User reviews

I bought this on DVD (the short version - grrr!) knowing that Christina Ricci was in it and nothing else. What I found was an adequate, 6/10 movie (Ricci makes it a 7, but that's just me) with little by way of originality or genuine horror, but that does not make it inferior to many blockbusters. The English setting gives it a quaint feel, as it looks genuinely normal, and not some movie version of a creepy town. The cast are better than you'd expect, and some of the direction manages to evoke sinister feelings without use of hokey effects. However, unless you are easy to please, an aficionado of low-budget horror flicks, or a fan of Christina Ricci or Ioan Gruffud (or Mackenzie Crook in a non-speaking role) then there is probably no real reason to watch this.

While going to the town of Ashby Wake, the drifter Cassie (Christina Ricci) is hit by a car driven by Marion Kirkman (Kerry Fox) and loses her memory. Marion invites Cassie to stay in her huge old house with her family, while recovering from the trauma. Cassie becomes very close to Michael, the young son of Marion's husband Simon Kirkman (Stephen Dallane). He is researching a recently discovered buried church from the First Century, with images of the crucifixion of Jesus and many anonymous persons watching it. Cassie starts having visions and premonitions with some locals, and decides to investigate the weird and nasty mechanic Frederick Michael Argyle (Peter McNamara). Her findings about who she is and the mystery relative to the locals and the town surprises her. "The Gathering" is a good, original and mysterious horror movie, in the same line of "The Others", "Haunted", "The Sixth Sense"and "El Espinazo del Diablo". It is not gore, but very creepy and scary. Christina Ricci is magnificent, as usual, and the idea is fresh and unusual. The conclusion of the story is commercial, but it is not bad. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Encontro" ("The Gathering")

THE GATHERING stars Christina Ricci as Cassie Grant, who is backpacking through rural England when she's hit by a car. This results in her staying with the family of the woman who struck her. Strange things begin happening, seemingly related to an ancient -and quite mysterious- first century, Christian church that has been unearthed nearby.

Upon recovering from her injuries, Cassie ventures out into the local town. Why are people now watching and following her? The longer she stays, the more bizarre and chilling it all becomes.

This is a solid supernatural horror-thriller, with some creepy twists. The unexpected ending ties it all up nicely. Ms. Ricci is really good in this, proving once again that she could very well be the Barbara Steele of her generation...

I went into this movie (the cut dvd version, which bought for cheap) expecting a cheap horror film. What I got was... not horror. I enjoyed it a lot, given that I'm a sucker for quaint mystery thrillers in general, but I bought this expecting horror because it markets itself as horror. and this is a bad horror movie.

However, I can look past this because I'm a rather casual movie watcher. I found myself pleasantly surprised at this film's build-up to a sense of dread which hits at about an hour in. The mystery of the movie solves itself in a very satisfactory way, and clocking in at roughly 85 minutes, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome. Granted, nothing new is explored in this movie that hasn't been done better elsewhere. But for anybody looking for something quiet, short, and satisfactory to kill time with, this is a decent film to choose.

Although The Gathering is not my favorite biblical horror film, this movie was really entertaining. Christina Ricci acted fabulously, of course, and all the lines and scenes were edgy and new. I really loved how when there would be something that is supposed to be creepy or scary, they would not play stupid irritating music. They would just let it happen without any rhythms or beats, and I found that interesting and respectable. The twist I would say is really awesome. I would have never suspected it, and it came without warning which really blew my mind. The lines are good, and I might say some material was sleezy, cheesy, and cheap, but for the most of this movie the dialogue was steady. I had never heard anything about this movie when I first watched it, and now I consider a very good movie. I own it and plan on watching it again real soon.

Despite promise throughout, THE GATHERING is a rather weak slice of horror that proves perfectly watchable but comes across as an extended episode of MIDSOMER MURDERS more than anything else. It has that cosy TV movie feel to it, despite the odd burst of violence, and the play-it-safe script from popular author Anthony Horowitz doesn't break new ground at any point.

The story begins with an American tourist involved in a car accident where she obtains a serious head injury. Suffering amnesia, she goes to live with a household in a village, and soon grows close to a young boy in the family. However, she's plagued with violent premonitions of his death. Meanwhile, the boy's father is uncovering the mystery of a mural depicting the last days of Christ.

THE GATHERING is a sometimes-atmospheric production that occasionally brings to mind the air of spooky mystery in something like THE WICKER MAN. Unfortunately, more often than not it falls flat, thanks to weak plotting and a generally unfocused storyline. Christina Ricci feels out of place and it doesn't help that her character is one of those protagonists who doesn't actually have anything to do with the main storyline. Ioan Gruffudd is there for his looks alone, although Stephen Dillane (GAME OF THRONES) is more interesting as the father figure. The likes of Kerry Fox, Robert Hardy, and Simon Russell Beale barely get a look in during this oddly muted and non-suspenseful tale.

