Sam Was Here (2016) Reviews

• « Sam was here », but where was the script?

  fobisaxa2017-04-13

  First you are attracted by the poster, the teaser and then come reality : the movie. It's a shame cause at first i was really impressed by the look of the picture (seems to be a first feature film), but hey what is the story about? What is the point? I'm not against unexplained ending, i got to say i like that, but not when it tends to absurdity and let me alone with no point, it didn't catch on ! sounds like a rip off unfortunately. The pretentious opening credits scene of almost 10 min (Yes 10 min ! before the title) let you think you will get involved in a long and dark thriller but in the end it leads us to : Nothing. Slow and steady win the race. RUSTY JOINER is pretty charismatic but fights against a series of American horror clichés (Cops, doll, grand ma…) and suffers a series of random events. The synth soundtrack sounds huge and is made of the same DNA of Carpenter's score but again sometimes it fells you are watching a video clip tribute of the master. Is it a copy or a homage? I know Nemesis seems to be a low-budget film but in the end, it's once again a direct to VOD Carpenter like B movie, but without real talent and innovation. A flashy CinemaScope picture (ready for the cinematographer's show reel) is not enough to build strong characters and a story. Give me my money back.

• Cool concept, But......

  tatummadonis2017-04-13

  I loved the theme and isolated atmosphere of this movie, It reminded me of those amazing psychological horror video games such as Silent Hill. Sam seemed like a relatable, every man character....until I saw his massive biceps? The plot seemed interesting and certainly gripping enough to pull you in throughout, leaving you to question whether Sam did or didn't he? My Question is, What was up with the writhing, naked bald guy with the headphones??? The red light in the sky gave me UFO, supernatural vibes but also a bit of Truman Show flash backs, as if this town was being watched by someone operating the red light above. Also, why was everyone wearing masks??? I have so many questions! The ending left me feeling as empty as that ghost town. Is there a possible sequel or are we just going to have to accept the fact that we wont be sleeping at night, not from any jump scares in the movie, but from never finding out the truth about Sam.

• An Ingenious Masterpiece

  probinsyanangbaduy2017-06-16

  It is quite sad to read the reviews of this beautiful movie. I understand this movie in a different way. This movie is completely psychological and if you believe what you see in the beginning then maybe that's the reason why you feel lost. Sam is almost always on the phone calling Rita but she never answered until such time the voicemail's full . She can't answer because she's dead. Then he kept hearing this only radio show that focuses on the disappearance of Little Cindy and they later found out that it is somehow connected to a murderer on the road. Rebecca Saxton, was the old woman who first called the radio.I believe she is the sister of Larry Braden who's body was found in a gas station restroom strangled to death which Sam saw on the newspaper later. Sam killed her nephews, he showed violence and pushed the old woman down bathing herself in a boiling water. Sam has this big teddy bear which probably is his gift to his daughter's birthday. But he never mentioned her name. I believe that the little shy girl according to Eddy that was on the radio named Sofia who had a pet cat is her. What are they all doing on the radio and talking over and over about Sam. Then these letters from Eddy telling these certain people a warning about Sam and the letters left on the mailbox which obviously had Eddy's World logo. Actually all the owners of those letters are dead. All those people talking on the radio are dead, his daughter is dead, in fact there is no radio station as well or a radio show.Those are all memories that's consuming him. Sam, indeed is a killer. He killed his wife and daughter, ending up in that place where he kidnapped and killed Cindy and those who tried to find her and the officer as well but inside Sam he believes he is innocent that is why he is running away. That is why those people are wearing masks which was somehow shows a resemblance of Eddy. Sam and his false memories are giving him the justification that he should kill them because they're all trying to harm him and he believes he is innocent. What is the red light? That is part of his memory as well. I think the film tried to show what the red light was. Go back to the scene where Sam ends up in the room, somebody called him which obviously sounds like a little girl dying and slowly losing her breath and then he went to the bathroom. He washed his face and as he was looking through the mirror he saw a hole on the wall. He watched over there and saw a doll facing his direction which obviously was the dirty doll he first saw on the store, lying in the bed and while he is watching ,the scene slowly fades away until that red light appears. What does it mean? Now, imagine Sam lying on that same bed or watching the girl suffered from that hole in the wall,listening to her voice and struggle while he is enjoying himself,satisfying himself ,bursting into that kind of happiness only the pedophiles understand,reaching climax. Sam slowly heard the girl gasping her last breath and slowly closed his eyes as the girl stops breathing, until the last thing he can see as he is slowly closing his eyes is the red light in that room. Why does Sam always see the red light, it is because that red light signifies consciousness, in fact that light is Sam's saving grace if he remembers what it represents it could have prevented him from losing grip of his sanity. If Sam remembers what that red light means he can remember what he did to this girl and to his family and to these other victims and could have surrendered. But Sam never remembers, he just always watched the red light, wondering. Until Sam was killed by those people and he's gone and the last thing we saw was the housekeeper with the bear which he used to lure kids. Now when everything doesn't make sense, this is where the radio show/radio station.. EDDY'S WORLD makes sense. The callers on the radio station and their testimonies and the old woman played the most important roles in finding the truth about this movie. Go back to when the old woman was yelling for help and Sam came, she called him a pedophile scum, words that appeared on his pager and that he enjoys watching little girls suffer and he asked her where is Eddy, the woman answered INSIDE. Sam saw the motel sign where Eddy knows what happened was written. The title of this movie is Nemesis which refers to an enemy that is very difficult to defeat. Who? It is yourself. Sam is obviously a sick man, injecting himself, running ,and those voices he keeps hearing are not from the radio station but those are actual voices he keeps hearing, nobody is chasing him ,nobody is calling him ,all those callers are related to his crimes, nobody came to kill him and pour acid on him. Sam's enemy is himself, his mind. Why does he believes he is innocent is because he is suffering from split personality. Sam is not dead, Sam was there and now he is gone, he is completely gone. This movie shows how a monster is born. You are literally in Eddy's World and how he gets rid of the weak Sam. "Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes ,they win" Yes, Eddy won.. A pedophile, A murderer ,A beast.

