The Gathering (2002)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Brian Gilbert

Writer:

Anthony Horowitz (written by)

Release Date:

15 May 2003 (Singapore)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Evil Souls Rule.

Plot:

While going to the town of Ashby Wake, the drifter Cassie is hit by a car driven by Marion Kirkman and loses her memory...

Plot Keywords:

Church | Archeologist | Amnesia | Supernatural

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Christina Ricci	...	Cassie Grant
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Dan Blakeley
Stephen Dillane	...	Simon Kirkman
Kerry Fox	...	Marion Kirkman
Simon Russell Beale	...	Luke Fraser
Robert Hardy	...	The Bishop
Harry Forrester	...	Michael Kirkman
Jessica Mann	...	Emma Kirkman
Peter McNamara	...	Frederick Michael Argyle
Mark Bagnall	...	The Gathering
Clare Bloomer	...	The Gathering
Mackenzie Crook	...	The Gathering
Richard Evans	...	The Gathering
Roy Evans	...	The Gathering
Paul Hamilton	...	The Gathering

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

Austria:92 min | Argentina:92 min | France:96 min | Brazil:83 min | USA:92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | USA:R (certificate #38945) | Netherlands:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA (2009) | Argentina:13 | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Isle of Man

Company:

Granada Film Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before Luke Fraser crashes his car on the highway, he looks up and sees a bridge. When we see the crash, there is no bridge in sight.

Quotes:

The Bishop: They came only to see, from the east and from the west, from the city and from the plain. They came not, in holy reverence to the lord, but in lust.

Great idea/concept, but botched movie-making ...

The movie starts out pretty great; the first 10 minutes are the makings of a really good movie. There's mystery, death, discovery, ancient underground stuff and amnesia ... all the ingredients of a great premise. By the end, there are twists and revelations - but it's a little slow in coming and a little botched.

There are actually two mysteries going on: one involves a mysterious group of people who just "stare" and another involves visions of death. It gets a little confusing what events in the movie pertain to which mystery - so it's a little convoluted.

While the middle is a bit slow, what I liked about the movie is the idea behind the plot. It involves a new twist on the crucifixion that I haven't heard before, so that "idea" was kind of cool. That said, the ending is done decently, but not very well - so that takes the film down a notch.

Is it worth watching the movie? Sure - if you can catch it on a movie station (like I did on HBO) and don't have to go to any additional effort. Otherwise, it's best to skip it.