Anguish (2015) User Reviews (27)

Dramatic Supernatural Story of Possession

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 7 August 2018]

"Anguish" is a low-budget film labeled as horror genre but it is indeed a dramatic supernatural story of possession. After the unexpected death of the teenager Lucy hit by a car on the road, the newcomer in town Tess, who suffers from mental disorder, is possessed by Lucy´s strong spirit that is reluctant to move on. The performances are good, but the pace is too slow and disappoints the fans of horror. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Not a horror movie but a good drama none the less

[km_staple · 5/10 · 8 July 2018]

The acting was excellent especially the young lead actress. I would not categorize it as a horror movie. A good solid drama. If you are looking for an action packed movie, this is not it. I would still recommend it.

Unusual, slow paced drama - not a horror movie !

[marcwiechmann · 5/10 · 24 October 2016]

"Horror" is a well selling label, which is the reason, why many ambitious movies are labeled as horror movies despite being nothing like that - this old curse also hits "Anguish" and makes it being seen mostly by an audience, who will not take this slow little indie movie as a pleasure but will rather be disappointed.

I don't want to hide that I am part of just this audience.

Looking for a small, chilling ghost / possession movie I stumbled about "Anguish" with little to no expectations and no idea about what the movie will be in detail.

Starting the movie, I was immediately annoyed by "Lucy", but well, things take a certain turn here...late, we are introduced to "Tess", who, in all honesty, is at least as annoying as Lucy, if not more. I see what the directors tried - they wanted to paint an introverted, troubled character, but I am not sure if this wouldn't have played out better if they didn't try to show an annoying teenager but a sensitive, unusually calm kid or something...but well.

The story basically is about a girl, that gets possessed by the spirit of another girl - without spoilers, if you read my review this far, you can probably figure out who gets possessed by whom.

If you expect a possession horror movie, some exorcism, creepy stuff, moving things and whatever there might be out there in the huge horror movie portfolio, than forget that. "Anguish" is 95 % very low paced drama about how the mothers cope with the situation - the girl(s) is/are surprisingly unsurprised (no pun intended) by the situation. I mean, hey, getting possessed by some dead girl is pretty refreshing if you live in a boring small town, eh?

So, that's it. Basically nothing more happens during the entire movie. Two annoying girls, two a very little bit less annoying mothers, and some drama about why things have to be this way, until the movie finals in a, well, it's not even a twist, I'd say it's the end you will expect from minute one, if you ever have seen any horror movie, despite the fact "Anguish" isn't such.

I can give some points for the fairly nice soundtrack, the okay acting of the female lead girl, the atmosphere and the one scene, that gets supernatural finally (even though this scene does not make any sense at all - they just wanted to have it in the movie for showing off some shift/tilt effects, I assume). The result of this scene finals in the mentioned "twist" and does not match with the scene. At all. I'd basically describe that as a continuity mistake.

So, can I recommend? For my personal taste, I can not, unfortunately. I appreciate the efforts of independent film makers, and I understand they tried to mix up rather suspense than horror with drama elements. And hey, I can be fan of this - Carrie, Babadook and others show that this walk on a red line can be done. Anguish fails to place itself amongst those examples and can thus not be recommended - at least not if you have to pay for it. If your preferred VoD portal has it offered for free, you can take a look.

Almost as exciting as watching grass grow.

[lnvicta · 2/10 · 19 December 2015]

I like slowburning horror movies. I like when the tension is constantly built up until you can't take it anymore. When subtle fears are highlighted instead of jump scares. That sort of thing I like. But there's a difference between a movie being slow paced and a movie being no-paced. Anguish is the latter.

