Monday, March 21, 2016

Visions Movie Review – Blood Will Stain the Land


Length: 82 minutes
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Rating: R
Director: Kevin Greutert

Visions opens with a woman named Eveleigh going through the aftermath of a car accident. As they move her gurney through the hospital, she repeatedly asks about the other woman and the baby who were involved in the accident. Some time later, she and her husband David move to a new home to start a winery. Eveleigh reveals that she was on antidepressants after the accident but that she stopped taking the medication after learning she was pregnant with their first child. We also learn that the baby in the other car passed away, which led to Eveleigh suffering from PTSD and blaming herself, even though she was cleared of causing the accident.

David throws an elaborate party as a way to get to know the new neighbors. They hear a speech from the owner of the area's largest and oldest vineyard that nothing ever grows on the land and that basically it's a huge struggle. This plants a seed of doubt in her mind as to whether they made the right choice. She later encounters Helena – the leading wine reviewer – standing over their bed and stuck in some kind of trance. When Helena comes out of it, she plays the whole thing off like nothing happened but makes a quick exit.

Eveleigh is still trying to deal with her stress, so her doctor recommends a prenatal yoga class. There, she meets Sadie, a young pregnant woman who is more like her and less like the stuck up moms in the group. The two become quick friends and immediately begin spending more time together. As David urges her to go back on her medication, Sadie is there to tell her that she should do what she wants.

When Eveleigh begins seeing things, it's Sadie who helps her through it and believes in her. At one point, she sees a bottle of wine shatter, a gun on the floor, and a bloody hand print on the wall. By the time that David gets there, everything is back to normal. The more she freaks out over the weird things happening in their new home, the less supportive David becomes. While she believes the house is haunted, she has to learn the connection she has to the house if she hopes to save herself and her unborn child.

Visions is probably my favorite horror movie that I've seen recently, which has nothing to do with my girl crush on Isla Fisher who plays Eveleigh. It's the kind of movie with so many twists and turns that you can't help trying to guess what might happen. Just when you think you know what's going on, something else happens that makes you second guess yourself and come up with a whole new theory. While I did guess the ending early on, I decided I was wrong and kept coming up with new theories.

Though it isn't a creepy movie, it is pretty unsettling. There are scenes where Eveleigh sees what looks like her neighbor carrying out a dead body or a man just standing in the field and watching them that makes you want to look away.

The only problem is that the movie occasionally has too many characters. Do we really need to see Jim Parsons in something like three scenes as her doctor? Do we need to meet Sadie's husband just once before he pops up again? The worst is probably Eva Longoria as Eileen, Eveleigh's best friend from back in the city. She shows up for the party, calls her later to say she'll be in Paris for a few months, and then randomly shows up for an intervention David stages. I get that Eileen is her connection to the city and her old life, but the character really isn't needed.

Despite too many characters, I really enjoyed Visions. It's one of the best I've seen recently.

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