Product Details

• Actors: Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, Stephen McHattie, William B. Davis, Samantha Ferris
• Directors: Pascal Laugier
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2012
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00887490Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,435 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace – abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as "The Tall Man." Town nurse Julia Denning (Jessica Biel, Total Recall, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) seems skeptical...until her young David disappears in the middle of night. Frantic to rescue the boy, Julia lives every parent's darkest nightmare in this twisting, shock-around-each-corner thriller from acclaimed director Pascal Laugier (Martyrs).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 43 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Masks And A Movie August 19, 2012

By Mark Eremite VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

THE TALL MAN is a social morality play disguised as a thriller disguised as a horror. It takes place in Cold Rock, a Washington mining town that has been devastated by the economy. Most of the citizens are dysfunctional hicks and rednecks who seem content to scrabble among the woods, getting drunk, fighting, or just rocking in front of the diner and watching it all waste away. Everyone, that is, except for Julia (Jessica Biel), the widowed nurse/wife of the town's only doctor ("He held this community together," more than one persons says). She is beautiful, poised, and has the determination and grit of a Terminator-era Linda Hamilton as she saves the lives of illegitimate babies in her ramshackle clinic (which used to be a school), or confronts abusive molesters in their trash-strewn front lawns.

Big problem with the town: kids are disappearing. No one knows how, but the kidnappings happen so rapidly -- sometimes in broad daylight -- that people have invested the events with a supernatural fear, believing they are done by a shadowy figure that they call The Tall Man. When Julia's own son, David, is kidnapped by the figure, she goes on a relentless pursuit for the child. What follows is a tense and also baffling series of events as the movie yanks one rug after another out from beneath its unsuspecting audience. The movie, in other words, isn't about what you think it's about.

It certainly keeps you on your toes. Even seasoned viewers who are good at figuring most movies out will probably need two or three guesses to put their finger on the secret of The Tall Man. In this sense, it keeps the film from feeling stale or too melodramatic, and the story's air of mystery lasts until the final moments.... The end result isn't quite as amazing or deep as the preceding events wish it was, but it does offer the audience a sticky philosophical question that may or may not prompt discussion. This question might have been more tantalizing if the film had given us more exposition -- shown us more of the town and its families, both before and after the abductions, as well as given us a clearer sense of Julia's character -- but so much energy is expended on the thrilling start to Act Two, as well as on keeping the audience guessing, that by the time all is revealed, it is done so with an exhausted, nearly half-hearted sigh. In fact -- nearly unforgivably -- the movie delivers its final moralistic question mark directly to the audience three times in a row. The last shot may as well have been a screen shot with the words "DISCUSS" written on it.

It's not done poorly, but the movie doesn't parcel out every answer that it should. It's worth a watch if you're sick of the traditional thriller formula. Read more ›

54 of 73 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, Exasperating Waste of Time September 2, 2012

By J. Manzella

Format:DVD

I do not normally leave reviews but I felt the need to warn people away from this movie because it is truly awful. Jessica Biel must have owed someone associated with this movie a big favor. I have no other explanation as to why she would have agreed to do this film.

She spends most of her time simply staring, dazed, into the eyes of various people, saying nothing. The viewer knows she is the only person who has any idea what's happening and the writer and director perform the most infuriating acrobatics to ensure she reveals nothing.

You wait and wait... and wait for the reveal - and nothing ever happens.

This is most assuredly not a horror movie and it's only a thriller if you're thrilled by 90 minutes of an exaggeratedly coy demeanor and excessively obtuse behavior.

The manner in which this movie slowly culminates into some bizarre socio-political statement is akin to watching a very old man walk up a long flight of stairs, occasionally fishing in his pockets along the way and each time coming out with nothing.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling, entertaining, and scary! November 6, 2012

By Paige Ragsdale

Format:Amazon Instant Video

Okay, this movie wants you to believe that it is a horror movie. The setting is gloomy and drab, set in a coal mining town hit hard by economic hard times....

Honestly, while I sit here watching the 2012 Presidential election, I realize it is a movie that millions of Americans can relate to today. In addition, as a high school counselor, a lot of discussion could be had after watching this movie.....

Remember, I absolutely LOVE movies that make me scream.... keep me on the edge of my seat..... and keep me totally engaged while I'm trying to figure out what is actually going on, without being subjected to Scream-esque bludgeoning with squirting fake blood! This movie does just that.

The Tall Man is a movie with a lesson... one that we have discussed over lunch at school.

I recommend this movie.... it will leave you satisfied at the end.....

Let me know what you think after you watch it! That's all I'm going to say so that I do NOT give too much away.... Enjoy!!

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Monsters come in many sizes and shapes - and the worst ones are those with a heart... September 27, 2012

By Maciej TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

This very good film shocked me as few others did since "Seven", surprised me as few others did since the "Usual suspects" and in a couple of scenes also scared me (although ultimately it was not half as scary as I expected).

The story happens in Cold Rock, a little half-abandoned town in the state of Washington, where for the last couple of years somebody or SOMETHING abducted seventeen little children, babies or toddlers. There never was a viable suspect and no bodies were ever found. Terrified local residents nick named the person or THING behind those appearances "The Tall Man". A local nurse, Julia Dening, will finally become extremely concerned by the question "Who, or WHAT, is The Tall Man". A mute young girl, Jenny (Jodelle Ferland), who is the only one to really have seen "The Tall Man" with her own eyes, holds maybe some clues to solve the riddle...

This is a very clever, very surprising thriller which manages to preserve the suspense for a very long time. I managed to understand what is going on a little bit earlier than it was openly revealed, but still, it was only 10 minutes before the end...

Actors are doing great. Jessica Biel is here excellent and as always extremely beautiful. Joelle Ferland proves once again her great talent - she will be a great star one day! William B. Davis, the "Smoking Man" from X-Files, plays the role of the local old and slightly hapless sheriff - or is he really so hapless? Stephen McHattie, a Canadian veteran actor, does a great job as a tenacious detective, Lieutenant Dodd (he is mostly known from second roles, but his threatening face is rather unforgettable...). Last but not least, there is Colleen Wheeler, who plays Ms.... Johnson, a local crazy woman - Ms Johnson is a secondary but important character and Colleen Wheeler played her perfectly.

I would advise to NOT read more detailed reviews or even watch the trailers, so you can go see this film like I did, without knowing anything else other than what we can guess from the poster at the cinema entry. The surprises are important and the director did all he could to give us lots of false clues to prevent the secret of being found too early.

Now, if what you need is a classical horror, here you risk to be a little bit disappointed, because this film is... well, something different. As father of little children myself I must say that I was quite troubled by the whole story and GREATLY shocked and upset by the solution. But I am not giving any more clues. Enjoy the film and decide yourself what you think of it. Read more ›