I found this a very interesting movie. you feel sorry for mason but at times you wish he would be stronger and not so weasily. amber tamblin is adorable and very good.i was hoping for a different ending though. all in all it was a good movie and keeps you enthralled.i didn't realize it was filmed in Oregon as I live there but now all the rain makes sense.if you're looking for a tense tight thriller, this is it.

Mason is very shy. He isn't very comfortable with approaching others, though you can tell(from Moore's spot-on performance, that emphasizes that he doesn't know how to be around people, he isn't intentionally messing up; the nervousness and loneliness really come through... his talent was wasted in Avatar) that he does want to get into contact with others. His only real friend is Berkeley, who he's known since high school, who got him a job telemarketing, and who, while not a saint(no one is), does what he can to help him. Then one day, a girl sits next to our lead. Amber. She realizes that he paints(only people), and it isn't long before she begins posing for him, and a relationship develops between them. Not all is well, though. Are those nightmares he keeps having... or memories? This isn't for everyone. It's an indie flick, and when I say that it's a psychological thriller, I really mean that... don't expect chases, fights, or a fast pace. This is about the portrait(pun intended) of a recluse(not to be confused with "someone's idea of what everyone who doesn't have an active social life is like"), the gripping story, and the people within it. There is such humanity to our three main characters(and frankly everyone else in this). Not everyone will like or love them... however, you can't help but respond to them. They're as close as they come to being as real as if they actually were. Tamblyn has you falling head over heels in love with her, and not in that "wow, why isn't my girlfriend this perfect" kind of way, no, she has personality, and she really shines through as a real human being; she's very sweet, chatty and just plain fun, and in spite of the fact that you might not always get along with her, you have this feeling that she'll never be boring. Around the middle point, she cries, and I very nearly did the same(and I am extremely reserved, especially in that regard), out of sympathy for her. She is very underrated. All of the acting in this ranges from good to great. The humor is fitting, and comes off as natural. This takes a low-key, smart concept and goes for an appropriate execution, not throwing big-budget tricks in our faces to keep our attention. The editing and cinematography are amazing, and the lighting is excellent. They build the mood well. Subtlety is the name of the game here. Early on, the dreams do feel like they're rudely interrupting a drama, and the marriage of the genres isn't entirely without, shall we say, gentle nagging. With that said, this is well worth your time(if this appeals to you), and I implore you, make sure you catch the conclusion. It's impeccable. This is open-ended, providing food for thought and asking vital questions instead of providing answers. The music is well-chosen. I haven't watched Hatchet, also by Adam Green... I think I will, if I find it(not that I expect it to be like this). There is a bit of disturbing content, some partial female nudity and a little violence and moderate to strong language in this. The DVD comes with a trailer for this(that contains spoilers, save it until after) and a couple of other movies. I recommend this to anyone who likes the sound of what I describe here. 7/10

The asthmatic aspirant painter Mason (Joel David Moore) is a lonely and outcast employee of the JZD & J Insurance that is haunted by dreadful nightmares of women. His supervisor and only friend Berkeley (Zachary Levi) tries to approach to him but Mason remains reclusive and alone. He is befriended in the lunchtime by the new employee Amber (Amber Tamblyn) and a couple of days later they date and Mason begins to paint her. On the Christmas Eve, they make love and on the next morning, Amber finds his blocks of identical drafts of different women in his drawer. When Mason discovers that Amber has broken his rule that she could never see his sketch before the painting is ready, he has a violent argument with her. On the next morning, Mason comes to the company and tells Berkeley that he killed his girlfriend, and Berkeley discloses and finds secrets about his strange friend."Spiral" is a low-budget movie supported by a great screenplay with surprising twists; excellent direction of Adam Green and Joel Moore; and magnificent performances of Joel David Moore, Amber Tamblyn and Zachary Levi. The weird character Mason slightly recalls the deranged May, but the plot is ambiguous in "Spiral": I understand that Mason killed all the girls that Berkeley believed were imaginary but it is never clear whether Amber was his first actual victim and the others fruit of his damaged mind or all of them were real. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Círculo do Pânico" ("Circle of the Panic")

OK, we got JP from Grandma's Boy and Chuck from, well Chuck. I thought this movie would be quite good based on the reviews, and it did start out pretty high on my movie scale, but about halfway through it was just dragging out for so long I kept losing interest. I actually got so bored, probably because you can see right away what's going to happen in the end; the story is actually quite thread-bare, I skipped over 15 minutes and didn't miss a thing! This film should have been a short work, maybe around 45 minutes to an hour max. It starts out good and finishes good, too bad the filling is bland, boring, dull, and lacks everything but time. Some people say they like it for the music; I don't care for jazz and I don't go see movies for their score, I go for the story and when that's drawn out... well, ratings drop in my book.Bottom Line: Good open, great close, boring filler. Story was cool, but if you don't know what's going to happen a quarter of the way through, you haven't seen too many thrillers.