Troubled Sarah Hope (a fine performance by Lily Rabe) is the sole survivor of a mass suicide committed by a religious cult headed by the crazed, but charismatic Jim Jacobs (an amazing and electrifying live-wire portrayal by Thomas Jane, who channels the spirit of both Jim Jones and Jim Morrison). Sarah is convinced by a team of documentary filmmakers to return to the place where the tragedy occurred back in the mid-1980's only to discover that those terrible past events aren't exactly over yet. Director Phil Joanou relates the absorbing story at a constant pace, makes the most out of the spooky fog-shrouded forest main location, and ably crafts an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Robert Ben Grant's grim script puts a novel and inspired supernatural twist on the religious cult premise as well as remains fiercely true to itself to the literal bitter end. While Rabe and especially Jane cop the top acting honors, Jessica Alba contributes a solid turn as eager and obsessive reporter Maggie Price, Aleksa Palladino impresses as loyal follower Karen Sweetzer, and Shannon Woodward registers well as the sassy and sensible Jill. Steeven Petitteville's bleached-out widescreen cinematography provides an appropriately gloomy and grayish look. Nathan Whitehead's shivery score hits the shuddery spot. A worthwhile horror film.

This is one that slipped by me.The reviews seemed mediocre to average on IMDb which generally among horror ratings means it may be decent. I avoided spoilers on this one since there seemed to be a mystery of sorts involved. This is a decent supernatural horror movie. I've seen a couple movies based on Jim Jones type suicide cults, its been done before and as good as some have been, seeing more of the same generally doesn't interest me. This was something completely different though more akin to H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep" or the movie "Skeleton Key" which I won't go into detail about but I'd recommend for similar reasons. Needless to say, I enjoyed it. It's not stellar but it's good and well done.

Take a deep breath, surprisingly this is NOT a found footage movie. With that said, I almost wish that it was. What it is, instead, is a combination of found footage elements and traditional narrative film making. Here's the problem: the two do not mix well, and create a bit of a mess. I understand the desire to combine the two, but it just doesn't work, and you get a movie like The Veil.Perhaps the most bizarre part of the movie are the writer and director. Phil Joanou helmed the piece, and this is the man responsible for that Punisher short that everyone liked, the Dwanye Johnson vehicle Gridiron Gang, and 3 U2 documentaries, while the script was penned by Robert Ben Garant, who wrote Hell Baby, and A Night At The Museum 2 when he wasn't starring in Reno 911. These forces came together to make an ultimately bland mess of a horror film.The movie stars Jessica Alba (Sin City), Thomas Jane (The Punisher), and Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) along with a lovable cast of dead-meat characters, as they head to the site of what is basically Jonestown (without calling it Jonestown). Once they are here, a weird mixture of horror clichés, jump scares, and lazy tropes lead to their deaths. Spoiler alert, I guess. The performances are fine, everyone brings about as much as they can to this particular script, but all in all the "star power" on show here isn't enough to save it.The main story, of Alba and her team headed back to the site of the massacre, is edited to be dark, high contrast, however the rest of the film isn't edited to match that. At one point, when looking at photos taken of their campsite, the photos are clearly of the real environment and they clash massively with the look of the film. I understand stylistic choices of editing, and wouldn't even begrudge them that if it all matched up. However, they different parts of the film clash so much that it almost feels like two movies crammed together, cobbled together with fair-ground haunted house level scares.The scary moments have no cohesion, they simply exist to give you a jolt and to make you feel like this movie is scary, which it really isn't. The movie also includes a lot of "watching the tapes we found in the spooky house", and those really don't worth either. It seems like The Veil can't decide what movie it wants to be, and that really hurts it more than anything else.All in all this really doesn't work. The story is a mess and flies all over the place, and it feels more like a "Yeah whatever, bro, let's make a scary movie. People will eat up any old s**t in that genre", than anything else. I really hope 2016 picks up from here, but it's hard to feel too optimistic.

Don't listen to the naysayers who think the only decent movie is a top-notch blockbuster world-wide smash hit.Don't listen to those who say this isn't a "real horror/suspense movie." Some think real horror must be gobs of guts and blood. Some think it must keep you constantly on the edge of your seat while tearing up the armrests with your fingernails.Nay nay I say. There is room for everything as long as it is done entertainingly.This movie has a gripping story contrary to most horror flicks which simply flash panties while young girls run from monsters with stories that someone was abandoned, unloved, or otherwise wounded by society and now spends their deformed adulthood splicing up people (or it's a monster from an urban legend). Same stories, different colors of underwear.Well, let me remove the nails from this cross and help you transcend to a new adventure beyond the veil of horror.Lean back with your popcorn and soda, enjoy the story and mild supernatural mystery. You won't find fingernail tears in your armrests but you will enjoy watching the story unfold even if you don't get to see those gratuity flashes.Watch it with friends and you may even find yourself discussing the possibilities of the spiritual theories posited within. Just for fun, of course.