Silent Warnings (2003)

Low budget alien invasion movie.

I should have known if it had Stephen Baldwin in it with top billing it was going to be a stinker. The only part I liked was the last 10 to 15 minutes. Because it had a decent ending I'll give it two stars instead of one. August 26, 2006

Good Low-Budget Thriller

Obviously inspired by "Signs", and hampered by a low budget, this is nevertheless an impressive little thriller. The performances are all quite good, and some real tension is built (the film takes its time in building, which is great) but the climax leaves a little to be desired. The CGI is lacking, but most of the film does not rely on effects to build the suspense, but instead upon the characterizations and situations.

It's nice to see a movie where the characters don't act stupidly, too, the way they usually do in horror films. Worth seeing. July 12, 2006

Ed Wood back from grave, writes/directs Signs-like bomb

If Ed Wood were undead today, this is the movie he'd make. I rented this because I saw it next to _Signs_ alphabetically and decided to make it an alien crop circle double-feature.

After the credits rolled, I tried to retrace where I had gone so drastically wrong. I remembered noticing that the movie co-starred Billy Zane, who knocked me over in _Dead Calm_, and Stephen Baldwin, who was a principle in _The Usual Suspects_, another one of my favorites. How bad could it be? Only on further reflection did I realize those movies were made in 1989 and 1995, respectively-- an average of 13 years ago. Since then, there haven't a whole lot of major leading roles for either actor. So maybe they'd take a buck to read some crap out loud.

And boy, do they ever. Where would I start? Let's just say that whatever you like about movies-- whether it's character development or cool special effects or convincing dialogue-- this movie doesn't have it. This movie doesn't have it, in spades.

By all means, watch this movie. Then you can say you have seen possibly the worst movie made so far in this young millenium.

What about those reviewers here who gave the movie 5 stars? They're playing a mean trick on you. Believe me. February 17, 2006

Good movie, but just not for my taste

I think the title of this review says a lot. Silent Warnings is one of these movies that only fans of its genre like. Don't take me wrong. Despite it's a low budget film (given the amounts of money some blockbuster movies cost this years) they do a really nice work.

The movie is character-driven, and the plot circles around a group of six people played by little known or not known at all. They do a terrific job. The characters are very belivable and they really put you into the story. Stephen Baldwin appears in only the first 3 minutes of the movie and does an ok job. I believe they only hired him to sell the movie, but they couldn't afford a first-line actor for the whole movie.

The music is not great, but somehow they manage to create a good thriller-like mood and ambiance. The lightning is good, given the fact that all the action takes place in the dark. The special effects are ok, considering the low budget. The aliens are a little weird, but at least they're not cheesy.

The story is ok. There is not any background info about the aliens, their origin or their intentions, and the end of the movie is a little abrupt. The movie would have been much better if they had elaborated the story a little more.

Bottomline: This is a good movie, with a good direction, great cast and nice production. If you're a Sci-fi fan you will love it. If you don't like sci-fi movies a lot, you might find this movie only good for a rental in a rainy night or maybe you'll think it's just a waste of time. October 3, 2005

Creepy Cornfields

This plays like an alternate version of Signs. A young man inherits a small farm when his cousin dies in an accident. Ha and a group of friends visit the farm in hopes of fixing it up and selling it. But what is going on in the cornfields?

Crop circles appear in the corn and noises are heard. Someone sees a figure. Then someone disappears. At this point things start to really get creepy. The dead cousin seems to have thought there were aliens in the corn and even claimed, on video, to have captured one. Could aliens be involved? Could they be something else?

While the exact nature and origin of the creatures is not definite at the end of the film, there is an adequate explanation. Like Signs there is a high level of creep factor in this movie with many things seeming to be just out of sight. There are some nice twists in the plot, and the ending, that help make the film feel original and fresh.

The only problems I had with the film was minor. The farm seemed to be just a house and some cornfields. There were no sheds, barns, silos or other buildings and a lack of farm equipment. This is explained in the extras as the house was built in the field just for the movie. But it is just a minor thing and not really a problem. The other was pounding a for sale sign in right in front of the house where it can not be seen from the road 1/4 mile away.

If you like creepy horror movies with heavy atmosphere or really liked Signs, you will probably like this one. February 7, 2005

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