Them That Follow

not so good

It starts out slow, setting the mood, introducing the characters, but when the plot gets rolling, it grows very deep, dark and twisted. There are a lot of things that you can tell the characters are thinking based on what you have learned about them and their beliefs that the movie does not shove right into your face. You will find it in their tone of voice, or how their eyes appear, and that in itself is prove of not only great acting, but great writing, too.

Magnifies the fatal outcome of religious fanaticism and blind faith. Quite gruesome, though, in its graphic portrayal of snake attacks. My SCORING: 99-96=Great; 95-90=Very good; 89-85=Good; 84-80=So-so; 79-70=Boring; Below 70=Forget it.

Any movie "Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia" is probably going to involve feeding chickens, wearing long baggie jumpers, christian fundamentalism, banjo playing, delapidated caravans and being obnoxious to women, or a combination thereof, and TTF is no exception, except this has a couple of snakes thrown in to liven things up. Actually, I quite enjoyed this even though not a great deal happens, as the idea of being trapped in this sort of environment fills me with a certain dread. Decent.

Kind of predictable but not altogether bad.

Strong performances, particularly from Englert, Goggins, Dever & Colman, combined with some very nice visuals, an ominous score & a surprise appearance by Jim Gaffigan of all people are the highlights of this ultimately very tame, somewhat boring religious drama. The themes in play are nothing new, nor are the characters & their dynamics, & while the snakes are a cool touch their inclusion feels a little pointless. Overall, it's neither awful nor excellent, but isn't much of a thriller either.

(JESUSFIED)