Obscure films are often obscure for a good reason, even if they're part of the repertoire of highly acclaimed and Award-winning directors, or in case it meant the debut of famous and respected actors. "The Visitors" is such an example of a peculiarly obscure film in spite of the great names involved. It was directed by Elia Kazan, who won 2 Oscars and even an Honorary Award, and it was the first major film role for both James Woods and Steve Railsbeck. These names alone should have provided the film with a tremendous classic status and cult reputation, but instead it's a totally unknown effort that never ever gets mentioned when people are discussing the highlights of either Kazan or Woods. Is it because it's such a bitter and emotionless drama that deals with the darker side of war veteran heroes? Perhaps… Is it because it's such a slow, dull and eventually unrewarding movie experience? More likely… "The Visitors" probably ranks in the top 5 slowest-paced films I've ever seen and the story keeps building up towards a devastating climax that actually never comes. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a movie in which absolutely nothing happens while, at the same time, it offers so much potential for exciting and suspenseful things to happen! If it weren't the names that convinced me to watch "The Visitors" already, then the brief plot description certainly would have: Vietnam veteran Bill Schmidt lives a quite life in the countryside, along with his wife and their baby. One morning, two of Bill's army buddies show up at their doorstep and invite themselves in. This isn't friendly visit, however, as Tony and Mike were just recently released from prison where they served a sentence for raping and murdering an innocent girl during their Tour of Duty. Bill testified against them in court, but now in his own house, he will have to protect his family and himself. How brilliant does that description sound? The film could have been a forerunner of the popular trend of home-invasion movies (like "Last House on the Left" or "House at the Edge of the Park") or it could have been a raw and powerful post-Vietnam revenge thriller (like "The Exterminator", "The Farmer" or "Rolling Thunder"). Especially the latter examples successfully managed to combine dazzling character studies and genuine human drama with harsh and relentless action footage but, sadly enough, Elia Kazan and his scriptwriter son Chris solely opted for character study. And then it still isn't very successful, I must add. The only sequence in the entire movie that more or less qualifies as eventful is a downright disgusting one and depicts – in detail – the massacre of a dog. That whole sequence looked disturbingly realistic, if you ask me. The rest of the story is simply people sitting at tables and staring at each other without saying much. The scenario also takes a few bizarre and illogical twists, like Bill's father-in-law socializing with two suspicious figures he never met and that obviously for a menace to his daughter and grandson. The filming locations and snowy landscapes are astounding and the soundtrack features a couple of nice classical music moments, but that's hardly worth a recommendation.

Two old army 'friends' arrive at the home of a young couple. The husband (James Woods--in his first film) doesn't seem happy to see them. Later, you SLOWLY find out why--he testified against them in a trial during the Vietnam War, as the two had participated in a rape and murder of an innocent woman. Normally, you'd think that he'd throw them out or call the police...but he doesn't.If I didn't see on IMDb and in the film's credits, I would have no idea that this movie was directed by the great Elia Kazan (of "On the Waterfront" fame). That's because the film looks so amateurish in many ways--with blurry and sloppy cinematography. It also only has fair acting--as if the folks really were all rookies (which, in fact, they were). How far had the career of Kazan fallen that he ended up doing a film like this?! And, in my summary I mentioned eracehead's review--and I think they summed it up nicely when they mentioned the amateurish look and the fact that it took so darned long for the film to get moving. All in all, most of the emotional impact was lost by the time the big rape scene (which was VERY telegraphed--such as showing the woman topless while dressing early in the film and the fact that the men had been involved in the prior rape) occurred. I mention the rape scene, as I know many viewers DON'T want to see this sort of thing (too many memories for many victims, for example). All in all, an interesting idea that simply wasn't handled well.

A couple spend a quiet day at home, until the husband's 2 Vietnam "pals" come to visit. I saw this for two reasons. First of all, I feel Kazan was a great director and ,secondly, i adore James Woods.This is a very moody film that paints the world very bleak and creepy. It does draw you into it, the way you wait for the inevitable something to happen. the ending just didn't jibe for me. Did she want what happened? It seemed that way a little bit. Also it ends too abruptly.My Grade:CWhere I saw it: showtime extremeEye Candy:Patricia Joyce topless briefly

I recently saw this obscure film on cable and was not ready for the disturbance it set in me afterwards. It is a basic retelling of many story's we've seen before, (old army buddies come back after the war to seek redemption on the friend that did them wrong) but it was a bit of a stand out in the it has a very unexpected, shocking ending. It explores the violence and the tension of the situation well, moving slowly and methodically, which works for a while but then falls short, as you have to say "enough all ready" and get on with it.Decent performance by a young James Woods and also by Steve Railsback in his first film (who later goes on to star if the cult classic "Life Force". All and all, if you can get past the amateurish production value, an OK exploration of violence and invasion that just takes forever to get going. If you liked Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (though I particularly didn't) I would recommend this film.