It's exhaustingly boring. It's basically a possession story about someone else's spirit trapped inside a girl's body and the movie revolves around her and her mother coping with it. And I appreciate what it's trying to do, focusing on the psychological angle as opposed to straight up scares. The problem is it misses the mark completely. There are chunks of this movie where absolutely nothing happens. Tess sitting down and looking at something, next scene, Tess walking around aimlessly, next scene, Tess sitting somewhere else, etc. It tries to build tension when there's no tension to be built. You're just waiting for something to happen - anything - and it never does. It even has the generic "inspired by true events" and perfunctory statistics before the movie starts, trying to excuse itself from the horridity, but it doesn't work. The music is frustrating, too. Going back and forth from bland indie acoustic songs to excruciating violins and of course the LOUD noises for when you're supposed to be scared. It's just annoying and frankly insulting to the audience.

The only redeemable part of Anguish is the acting. It's surprisingly good, especially when the actors have to recite dialogue this terrible, so good on them. But in every other conceivable way, Anguish is an empty shell of a movie. The only thing it ensures is the anguish knowing you could have spent an hour and a half doing something better with your life.

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 3/10 · 11 August 2016]

In the short space of time she is on screen, objectionable brat Lucy (Amberley Gridley) sulks and pouts so much that when she is knocked down by a speeding car during a spectacular strop, the relief outweighs any grief.

Next we meet Tess (Ryan Simpkins), a similarly uncommunicative young lady who initially displays all of Lucy's charm (i.e.: none) – and yet Tess's troubles are there for a reason: for years, she has suffered mental instability episodes throughout her life. We learn this from scenes of her isolation, even in her fairly bustling hometown. This may make her susceptible to Lucy's undead spirit … With so little happening throughout the running time, and when much of that time is given to focussing on Tess's sullen moping, there isn't much sympathy invited. It is suggested that Tess's condition - a 'dissociative identity disorder' - makes her susceptible to Lucy's undead presence. Her mother Jessica, fashionably not that much older than her daughter, is wracked with the applicable concern, but when her daughter is so cut off, so apathetic, as far as this drama is concerned, she just becomes a pain in the neck. With an unresponsive child possessed by a sulky adolescent, the subtleties of the drama are fatally unengaging.

And yet, amid the heart-wrenching soul-searching, Sarah's wishes that her dead daughter Lucy needs to be 'in a better place' are somewhat unnerving, especially as the spirit seems unwilling to leave the host body. These scenes, and others, would have been so much more effective if more was made of the supernatural element.

Ultimately, despite what are presumably the best intentions of the cast and crew, two women screaming 'Tess!!' every time the young woman coughs or chokes or looks earnestly into the distance doesn't really inspire much of a reaction. Sadly, I ran out of patience long before the film ended. As a guide in how not to look after a troubled teen, this may be useful, but as a horror film, it is duller than dull.

Zzzzzzz, oh...it's over?

[sugarnspices · 3/10 · 28 September 2018]

Wow, what a snoozer!

I appreciate horror movies, all shades of them. I can do terrifying, to campy, to indie, to foreign...let's just say I love them! This movie, however, is more like a slow burning, lullaby, with some loud noises to help produce some jump scares.

I will say that the beginning with Lucy and the car did surprise me, I was very hopeful after that, but it just kept going down hill.

I think this movie had a lot of potential and the acting wasn't too bad, but they just didn't explore and/or have a nice background or explanation into the D.I.D. and possession crossover (which could have been pretty cool). There wasn't a lot of dialogue, more just following the main girl around as she seemed, for most of it, bored out of her mind (how do you think that made me feel....BORED too).

I don't know if I am being overly picky but the one thing that bothered me is that it JUST so happens that the mother of the dead girl, just HAPPEN to witness as a young girl in India, a similar situation, so could immediately recognize what was going on with the main girl. Not to mention it didn't even really seem to phase her, "oh my dead daughter is possessing your daughter? Cool. Been there, saw it once before, nbd." KAY.

Overall, it wasn't horrible, but it was no where near good. Alright acting and what could have been a potentially great story line, was just boring and forgettable.

Too independent and artistic to be scary or enjoyable.

