All right, it's not a masterpiece. And if you're used to Hollywood super-productions, with incredible special effects, The Veil can only be a disappointment.But there is more than this, another kind of cinema exists: there's people who, with infinitely more limited means, try to build a story. And this the point where The Veil becomes interesting. We don't find super-explosions and hipertechnological monsters came out from a computer graphic processor: all we got are people in flesh and blood and a story.Is the plot slightly confused? Yes, it's true. Can any of these actors be nominated for an Oscar, today or in the future? Absolutely not. Is there a poverty that most often leaves you astonished? Very true.It would be simple under these conditions to bet everything on special effects, more some free sex and violence scenes. Instead, the director has chosen the hardest path: making a real film, in a true ambient, with sensible dialogues, and a story that, if not original, at least is tangible. Instead of another miserable SyFy's style production, here's a movie. Even with all its flaws (and there are many), I think the intention must be rewarded.

I've reviewed many films here and there is always a mix between the great and the awful and everything in between. This movie however is at the low end of the awful. First - gosh is it slow. The actions scenes (fights) do nothing to speed it up because they're poor, you don't know nor care for the characters, and it looks like something filmed in the 70s with a very low budget (Let's get some friends and fancy dress armour and go to the desert and see if we can film a fight scene bad).Second - boring. Yep, it goes and goes and goes and goes no where you ever care about, and it really takes its time getting there. I'm sure movies like this are useful for young directors, cast, crew to cut their teeth on, but this isn't a film you'd want on your resume unless you're resume was really really empty.

Ridiculous story and possibly the worst acting I've ever seen. I've seen kids on the playground stage more realistic fight scenes, and there is nothing of substance to the movie other than fight scenes. This isn't one of those movies that are so bad they have a train wreck kind of appeal ... this one is simply unwatchable.

Alternate logline: Once upon a time, two films got together to have a child. Melancholia the mother; Conan the Barbarian the father. Unfortunately, the film they birthed was dropped on it's head during delivery and is now known as The Veil.Many of the other reviews handled some of the finer details of the film's shortcomings with more precision, but the story is a mess, it's overreaching and underachieving, the stakes seem lacking. One small example that's not a spoiler because it's so early in the film: We're expected to believe this is an alien planet, (or possibly an alternate Earth) but there are no aliens, only a shot in the sky for VFX to support such a thing. There are no likable characters or performances (aside from the old man at the end) and not any humor to speak of other than some painfully long pauses in the middle of fight choreography here and there. As a couple of pros for the movie: The film's makeup and wardrobes were great. The scenery is fine. It's shot decently. TLDR; The writing was horrible. It doesn't go anywhere. Watch Conan or Melancholia instead.