• Not your typical horror movie

  elsa-629732017-06-28

  I saw the bad ratings on IMDb before watching the movie and it made me kind of sad 'cause I was really impatient to watch this movie since it came out in film festivals, so I started watching this movie preparing myself to be disappointed. I wasn't. I really loved it, the major complain people have about this movie is that nothing is explained, so yeah of course this movie doesn't tell you what you're supposed to understand or see but encourages you to interpret and solve the "mystery" yourself; which is something I love in horror movies. Spoilers: Here's what I understood (to read if you didn't get the movie at all): Sam really is the murderer, he killed his family; but he doesn't admit it and is in denial. A clue for this is the notes he leaves everywhere "sam was here", which are really ominous and not something someone asking for help would do but more of a note a serial killer would leave. Later in the movie we learn someone in the motel died, which is the person we see hiding in the bathroom on the surveillance camera in the beginning, Sam also killed that guy. Then for the "Eddy" character, I'm not 100% sure if he is Sam's conscience or some kind of supernatural "Judge" type figure, I guess it kind of depends if you wanna keep the movie realistic or not. Same with the red light in the sky, it could either be just Sam's hallucination or an ominous judgment symbol. For the ending, the people in town did justice themselves by killing Sam. To conclude, despite the bad ratings, I think Sam was here is a great horror movie, but maybe not for everyone.

• Potential potential potential, don't waste your time unless you like zero ending.

  justind-52017-04-09

  I really love these types of movies, the stranded in the desert with creepy inbred locals type of affair. Main guy, really enjoyed his acting, played the part excellently. Scenery was on par for the course, spooky desolate wastelands in the middle of no where. Soundtrack was adequate and felt pretty decent for the tone of the movie. What lets this movie down is the feeling you have at the end of the movie when you don't know what happened and why they killed Sam at the end, and pretty gruesomely as well poring acid over him, you can't see it but what a way to go. So overall I was deeply frustrated and let down by the end of this movie, it had so much potential, they just needed to fill in the gaps at the end of the movie. It's a real shame there's no comment section on here anymore as that's where I would always head if I was wanting to know some suggestions as to what might have happened at the end of the movie!