20140130: Horror Review--Rosalind Leigh

The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. Canadian live action feature length film, 2012, NR, 80 minutes.
2. IMDB: 5.5/10.0 from 1,542 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet,' 32% liked it from 201 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 2.8/5.0 from 149,603 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Rodrigo Gudino.
6. Starring: Aaron Poole as Leon Leigh, Vanessa Redgrave as Rosalind Leigh, Julian Richings as Rahn Brothers, Stephen Eric McIntyre as Preacher, Charlotte Sullivan as Anna.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Leon returns to the house he grew up in after his mother dies.  They had been apart for many years.


2. Leon spent lots of time in the past with his mental health professional, who has helpful suggestions about his 'bump in the night' experiences at the house.  The house is opulent and chocked full of reminders of Leon's childhood.  There are audio and video tapes from a mystery cult, including one about communications with the dead.  Eventually, Leon finds a room full of religious statues, candles, stained glass and the like.


3. The cult is "God's Messengers" which Leon researches on the web.  He consults his security company by phone, then online, when he seems to have an animal intruder.  They see something in the surveillance data, but cannot make out what it is.  Then he loses online connection.


4. Leon seems to see a lot of things after that, but does he?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Fine production values, but cheap jack script; massively bad ending.
2. One star of five


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Amazingly beautifully done, in low light or high.


2. Sound: 10/10 Well done, sometimes quite atmospheric.


3. Acting: 5/10 Veteran actor Aaron Poole gave a fine performance.  Film legend Vanessa Redgrave was OK as a voice actor.  However, the script was so bad that the performances mattered not.


4. Screenplay: 0/10 Five minutes of a bad plot stretched beyond breaking over eighty minutes.  I certainly hope the director is not funded again unless he has strong oversight.