Obscure films are often obscure for a good reason, even if they're part of the repertoire of highly acclaimed and Award-winning directors, or in case it meant the debut of famous and respected actors. "The Visitors" is such an example of a peculiarly obscure film in spite of the great names involved. It was directed by Elia Kazan, who won 2 Oscars and even an Honorary Award, and it was the first major film role for both James Woods and Steve Railsbeck. These names alone should have provided the film with a tremendous classic status and cult reputation, but instead it's a totally unknown effort that never ever gets mentioned when people are discussing the highlights of either Kazan or Woods. Is it because it's such a bitter and emotionless drama that deals with the darker side of war veteran heroes? Perhaps
Is it because it's such a slow, dull and eventually unrewarding movie experience? More likely
"The Visitors" probably ranks in the top 5 slowest-paced films I've ever seen and the story keeps building up towards a devastating climax that actually never comes. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a movie in which absolutely nothing happens while, at the same time, it offers so much potential for exciting and suspenseful things to happen! If it weren't the names that convinced me to watch "The Visitors" already, then the brief plot description certainly would have: Vietnam veteran Bill Schmidt lives a quite life in the countryside, along with his wife and their baby. One morning, two of Bill's army buddies show up at their doorstep and invite themselves in. This isn't friendly visit, however, as Tony and Mike were just recently released from prison where they served a sentence for raping and murdering an innocent girl during their Tour of Duty. Bill testified against them in court, but now in his own house, he will have to protect his family and himself. How brilliant does that description sound? The film could have been a forerunner of the popular trend of home-invasion movies (like "Last House on the Left" or "House at the Edge of the Park") or it could have been a raw and powerful post-Vietnam revenge thriller (like "The Exterminator", "The Farmer" or "Rolling Thunder"). Especially the latter examples successfully managed to combine dazzling character studies and genuine human drama with harsh and relentless action footage but, sadly enough, Elia Kazan and his scriptwriter son Chris solely opted for character study. And then it still isn't very successful, I must add. The only sequence in the entire movie that more or less qualifies as eventful is a downright disgusting one and depicts – in detail – the massacre of a dog. That whole sequence looked disturbingly realistic, if you ask me. The rest of the story is simply people sitting at tables and staring at each other without saying much. The scenario also takes a few bizarre and illogical twists, like Bill's father-in-law socializing with two suspicious figures he never met and that obviously for a menace to his daughter and grandson. The filming locations and snowy landscapes are astounding and the soundtrack features a couple of nice classical music moments, but that's hardly worth a recommendation.
Review of The Visitors
