Citadel (2012) Reviews

• Great creeping horror!

  robhartjr2013-02-08

  I fell under a horror movie high one day and decided to search for the best horror films of 2012. I clicked on various different lists and this movie was featured on nearly all of them. I looked at its IMDb rating and was disappointed with its low rating so I didn't really feel motivated to see it. But I was at Wal Mart and saw this movie there on sale and I just impulsively purchased it hoping the low rating on here was wrong. I am very glad I decided to buy this movie. A young man is left widowed and damaged with agoraphobia after his pregnant wife is randomly attacked by a group of hooded kids. The baby is saved while the wife is left comatose for a few months until she finally passes. The young man is now raising the daughter alone in his panicked agoraphobic state. Then one day the hooded kids kidnap his daughter. With the help of a badmouthed priest and his son, he must rescue his daughter and learn the truth about these demonic hooded children. Don't be fooled by the clichéd plot. This movie is one of the more original horror films in the past 10 years. Its a shame it hasn't found a decent release in the US. I'm sure if this was given a theatrical release during the Halloween season it would've been a decent hit. This is the second best traditional horror movie released in 2012 behind Sinister in my opinion. There is something just eerie and unsettling about this film. The terror starts off within 5 minutes with a heart pumping intro. Then the more dramatic aspect takes place for about 20 minutes so that we can get to know the characters. The last half of the movie is just genius horror film making. Sure many things are questionable about this movie, but who cares? Its a great spooky film to watch in the dark alone or with a lover or friends. The cinematography is very well done for a first time director. The directing itself reminded me of Danny Boyles '28 Days Later' in some aspects. The acting is pretty good for a low budget film. There are many scenes that are just perfectly executed even though some of the characters decisions are typical Horror movie clichés. There is a fantastically creeping scene on the bus that will surely stick with most viewers long after seeing this movie. The music is great and ominous. The music that plays at the end and through the ending credits is very beautiful and creepy at the same time. The demonic hooded children are some of the scariest horror villains in a long time. Many old school horror fans will think of 'The Brood' when they see the evil kids in this film. But honestly these kids are more menacing and scary. The director is certainly someone to watch out for in the future. Currently the film has a pretty low score of 5.3 based on around only 1,000 votes here on IMDb as I type this review. Though the movie is not popular yet among US viewers since it has only seen a DVD/Blu Ray release without any advertisement, I think it has potential to explode in popularity. I do hope that the horror fans that appreciate true good horror will spread the word on this movie and help it become the cult classic it is destined to be. Hopefully the rating goes up. Trust me, this movie is one of the good horror movies. It's honestly worth a purchase or at least a redbox rental. Give it a shot if you need a fresh simple horror movie to scare you for the night. *I've discovered that this movie has recently been available for streaming on Netflix. I hope that slowly helps bring up its popularity and acclaim.*

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• Original Irish Horror with a truly contemporary twist...

  Zachar_Laskewicz2013-05-25

  Although this film was made thanks to sponsorship from the Irish film board, it is far from a piece of Catholic dogma. The character who plays the priest renounces religion entirely and the film's horror is an original and recent addition to the genre. It's full of good ideas and can be related to relatively recent phenomena; the urban sprawl and the creation of enormous flatblocks outside city centres, prevalent across the United Kingdom. Most frighteningly perhaps it represents the disaffected youth who hide themselves from the enormous collection of security cameras which dictate their life. Spawns of drug selling youth hide their identity behind hoodies; who'd have guessed 20 years ago that being approached by a group of youth wearing tracksuits would be such a menacing phenomenon. In this film creative use is made of this fear. The film is far from perfect, but most important is its originality, fear is created the way it should be, as suspense, and the implication of the horror created by its themes don't require an enormous spilling of blood or disgusting special effects to disquiet and disturb you. I'm glad I saw this film; it proves again that truly good additions to the genre, don't originate from Hollywood and don't require its approval to be made.

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• My Review Of "Citadel"

  ASouthernHorrorFan2012-12-12

  "Citadel" is a Irish film directed by Cairan Foy that follows a young father through is journey into darkness as he battles despair and tragedy. After the senseless death of the mother of his child which forces the baby into the world prematurely the father soon faces a nightmare even greater in his quest to provide a life for his child. He struggles with agoraphobia and social anxiety which he soon confronts as he comes face to face with the dangerous youths that terrorize the neighborhood. The film stars Aneurin Barnard, Wunmi Mosaku, Amy Shields, James Cosmo and Jake Wilson. It is a deep social commentary which plays out in horrendous exaggeration of society at it's most basic breakdown. "Citadel" delves deep into the dark and sinister realm of social collapse. As a neighborhood goes through slow rehabilitation a twisted reality unfolds. Savage and untamed youths lay siege to a tower block in the community killing anyone who crosses their path and stealing the children. The story has a sort of melancholic atmosphere which pulls at your emotions as it draws you into the story. It flows from moments of casual melodrama and intense suspensefulness that makes most of the scenes feel for intense than they really are. It creates an almost nervous anticipation for during most of the film. It is a truly dark story which expresses a lot of emotion and desperation as a movie goer watching the story unfold that is an added bonus. The revealing cause of the vicious nature of the youths terrorizing the community is truly sinister but could have been played up a little more than it is in the movie. There is a slight imbalance between the slower more emotional scenes and the intense thrill scenes. However not enough of an issue to not find this movie pleasurable. It is disturbing and kind of twisted. I really enjoyed the more vulnerable and heartfelt approach to horror this film takes.

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• Decent horror n excellent acting by the lead.

  Fella_shibby2016-11-12

  I saw this on a rented DVD in 2013. The movie was not bad. It has a sort of atmosphere which pulls you into the story. Some scenes were disturbing and kind of twisted. Found it to b scary and chilling, not like most horror films nowadays, where the scares are predictable and you can pretty much guess what will happen. The visualisation of the desolate slum-land is brilliantly created. The abandoned tower block was creepy. Tim Fleming's restless cinematography further adds to the picture's overall unsettling impact. The demons/stalkers are depicted as a genuinely menacing and frightening. Kinda supernatural/genetic mutations. The movie is extremely brooding n claustrophobic. There is a sense of dread, paranoia, surrealism, loneliness n helplessness. The film's exploration of the lead character's agoraphobia is powerful without being overpowering. The fears the lead character has are realistic. Brilliant acting from Aneurin Barnard. He looked like a person who is going thru a trauma. There is this feeling in this film that the lead character is completely alone. There is no help coming n he will have to fend for himself. Only one thing i disliked in this film was the twist in the end. Well its not predictable but i dint like it. The director was successful in creating tension by putting a baby in jeopardy. The priest in this movie looked like Brian Cox.

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• Great budget horror

  jonnytheshirt2012-11-12

  From the Irish and Scottish film boards a nice gritty horror that plays out like a great short story. Quite creepy with solid main performances from Cosmo (Braveheart and Game of Thrones) a world class actor and newcomer Barnard. This reminds me of another similarly gritty Celtic collaboration. A great Urban horror set in dangerous Scottish estates abandoned it seems by police and society where fear breeds. The agoraphobia of the main character is done well I thought and that different angle and its subsequent analogy of escaping from the hopeless forgotten edges of society added another dimension to the main character. Cosmo is great as always as the unorthodox priest and you'll not be seeing him waving about any bibles trying to dispossess anyone. The only complaint I will make is a scene which isn't really essential in which some dodgy CGI is employed. The main character might look a bit over made up in his attempt to look like a sleep deprived fear driven man, but otherwise I really enjoyed this film done on an extremely modest budget displaying just how to make a modern urban horror.

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