[tiailds · 4/10 · 20 April 2016]

Saw on a lost of recent horror and knew nothing about. Had to give it a try.

"Was it interesting?" The story was far from typical. While most of the time that can be good, in this case most of the plot details were ambiguous.

1.5 out of 3 "Was it memorable?" The acting was about as flat and boring as the environment for most of it.

1 out of 3 "Was it entertaining?" While a lot of bad horror has characters that you either want to die or don't care if they live, this movie had characters I never thought they were in any danger.

1 out of 3 Starting with 1 (so that ghost in my head will stop telling me to), 1 + 1.5 + 1 + 1 = 4.5 This is a 4 simply for not portraying any real threat, either to the characters or to me. This was too independent and artistic to be scary or enjoyable.

Woe!

[cellosister-48176 · 3/10 · 4 October 2023]

This is a transparent pile of student film excrement. The suspension of disbelief turns out to be an impossible ask for the duration. Advertising under the guise of concern for those with severe mental illness and this being "inspired by a true story" is the insult to your self- inflicted injury from choosing to sit through it. I enjoy indie films, and was really hoping to happen upon a new addition to the valuable finds list, but this I cannot do. The plot is trite, the resemblance toward Reagan McNeal is amateurish, and the characters are so poorly developed you have zero investment in how this shakes out for anyone.

Much More Than A Run Of The Mill Possession Film

[HorrorOverEverything · 7/10 · 4 January 2016]

I'll start off by saying that this is a relatively slow paced film, there are lots of long scenes without dialogue and the usual things that happen in modern horror films are mostly set aside. There are a few scare scenes, but this is definitely not an in your face type of horror film. If you do not enjoy slow paced films then you will not like this.

With that said, I really enjoyed this, it was such a great surprise. I really had no idea what to expect when I turned it on but the beginning instantly hooked me. From there the film does a great job of creating a very realistic atmosphere, it makes the theme of the movie almost seem plausible because it presents it so well. The story is told in a very soothing and almost calm way, which makes the horror elements really jump out when they are introduced.

The acting was well done, the small cast all does a good & believable job. Everyone does kind of speak in the same mono toned fashion but when you consider how unhappy really everyone in the film is it makes sense for them to all be speaking that way.

Overall I thought this was great. It takes the cliché possession theme and does something new & interesting with it. It's not going to be for everybody, but if you go into it expecting a slow paced heavy atmosphere type film then you will most likely be pleased.

7/10

Don't be fooled,this is drama all the way.

[djangozelf-12351 · 1/10 · 18 December 2015]

Anyone calling this horror has the wrong idea about the concept.

Even one of the worst out there"Maggie"was more horror then this.

It all feels very cheap from the get go and the 2 or 3 suppose to be "jump-scares" are silly at best. The first 30 seconds are watchable but from there it just goes down hill.The fact they use a mental illness to sell you this is even somewhat insulting and in poor taste.

This is a below zero film and seems to be shot by some friends in a small community.The whole town looks boring and so does most of the scenery. There is nothing exciting about this movie.

Avoid at all costs.

Not worthy of your time or your money.

To everyone involved don't look to make a career out of this.

Major failure.

Certainly not as bad as made out to be

[dryadcrow · 8/10 · 8 March 2017]

I have just finished watching this film on Sky Movies. I checked IMDb as I was actually watching the start titles and saw how poorly it was received, but I watched anyway to make up my own mind.

Conclusion...... this is NOT a horror film. This is a slow burning supernatural drama. There is a certain sadness to it.

And I really enjoyed it :-) Yes, it does have some minor flaws but they can be ignored quite easily. Give it a try and make up your own mind.....you may surprise yourself and enjoy it like I did.

