Walled In (2009)

Director:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Writers:

Serge Brussolo (novel)
Rodolphe Tissot (written by) ...

Release Date:

19 June 2009 (Mexico)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A demolition company agent uncovers the horrifying secrets held within a building she's having razed.

Plot Keywords:

Building | Demolition | Tenant | Caretaker | Architect

Cast

Mischa Barton	...	Sam Walczak
Cameron Bright	...	Jimmy
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mary
Noam Jenkins	...	Peter
Eugene Clark	...	Burnett
Tim Allen	...	Police Offucer (as Timothy Allen)
Darla Biccum	...	Liz Walczak
Mark Claxton	...	Richard
Shannon Jardine	...	Maureen
Sophi Knight	...	Julie
Taylor Leslie	...	Lucy Walczak
Emily McAfee	...	Young Sam
Jane Redlyon	...	Denise
Rob Roy	...	Charles Walczak
Josh Strait	...	Vincent Walczak

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

Argentina:91 min | Germany:100 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA | France | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16 | Mexico:B15 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Company:

Experiences Films

Trivia:

The glowing symbol in the building lobby, made up of solid and broken lines, is the I Ching hexagram for Persevering. It is made by combining the symbols for Thunder and Wind.

Quotes:

Jimmy: The lights go off every 6 minutes. You know, save electricity and stuff. If you spend a day in the halls, you have to hit the switch 240 times.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Underrated Horror Movie

On the day of her birthday, the young engineer Samantha "Sam" Walczak (Mischa Barton) is assigned by her father to conduct a structural analysis of an eight-floor building with one hundred and twenty units in the middle of nowhere to be imploded by their family demolition company. Sam finds four tenants that had received the eviction notice but are still living in the building: the caretaker Mary (Deborah Kara Unger) and her teenage son Jimmy (Cameron Bright); and the sick Burnett (Eugene Clark) and the weird old lady Denise (Jane Redlyon) that have no place to go. Mary lodges Sam in apartment 208 that is furnished since the former dwellers have never collected the furniture. Jimmy befriends Sam and advises certain "rules" to be respected to her. Sam is haunted during the nights by ghostly noises and discovers that the building has dreadful secrets and the blueprints are not as built and the place has secret chambers. She investigates further and finds that the successful architect Joseph Malestrazza (Pascal Greggory) built the building following the principles of the Egyptian pyramids and twelve years ago, one revengeful worker that has never been arrested walled dwellers in, including Mary's beloved husband, entombing the victims in cement. Along the days, weird things happen to Sam and she believes that Jimmy might be playing a prank on her until she finds the shocking secret of Malestrazza and his building.

"Walled In" is an underrated horror movie, with a good and original supernatural story of insanity. The cliché that the cellular does not work in the remote place is fruit of the present days (if this story took place in the 80's or 90's, this cliché would be not necessary). Further, the conclusion could be a little darker. But the story does not have "many flaws" as I glanced in reviews; indeed the smart plot that is quite complex and maybe the viewer has not understood the big picture and the characters' motives. The beautiful Mischa Barton and the strange Cameron Bright fit perfectly to their characters and Deborah Kara Unger is creepy in the role of Mary. I would never dare to say that "Walled In" is one of my favorite horror movies, but is not as bad as commented in some reviews. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Prisoner" ("The Prisoner")