De poel (2014) Reviews

• Unfortunate - Avoid!

  berrie-j2014-05-29

  'De Poel' got some good press and as such I was reasonably excited to see this film. An actually suspenseful Dutch horror film; almost too good to be true. As it turns out, it was too good to be true. From the very first scene the acting is unbearably unnatural, the dialogue is clunky and the timing as far from subtle as possible. There is no motivation for what's happening to the group of campers and the "other" perspective (somewhat reminiscent of security camera footage) does nothing to create suspense. Because I don't want to sound bitter for the sake of it I will say that some of the acting between the sons was believable, as was some of the (funny) bickering between husband and wife. When the screening I attended was over, the audience collectively made a sound of disbelief and laughter.

• 'De Poel' tries, but fails to be a fun watch.

  vincent_tillema2014-05-02

  We Dutch have a rich history of making movies with that typical 'Dutch mark'. Something that's hard to identify but somehow always involves nudity, swearing, a bit wooden acting and a sense of humor that is very much Dutch. Lacking budgets of, say Hollywood, Dutch cinema always has fairly low production values. Even compared to British, Scandinavian or French movies, Dutch movies alway fall short of outstanding quality. Which, even for me as a Dutchman, makes them hard to like. Sometimes you need to give them a chance however. And with 'De Poel' (The Pond) being somewhat of a revival of the 'Nether-Horror' genre I thought I'd put my prejudice aside and give it a try. Dutch media outlets praise the movie, but to me (and I guess my fellow movie goers in the cinema) it failed miserably. 'De Poel' follows two families going on a camping vacation in a forbidden part of a Dutch nature reserve. They set up camp next to a pond, and sure enough: s--- hits the fan. The build up of tension is decent, and the main actors (the younger actors barely have any lines to work with) act quite naturally which is a relief for a Dutch movie. The tension between husband and wife is actually quite enjoyable. Mom blaming dad for being stubborn and relying on technological 'toys' instead of a good old analogue compass is fun and recognizable. There are some nice scenic shots too. That's where the goods end. 'De Poel' fails to be scary. Overly stylized shots from the perspective of 'the threat' distract and only serve to reinforce something is wrong...again, and again, and again. There is some gore, including cutting off a finger. Which is followed by the character almost ignoring his missing finger just an hour later... The story doesn't explain anything, and only barely hints at the cause of the trouble. The Netherlands has a history of prehistoric human sacrifices in bogs and marshes which this movie hints at, but never fully embraces. There's something about the virginity of 'the sacrifice' which made me fear they would actually go as far as having an awkward forced sex scene to prevent that sacrifice from happening...luckily 'De Poel' doesn't take it there. Instead: 'De Poel' simply becomes a snore fest best to be ignored completely. During my screening the crowd would laugh at the movie all the time, would critique it all the time and everybody walked out saying "what a terrible movie." The worst thing is 'De Poel' had potential, but in the end feels like something a film school graduate should be proud of. Nothing cinema worthy. And to be quite frank: nothing worth your time and money. So once again: Dutch cinema fails to impress and falls flat on its face.

• A feeling of regret

  marc_harens2019-03-05

  As a genuine horror fan and a Dutch native, I did not have high expectations of this horror movie. Even without the expectations this movie was dissapointing. The story does not come to life, the acting was mediocre and there was no suspense. Things hppening for no reason and a terrible end that makes no sense. After watching the movie there was just a feeling of regret. I could have watched something even remotely interesting. This comes from somebody who has watched so many pulp and B movies.

• De Poel , the future of dutch horror looks promising.

  Tibbletoad2014-05-06

  Two Fathers go on a camping trip and take their families in tow , when they set up camp in a restriced nature reservation at the side of a small pond (poel) things quickly start to unravel. The premise of this movie is simple and the way it is brought is also simple. The Netherlands are not known for their stellar horror movies , where de lift( remade into down) was the most known one. This is the first movie from the This is not a problem tough, the movie assumes the viewer will piece things together that is a nice change from the overly explaining and " See what i discovered" things that plague most horror movies. When the movie was over the people in front of me left after saying "What a vague movie" but i did not find it vague at all, in the end i pieced together what had happened and the only trouble i had with the movie was explained to me later by the creators on their facebook. The food got spoiled or destroyed, and the puddle would not let them leave, something that made me wonder why. but the most clear answer is simple, the puddle did this to get them to go desperate. The story starts as a slow burn but sadly shows the evil of the puddle a little to soon, a little more guessing would have been nice Sure what would happen could be guessed while the movie was playing,but this is a first movie from the house of nether horror, and for a first attempt this is a great movie. And if this movie is the quality of movies that they will keep making all i can say is the future of dutch horror looks promising. I certainly recommend this movie, but how much i liked it , the movie does not feel like a cinema movie so if you do go to see it see it on DVD, stream or even on demand.

• Absurd in a bad way

  avzwam2014-08-17

  Dutch "horror film" De poel seems to be an imitation of for instance recent American remakes of Japanese horror films and it doesn't do a good job of it. Ineptly written, the film falls apart at a certain point becoming hard to watch in the sense that I wanted to fast forward and get to the end of it. The film lacks any real artistic value. There is no good story here with themes and depth and therefore the film doesn't hold your attention. The film basically has no personality of its own; it's like the script was written in an office by people who wanted to make a "Hollywood" movie which results in these Dutch characters in this Dutch movie speaking in ways that Dutch people don't speak. We don't talk like characters in a Hollywood movie (I am Dutch myself). I cringed listening to this fake dialogue. One character seemed to be an exception and he was talking like a lot of Dutch kids talk nowadays where they too copy things from American culture. I wouldn't be surprised if the word "fokking" is now officially a Dutch word. Anyway, I could go on but you get the idea. De poel is a failure. I do give it two stars instead of one though as there were a few successful shots. One for instance was a wide dolly shot where one of the kids leaves his tent at night and walks to the water. That was an OK shot. Edit: I was reviewing Hansel and Gretel when I saw that I had given this two stars due to some of the shots being OK. But I have to admit that even those shots don't save this film from being a complete and utter failure. It sounds harsh but that's just the way it is. So one star it is then.