This is an underrated movie

[khacmanh · 7/10 · 25 December 2015]

I'm a type of guy who thought "The Exorcist", "Paranomal Activities", "Nightare on Elm's street" or any zombie movies rather mediocre or amusing. So I watched "The Anguish" pretty randomly, just out of boredom with zero expectation at the beginning. But then I found myself quite fond of this movie. I like the SFX, the OST, I like how you have to rethink and put together all events during the movie to understand it completely, I like how accurate it is to real life (with a little bit of exaggeration for horror atmosphere). And a good horror movie is the one that allow people who watching it able to relate to. Now I understand that most people will find this movie boring, lack of meaning or maybe even stupid. But the reason why it interested me is because there are certain events that happened in the movie I have seen it with my own eyes, and I understand the whole process of it. Let just put it like this, my own mother had the same ability as Tess in the movie. (But of course it is not like in the movie where light bulbs would flipping or you would hear weird noises no.) I'm totally recommend this movie to people who have certain knowledge or experiences with the spiritual world. (and no I'm an atheist, I don't believe in god or demon or church, but I do know that spirit world exist)

Who Wrote This?

[twelve-house-books · 1/10 · 24 February 2018]

The actors were good. No problem there. The problem was in the script they were given, and in the direction they were given. The producers should be ashamed to put out as much as a dollar on this poorly-crafted "story."

It is not good

[takato0524 · 1/10 · 10 March 2021]

Boring, standstill, forgettable. These are the words I'm using to describe this...well whatever it is. Even for a drama this is drab. I will keep this review to a minimum: pass it by.

Boring

[kellymeg-01504 · 4/10 · 17 January 2019]

I'm about to fall asleep! This is boring and not all that good. Definitely not scary.

Supernatural anguish

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 27 May 2018]

Was drawn into seeing 'Anguish', with as said for many films seen an intriguing and reasonably creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for supernatural drama/horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Anguish', simply put, turned out to be yet another disappointing film, hence some reiteration for similar films, and waste of potential with a few fairly small positives and so much done catastrophically wrong. Not one of the worst films ever seen, not even close, but 'Anguish' is a classic example of how not to do a premise deserving of a film that does it justice.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and the music fits nicely and has eeriness.

A few decent horror moments and a few moving ones too. The acting could have been far worse.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrate. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, not to mention far too exposition-heavy, while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the first half, which goes on forever and fails to get going, and never is it exciting even for a deliberate slow burner. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. Too many elements are introduced, and then dropped, barely explored or don't go anywhere, sometimes even all three.

A lot of the film completely fails to make sense, both in underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. There is a lot of choppiness and some lack of coherence, and to me the supernatural elements were too vague and unimaginative and the dramatic ones melodramatic and overwrought. The threat is poorly used and poses very little threat. The film completely peters out with an ending that felt like an afterthought.

Summing up, very mediocre at best. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Bland and generic

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 22 September 2018]

ANGUISH is another bland and generic American horror flick made on a low budget. The uninspiring story tells of a teenage girl with mental health issues who might just be psychic and indeed possessed by the spirit of a recently deceased car accident victim. Although there's no faulting the shooting style, this is very slow and unconvincing stuff, more of a domestic drama than a real horror production.

Uplifting In a Way

[cjstanford-65097 · 5/10 · 25 August 2022]

Not really a horror story- not in what the horror audience expects. It's more of a sci fi or spiritual drama. And labeled correctly would probably have a stonger and more appreciative audience. This is a well rounded, mediocre to go good production. The acting is a little better quality than the other production aspects. The story mostly pulls together by the end, but its scenes don't provide a cohesive plot during its development. There are a one major thread throughout the film which is left I unresolved. Perhaps the writer didn't want to speculate on the character's outcome. It's allegedly based on a true story, if so, then the writer couldn't know how the other "character" fares.

A great mixture of ideas, imperfect in its telling

[I_Ailurophile · 7/10 · 29 October 2021]

A jolting opening scene gives way to an active narrative that is very low-key and unhurried. Small instances of unexpected or unsettling sights, sounds, or otherwise occurrences slowly accumulate. However, these are somewhat dampened by either the muted tone of the film, or the combination of music, sound cue, editing, and direction that overemphasizes specific moments in a very ordinary way. Why, some of the incidents to greet us are pure horror trope.