"The Gathering" is a film that ironically never gathers much steam. Gorgeous locations in the British Isles are wasted on a story that feels like it's building towards something, yet never arrives at anything worthwhile. The story in fact gets quite boring during the early first half of the movie. I sat through this uninteresting mess hoping for an exciting climax to make my hourlong wait all worth it, but I never got one. Instead there was the predictable "twist" ending that I was fearing. What seems like a slow beginning continues through a slow middle then gracelessly plows into a slow conclusion.

The acting ranges anywhere from adequate, to fairly well done, to student film-ish. Christina Ricci is most certainly the only actor in this film that you will have even heard of (although Ioan Gruffudd who plays her like interest in this film will soon be starring in the sure-to-be-blockbuster "Fantastic Four" film). She does well enough here, but where has she ever done any worse than well enough? She has recently been in "Monster," "Prozac Nation," and "Anything Else." Unless you are a megafan and absolutely HAVE to see everything Ricci is in, skip this one and see any of those others.

This film is a perfect example of a great concept stuck in a very sedated and mediocre film. What could have been a very engaging, thrilling, possibly cult status film, is nothing more than an hour and a half of slow pacing and uninspired events.

Filled with clichés from start to finish, this film just never catches on and becomes far to predictable. Sadly, the ideas conveyed through the film and the overall concept are not done justice by the filmmakers. The film is just not that interesting.

Ricci has seen far better days and, especially with her Indie popularity at this time, I am surprised she took this role. Ricci's almost forced acting gives the idea that she wanted off the set as soon as possible. She has done much better. As for the other actors/actresses, there is nothing remarkable or even worth noting.

Its too bad. This film could have been so much more and its sad that the concept was wasted on this film. Maybe, somewhere down the road, it will come up again in a film, but in a film that is far more engaging and intelligent. I wouldn't mind.

Yes, unfortunately most DVD releases of "The Gathering" are cut, and that slightly ruins the film. Not because a short explicit scene would make a great difference, but because plot holes were left where about 10 minutes are left out: The authenticity of two main characters, played by Ricci (Cassie) and Gruffudd (Dan) is keenly impaired, and that reduces the overall impression quite a lot. My rating counts for the original version, it would have been 6 for the short version. More info about the differences at "alternate versions" and in the message boards here.

Apart from that, this film has a really nice and intriguing story, mystery, suspense, some religious revelations, a little bit of horror and a gorgeous main actress. Worth watching... if you can get it uncut.

This movie is starting pretty slowly, (for around 5 min) before you will see Cassie (C.Ricci) that actually cling you to watch the movie.

The movie is about a girl name Cassie, losing her memories after got hit by the car and to find out some mysterious and weird things that happen around her and the family (the one that hit her) she stay with when the mysterious buried church was found.

The gathering will be explain what are they, in the movie so I don't want to spoil your mood.

Overall it is one very good movie and very much thrilling. C. Ricci look really great here and with such a pretty flawless story line this movie is recommended for the one who like to see something a little different in a horror movie.

NOTE: It contain some very disturbing image.

Rating: 7/10 (Grade: B-)

Original rubber neckers The Gathering is about a girl who knows something is wrong and can't remember why. She is struck by a car and winds up trying to protect the step son of the woman that hit her. During the film you find out that there are a group of people who watched the crucifixion of Christ just for the sake of watching and for that they are destined to walk the earth watching every tragic event in human history. The few twists at the end explain everything. A little slow, but well done for a story that could really be told in 15 minutes. (Ratings: Bad=1; Average=5; One of the best=10); Acting=08; Plot=08; Scenery=04; Character believability=06; Continuity=05; Dialog=05; Directing=07; Casting=05; Special effects=05; Overall Rating=06

after some doubt decided to check the movie. and now after i seen it i am kinda satisfied with it. it is not a super movie for sure, but it's worth your time i guess. it starts out pretty scary with the discovery of the underground crowd and the cross and all. Turns out to be a statue for the "audiance" who watched Jesus die. That part gave me the creeps. My opinion is that they should have done more with that. But instead of that the story with the boy gets more important. and that is alright but also bit boring at times. Also "The Gathering" contains some minor mistakes and stupidities. For example, at one time a woman is shot with a shotgun. Her husband finds her and the ground and wants to call an ambulance. Instead the woman screams that she is alright and that he should check out the kids. But anyhow..

