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30 out of 38 people found the following review useful: 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., 29 December 2007 Author: tiana90_9 from United Kingdom
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.
29 out of 44 people found the following review useful: arty sci fi movie with a descent budget, 30 December 2007 Author: Tybaltv6 from France
Eden Log is somewhat of a good surprise for a french scifi movie. Think of a arty and elaborate form, beautiful black and white photography with rare under lit colors.What matters here is the mood more than the script, the first half of Eden Log is just the claustrophobic graphic story of a guy covered in mud trying to get out of a dark and low-tech labyrinth, with no memory at all of how he got there. There are very few dialogs, and there aren't even necessary.Unfortunately, the last third of the movie doesn't quite lives up to it's beginning, the script is somehow too confuse and too explicit at the same time, and the dark and mysterious image of the beginning vanish due to the necessity of writing an acceptable end.Still i would recommend this movie, it has a very original tone and form, rarely seen these days, and manages to create something on its own, aside from both the Hollywood scene, and the overall shitty genre french scene (if you've seen Chrysalis, you exactly know what i mean !) More than that : If you're fan of graphic and kind of arty movies like Tarkovsky's Stalker, Cube, Aronofsky's Pi, Caro & Jeunet's Le Bunker De La Dernière Rafale, that Forsaken thing or Guy Maddin's pictures you should definitely check it !
15 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Looks cool, but is it overall?, 20 September 2008 Author: ElijahCSkuggs from Happy Land, who lives in a Gumdrop House on Lolly Pop Lane
Imagine waking up in an futuristic underground cavern, in a mix of soupy mud. You don't who you are, what you're doing there, or anything. And to make matters worse, there are mutants and high-tech forces who are anything but friendly. Finding a way out, realizing who you are and what type place this is all while trying to survive is basically what's going on in Eden Log.The flick has an undeniably cool atmosphere and look to it. Shot in a sort of black and white manner, with good lighting and a truly cave-like, claustrophobic feel, the movie definitely succeeds in creating a life-like, but nightmarish environment.With unique ideas and a cool look the movie succeeds. But overall the movie just didn't grab me. I was never really creeped out, drawn into the story, or pretty much anything. I was into the whole mutant dilemma, and I was curious about who our mysterious guy was, but it's obvious those issues will be resolved, and when they were, they were less than mind-blowing. You may think otherwise.Eden Log had loads going for it visually, but when it came down to what matters when you're supposed to care for a film, it kind of just exists. Very average in anything else besides the look, but nevertheless the flick was original and I wasn't bored for any of it. It just had so much potential, I felt kinda disappointed when it was done. Kind of a head-scratcher as well, but it's not brain surgery. 6.5 rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
21 out of 30 people found the following review useful: A Nocturne Trip, 5 August 2008 Author: SanAndrez from Bulgaria
Hands down. A truly interesting picture held in the gripping nocturne atmosphere of the dark sci-fi. Very simple, little dialog and few action-filled scenes with lots of details and original ideas. Eden Log is something like a debut from the french director and with this stylish calling card I am helluva sure we will be hearing from this guy again. The story is compelling the viewer making him no less confused than the main protagonist and that was the whole point. The viewer becomes the main persona searching for answers while tripping balls through the dark corridors of the tech cave. The director could easily made it clear with one sentence in the beginning like the most of the crapbag movies today. "The year is... this is... he is... an experiment... and he... " and the rest would be just blank silence with no reasonable point at all. Indeed. Different approach is needed worldwide. I can't even remember the last know good sci-fi movie I've enjoyed and Eden Log came like a small shotgun blast in the head. The black/white editing is very convincing, make-up effects, acting and the ambient sounds and music are very horrific. Man, I really loved the deep voice and look of the Guards. Reminds me of F.E.A.R. from Monolith and this is the funky thing. The whole movie seemed like a filmed game to me. So, if you like sci-fi, this is the movie for you.
28 out of 46 people found the following review useful: Some good ideas, but just not gripping enough., 24 February 2008 Author: Superbeasto from United Kingdom
It all starts off in atmospheric style, pitch blackness pierced by the occasional flash of light, only giving you brief glimpses of the strange subterranean world the amnesiac protagonist awakes in. It fills you with the same sense of intrigue and unease that "Cube" did so brilliantly, but whilst that movie managed to sustain it, the constant darkness and drawn-out pace of "Eden Log" soon starts to grate.There's some nice looking shots in here, and a genuinely interesting premise, but the movie literally keeps its audience in the dark for far too long about the details, meaning that it outstays its welcome and by the time the admittedly impressive finale comes around you're unlikely to care anymore.