And yet, for all that - as the premise would indicate, in no small part 'Anguish' adopts the approach of psychological horror. As the story is essentially told through protagonist Tess' perspective, for much of the film there's no telling quite how "real" any of the events are. There's a definite supernatural angle that also comes into play, but the happenings early on are the least of it; the way that "the paranormal" is woven in to the greatest impact is with great subtlety. All this is embodied with surprising skill by star Ryan Simpkins - far from a household name, though I hope more recognition comes to them. They exhibit the range, nuance, and physicality of a far older, far more experienced actor, managing the complex lead role with a quiet poise that I think marks them as someone to watch for.

Furthermore, the elements of supernatural and psychological horror that are blended into the screenplay work in concert with one other important idea. There's an underlying aspect of a more esoteric type of horror - the kind that comes with being faced with woeful circumstances one can neither understand nor control, but only watch unfold; a subset of the genre where the ultimate goal isn't fright, but grief. As Tess struggles through her ordeal, and her mother Jessica (Annika Marks, with all due desperation) with trying to help her, there's a definite air of... well, anguish to the scenario, just as if not more palpable than the disquiet that comes with the other genre elements. To my pleasure I've seen a few short films that played in a similar space, painting over classic horror themes with more predominant dread sorrow, and to see that slant employed in a full-length feature is most gratifying.

There are just two problems here. The first is the way that 'Anguish' advances with a very unbothered gait and purpose. The confluence of all these varied notions is welcome, but it doesn't come until the third act, almost squarely in the last third of the runtime. The convergence illuminates and elevates the prior length we had watched as we see what writer-director Sonny Mallhi has been crafting all along. What had felt very unremarkable at the outset is cast in a new light. The fact remains, though, that the first two-thirds - the first act especially - is unexceptional, and a little middling, to the point that I initially questioned what I had committed to watching.

The second is that 'Anguish' just doesn't fully succeed at what it sets out to do. I greatly enjoy the performances of Simpkins, and Marks, and Karina Logue in the role of Sarah - bereft but possessing solid personal strength. I love the fusion of varied facets of horror, and especially the much less conventional tack of what has in other contexts been termed "tragic horror." I think the technical craft is sound in every regard. Not least of all as a first time director, I think Mallhi has very well demonstrated his capabilities, his screenplay is very good, and the root concept is wonderful. Yet the execution of the screenplay doesn't hit emotional beats or impactful moments with full force; the utmost potential of the concept isn't borne out with maximum dire profundity. Deficiency in the realization reduces the overarching Horror of the film, and in turn affects the completeness of the cast's performances. I think 'Anguish' is good - very, very good - but it could have been outstanding.

I can easily understand that this isn't for everyone. If a viewer isn't on board with the mixture of ideas employed, or if one is so put out by the less than extraordinary goings-on in the first hour that they don't even make it to the last bit - to say nothing of the natural variance in opinion - then the movie isn't going to come off well. I certainly have my difficulties with it; I want to regard it more highly than I do. But I highly admire the effort, and more so than not, I think this is very well made. If you're receptive to the wide variety of stories that can be told while exploring the horror space, then 'Anguish' is a flawed but fine feature worth checking out if you have the chance.

Highly unusual little chiller.

[brianmccaig01 · 8/10 · 15 February 2016]

I cannot believe the extremely low marks on IMDb. Surely this is a mistake. A highly intelligent film that had more than a few scares to boot. The acting was well above average as was the story too. Try to check it out. Considering the dross that seems to be sadly and continually served up in recent, so called horror films, it was refreshing to see a film that didn't insult the viewers intelligence. In some ways it reminded me of It Follows. It would appear that Indie chillers are the only films these days that are proving to throw done fresh ideas into the horror genre. So please give it a try and hopefully we can see more from the writer and director in the future. Highly recommended.