This horror film deals with a church that is buried beneath the earth and it has a scene which depicts Jesus Christ being hung on a cross and their is a large crowd of people who just simply watch and do nothing to try to prevent this murder. Cassie Grant, (Christina Ricci) who is driving her car and runs into a young girl named Marion Kirkman, (Kerry Fox) and Cassie takes care of Marion who has amnesia and cannot remember just who she is. As the film progresses, Marion begins to see many people in the local town who just stare at her and she becomes very close friends with Cassie Grant's children and begins to see that these children are in grave danger from these people who just wander all around and simply just staring and watching every move that they make. There is a deep meaning to this film and it is not just an ordinary horror film but deals with a religious Bible story.

I dont know if Christina Ricci is scraping the bottom of the barrel to keep her career alive but i do know she does seem to take on a lot of bad roles.

This film is probably only known by anyone because of her presence in the movie, as it itself is a disappointment. The idea of an occursed group known as the gathering, forever locked to watch the misery of all man kind as a punishment for watching the crucifiction of Christ in 'lust', is a very good idea i feel. One that could have been the basis for a very well done, and exceptionally clever film. However what we have here is a mediocre film that uses a good idea and a known starlette to sell itself to a crowd that might be fooled into thinking that the screenplay could do the idea justice.

So yes... mildly entertaining but disappointing. I hope Christina Ricci, a peach of an actress, will take on more challenging roles in films that are actually GOOD. If you want to see a good Christina Riccif film, i suggest Prozac Nation - or better yet.... find yourself a copy of The Addams Family, and its sequel Addams Family Values.

Cassie Grant is a young American traveling on foot in England who gets hit by a car. The driver invites her to stay at her large estate with her husband, an art historian researching a recently-uncovered church nearby. Cassie's apparent amnesia gives way to disturbing visions related to the church, and a group of individuals in the village who seem to have sinister motives.

This early-2000s supernatural horror romp has been on my radar for years, but it took over a decade before I actually sat down to watch it. It feels very much like a product of its time-the early 2000s, when supernatural thrillers of this sort were very much en vogue. What's unfortunate about "The Gathering" is that it is conceptually a very intriguing film with an engaging premise. As much as it is by-the-numbers, the narrative did draw me in.

Where the film falters is its tonal inconsistencies and pacing. The cinematography is quite gorgeous, with the English locales vividly captured with atmosperhic flair, but there is a choppiness to the proceedings that give it the feel of a made-for-TV movie. I have read that it was truncated, so it is possible that there is a fuller cut of the film somewhere, but the released version feels like it has missing components that would have developed the character relationships a bit better.

Christina Ricci is solid as always, though her performance does feel floppy at times, and there is some dialogue that comes off contrived. Ioan Gruffudd plays the tall, dark & handsome stranger/quasi-love interest and is serviceable. Stephen Dillane and Kerry Fox are quite good as the husband and wife who take in the American traveler.

In the end, "The Gathering" is a mildly fun popcorn horror movie that could have been much more than it was. Whether the result of sloppy writing or sloppy editing, it feels underdeveloped, and that is its main problem. If you enjoy by-the-numbers supernatural thrillers, though, it is quite entertaining. 6/10.

as it is a fantasy movie, revealing too many secrets can be a bad thing; let's just say that the original idea is quite good but the treatment is so classic, following the usual traps of that kind of movie; a disappointment.

The Gathering has 2 elements that are familiar to us: first, the thriller element of someone who loses her memory after being hit in a car accident, and later tries to recover from amnesia, while the situation gets more and more dangerous because she doesn't know yet who she is. The second is the horror element of something ancient and evil that is unearthed after many centuries, but still alive. What makes "The Gathering" particularly interesting, however, is the third ingredient: the people who gather are not those who want to do something - they are those who wish not to do anything. The watchers of terrible events, willing audience for any murderer. This idea is put to great use here, and since everything else, from the actors to the countryside location, works fine, I don't see any reason not to enjoy this picture.

The movie starts out pretty great; the first 10 minutes are the makings of a really good movie. There's mystery, death, discovery, ancient underground stuff and amnesia ... all the ingredients of a great premise. By the end, there are twists and revelations - but it's a little slow in coming and a little botched.

There are actually two mysteries going on: one involves a mysterious group of people who just "stare" and another involves visions of death. It gets a little confusing what events in the movie pertain to which mystery - so it's a little convoluted.

While the middle is a bit slow, what I liked about the movie is the idea behind the plot. It involves a new twist on the crucifixion that I haven't heard before, so that "idea" was kind of cool. That said, the ending is done decently, but not very well - so that takes the film down a notch.

Is it worth watching the movie? Sure - if you can catch it on a movie station (like I did on HBO) and don't have to go to any additional effort. Otherwise, it's best to skip it.

I'm still trying to figure out how this movie got an award and award nominations. Screenplay is really poor and Christina Ricci's performance is really amateurish (was it really she...?!). The narrative is very promising and could have been developed into a powerful story, but instead it is watered down to a circus. Clearly, the director was not very much involved.