17 out of 25 people found the following review useful: The perfect society requires sacrifices, 19 July 2008 Author: mp_6410 from France
The (almost) perfect film is not also without flaws...Eden Log is an electroshock in the small world of quality sci-fi, I can't find any other word to rate this black and white sci-fi masterpiece.Of course, it's a first movie with little budget but, like Cube, there is genius, beautiful photography, strong ideas, and more than this, an amazingly powerful ecological message. Some critics found "primal force" in here, this is damn right ! Eden Log provides us with a frightening forecast of what our world could (is) become (becoming).Yes, there are slow pace times, some harsh moments to get on and sometimes the feeling that things are not totally accomplished or mastered.I can't imagine what Franck Vestiel would be capable of with more maturity and a bigger budget !Once again, bravo !!!
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Man wakes up in a cave, sets on a journey to the surface discovering all sorts of wondrous and weird things and is finally presented with a decision., 11 April 2009 Author: dex_90
Didn't expect much when I started it and thought it might be some kind of horror like "The Descent" to pass some time...At first, especially during the first 5 minutes I was kind of confused and might've even turned it off, the constantly flashing light and the grunts of the main character put me off quite a bit, until the story started to unfold and I got to watch one of the better Sci-Fi's I've seen in the last few years.I guess the movie is either underrated because people turned it off in the very first few minutes or because they expected a horror-movie/didn't pay enough attention to understand the plot.It was great to see the hero start with a completely clean slate, while discovering what is going on all around him and uncovering the plot and the setting of the movie-world to finally even find out about his true identity and still do what he deemed right with all of his newfound experiences and pieces of information in the back of his mind.For me it's somewhere between a 7 and a 8, I gave it a 8.
16 out of 26 people found the following review useful: Impressive., 10 July 2008 Author: hersh-mail from Planet Earth
A very impressive first feature. It has the shortcomings of it's qualities, but the overall feeling is that of being immersed in an alien landscape for a journey before regaining the planet earth again. It's obscure, not very clear of it's intentions, maybe even a little naive at moments, cold and detached most of the time, but it has the balls to be different. I must admit that i was only a few times during the film awed by what i witnessed, but constantly admiring the fact that it didn't compromise the fact of not searching for the approbation of the largest number. Whatever my feelings at the end, and i'm still not quite sure, i did feel intrigued during the whole duration, and i'm glad that films like this exist and get to be made. The other commenter's have labeled this as "arty", but i'd rather say it has a style and sticks to it, for better or worse. Sure it's eye-candy, and as such doesn't hurt the viewing, but i wouldn't say it's style over substance, i really felt it like an uncompromising vision of of a first time director. It's no Dark City, but it's a pretty damn fine effort, and i'll be waiting for the next one from the director. The music was excellent as well, not really your typical movie score, and added to the immersion. And all this for a certainly meager budget...All in all, i'd recommend it, a very serious effort, and for that it gets a 7 out of 10. I guess i did like it after all...
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Under-Dog, 10 August 2008 Author: kosmasp
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I'm not gonna tell you how the movie ends (if you've seen it you'll already know that sort of), but I'm gonna call this movie "Eco-Matrix". Because that was my first thought when I watched it. It is clear, what the intention of the director were here and they are very noble. The visuals are mostly stunning too and he dares to give/show you something else, something that you haven't seen quite like that in another movie.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. It's a shame, because it does have quite a few good ideas as I stated above. But the downfalls are just greater/of more importance than the positive/new things it does show you. I would love to give it a better rating, for it being an Under-Dog (in more than one sense), but I just can't
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Absolutely awful, 22 March 2009 Author: from United Kingdom
This film doesn't even deserve a 1 id give it 0.5 as the back cover makes it sound interesting.But it really isn't I've seen some bad films and this is right up there with the worst. Every scene is dragged out to the absolute max, walking down a corridor or going up some stairs is a slow painful journey.nothing happens or is explained i could make this film in a day. The acting isn't much better The main actors constant annoying noise making is enough to drive you crazy. Avoid at all costs. How you are meant to write a ten line review about this film is ridiculous i can some up every thing that happened in this film in about 5 lines.And then the rape scene,what was that about. Don't waste your time even thinking about buying this.
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