Thoughtful, bit of a drag

[begob · 6/10 · 29 November 2017]

On arriving in small town USA a troubled girl is contacted by the dead, and her family must fight to end her troubles ...

A slow but evenly paced drama that treads the line between the literal and the metaphorical. The intro delivers a blunt shock, then we explore the world of the heroine as she mopes about before contact is made. The horror effects are mostly jumpy, with a few imaginative visuals, but I don't think this really hits the horror mark.

It's similar in tone to The Babadook, which was draining to watch, but at least this movie has some literal spooks and doesn't make the mistake of leaving the story on the metaphorical level. It's also less affecting than Magic Magic, which deals with a girl spiralling into madness and isn't so linear. The drama is underpowered, I think, because the heroine doesn't change when contact is made - really, she just gets a little more depressed and erratic, so there's no contrast.

There's almost zero need for male input, which would be interesting if the female characters weren't forever falling tearfully into each other's arms. The priest seemed pointless, and there's one odd scene with a guy in mask, which I wanted to see play out but may have been a left-over from a theme that was edited out. One thing I did appreciate is how miserable the American way has become, with bills for useless medical treatment and military service and underemployment - although indie films like this pack nowhere near the punch of similar stuff from the '70s.

The acting is good, with good dialogue and timing in a flashback scene at the swings. The sound creates a spooky mood through plucked strings and humming cellos, and there's an off-key folk song that gets repeated. Effective, but the music is constantly "on" with no space for silence, so I ended up wondering how the story would play with just ambient sound - probably unwatchable. The photography and editing are good.

Overall: Thoughtful, bit of a drag.

Good enough movie

[alialshameri · 7/10 · 19 June 2020]

The movie is good in my opinion because of how it doesn't do exorcisms and it doesn't scare you but there are some parts which shouldn't be in the movie like the protagonist staring in the distance or the protagonist walking and it would have been better if those scenes were included and if the person possessing the protagonist wins because im fed up of seeing possession movies where the demon/possesser loses

People really don't know what is a bad movie?! It's Not this one

[queerdust · 9/10 · 2 April 2018]

This movie for what it was... was a nice slow ticking bomb but had lots of story... lot of depth to it. I absolutely loved it. It's been forever since I've seen a sensitive choose not to come back and the spirit stay. Lucy was one tuff costumer and you saw that early on when she saw Tess was enterable slam down next to her death spot over and over. This is not a horror movie this is a slow bomb supernatural thriller. So all these 1-2 reviews doesn't know a good spirit movie. This is excactly how sensitives get entered or possessed by spirits or demons. It doesn't happen boom pow it's a slow take over. I think this movie showed that perfectly. Also loved the cast.

Starts Out Slow But...

[nunobettencourtfan · 10/10 · 16 April 2016]

Starts out slow but it is only to build up the character and to dig deeper into what she is going through. I almost turned this off after about five minutes but I am glad that I did not. This story is creepy, very creepy without all of the boo's and scares that most of the movies these days have. I really enjoyed this movie. If you like getting chills without all of the thrills, then this movie is for you. They say that it is based on true events, and that's good and all. The movie starts to pick up more so towards the middle. After that, you really get a good understanding on what she is going through and why she is acting the way that she is. Without giving away and spoilers, I will say that this movie is worth the watch.

Tess has two mommies

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 18 January 2018]

In the first scene Lucy "call me Lucinda" (Amberley Gridley) becomes an SUV hood ornament. A new family moves into town which includes Tess (don't call me Teresa) Ryan Simpkins. She is beyond moody. She suffers from "anxiety, depression, hallucinations and disruptive behavior disorder" all without having been married to a Scientologist. About an hour into the film, it shifts from a simple haunting to one count of possession.

The film claims to be inspired by true events, so no one's head spins around. It is a slow building drama that borders on a Lifetime Film. Ryan gives us a different view of "possession" although possessed people still must have bad hair. Has some light scary moments.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.