Cradle Will Fall [DVD]

I rented this out thinking it would be a good horror movie for a Friday night, only to realise it's not scary instead disturbing and a waste of 74 minutes of my life. Basic plot is a woman who is on the brink of a mental breakdown, starts a horrifying attack on her children. Only one must fight against her that will lead to a shocking ending. The fact it's a true story and what's shown is truely unsettling, how could something like this get away with coming out on DVD? Like one reviewer, it's not scary at all and not really that gory. It's not something I would highly recommend or rush out to see, the film seemed slow and not entertaining at all. Don't be fooled by the front cover, it's not for people who don't like unsettling horror movies that are a waste of time.

I personally did NOT find this movie in any way scary or disturbing as a horror genre I did not personally consider it much of anything.

To be honest from start to finish the acting was pretty pee poor to the extreme!
If anyone actually believes this was truly based on true facts or a real life event you must be a totally and extremely gullible person. Just because it said it's based on a true story it don't mean it really is! It is a ploy often placed in Horrors and thrillers to play with the WEAK minded gullible folk.

The nearest to the truth this film got was (I assume) when the baby was probably smothered by a mother due to post natal depression and not the total twaddle that followed. I suppose some of you lot believe the movie paranormal activity is really true too as it said it was at the beginning of the movie, yeah ok.

Acting poor, believability poor, script poor, direction poor.

I wasted my time watching this total and utter dribble, when will someone come up with a proper dirty your knickers horror movie! And stop with the false claims of being one the scariest most disturbing movies ever, when they ate not and just turn out to be total lame.

Don't waste your time or your money

IF I COULD LEAVE NEGATIVE STARS I WOULD BUT I CANT SO 1 STAR WILL HAVE TO DO!

RUBBISH NUFF SAID

Essentially a 'cat and mouse' film, Cradle will Fall tackles the disturbing subject matter of filicide (the killing of one's own child or children) which, as far as horror films are concerned is something rarely portrayed on film even in this genre. Generally there's a formula when it comes to these types of film and it's usually a case of pitting a bad guy against a group of hapless teens and watching as all but one are sliced and diced leaving the hero (or heroine) to gain the upper hand, take on the bad guy and survive. This film is different, the bad guy is the mother (and she isn't bad, she's having a mental breakdown) and her victims are her own children. Hugely exploitative, even more so when an on-screen graphic states that the film is based on true events this is one film which will quite rightly divide its audience.

Some people simply wont be able to watch it given the subject matter, some will say it's a step too far and perhaps they're right. I watched the film under the assumption that the film makers wouldn't actually allow a mother to kill her own children, surely it would be a generic cat and mouse film, I thought. All the kids would hide and get close to being caught, tensions would rise and the film would play on the peril of the situation but ultimately there would be a hero who comes to save the day at the end, the kids would survive and the mother get the help she needed...

Once again I was proven to be wrong, I really shouldn't make assumptions as 'Cradle will Fall' *does* feature child killings and doesn't shy away from shocking its audience with its content. A small cast of just six; mom, dad and 4 children of varying age from newborn to 10 years old the film's first 30 minutes follow what looks like an everyday family existence, time is spent following the mother as we slowly witness her depression take her deeper into her own dark places and when she snaps the results are truly shocking.

The film has a very short running time of only 68 minutes and doesn't waste time with superfluous detail, it has a strong narrative which stays firmly on track and the majority of the focus is on the mother and her eldest child, Jimmy. Collen Porch as the mom is compelling in this film, absolutely believable in her portrayal of a deeply disturbed character she commands the audiences attention and pulls off a complex performance. It's a strange mix of empathy and revulsion you feel for her as you can almost relate to the despair she feels but it's impossible to understand the things she does. I'm not going to discuss the details of the killings in the film as they wll be very upsetting for some people to read, they're certainly not as gratitous or exploitative as they could have been and are shown off screen with the camera focusing mainly on the mothers face and her eldest sons reaction, suffice to say it eventually comes down to a face-off between Jimmy and his mother and many chase sequences as Jimmy tries to evade capture.

It stands to reason that this is going to be a horror film with limited appeal, the idea is far more shocking than how it is presented thankfully but many people will choose to base their decision not to watch it on the subject matter alone. It certainly isnt a film to enjoy, the usual cliched cat and mouse elements that make up similar films are intensified and feel far more believeable here and I do think that overall the balance falls on the exploitative side rather than anything thought-provoking.

Would I recommend it? In all honesty, no I wouldn't but at the price it is available for it is a cheap film and I guess there is a market for it otherwise it would never have been made or released. Overall then there's not that much going for the film other than its low price tag, I do think the subject matter could have been handled better and the ending does spoil the film as a whole so as far as my rating goes I'm awarding 2 stars. Collen Porch is outstanding in her portyal as the mother and the young cast cope with what they have to do well but it isnt a film I would recommend given everything I've mentioned in this review.