to be honest they are pretty predictable. As for the scares, they weren't as scary as I would have liked, I wanted to feel numb with fear and all I got was a couple of sweaty hands.