John Carpenter's "The Ward" is his best film in years.

[66Crush]

I'm huge John Carpenter fan. He has made three of my all time favorite movies, "Halloween," "The Thing," and "They Live." However, I have been disappointed with his output in the last dozen years or so. "Vampires" and "Ghost of Mars" just didn't do it for me. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with his direct to DVD release "The Ward." I thought the steady pace and creepy atmosphere were reminiscent to the original "Halloween." Amber Heard is great in the film, a better actress than she has yet to receive credit for. However, when I read the reviews on Netfix, I was disappointed to see so many people completely missing the point of this film. It just made me come to the conclusion that the CGI and super fast editing techniques of today's films have simply helped dumb down the audience. People have no patience or attention span for a well written movie. Most people honestly wouldn't know a good film if it bit them on the ass! One moron had the nerve to say if a movie is released directly to DVD it must not be any good. Well, let's see, "Transformers" had a theatrical release, so by that logic it must be a masterpiece for all time. Another criticism I read was that the idea isn't a terribly original one, which it isn't, but what film is? But I just can't help but think this movie would have been a big hit twenty years ago, and would be today if our society had more patience.

[Newt]

It just made me come to the conclusion that the CGI and super fast editing techniques of today's films have simply helped dumb down the audience. People have no patience or attention span for a well written movie. Most people honestly wouldn't know a good film if it bit them on the ass! ... I just can't help but think this movie would have been a big hit twenty years ago, and would be today if our society had more patience.

Karma for this.  It applies to more than just movies, unfortunately.

[Vik]

I love John Carpenter but I didn't like this too much. I gave it a 2/5 in my review.

[The Burgomaster]

I plan to see it simply because it's a John carpenter movie (although, he certainly lost most of his mojo many years ago).  It generally got poor reviews and disappeared quickly from the few theaters in my area that showed it.  It only got a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes (27% from audiences).  My favorite comment from a critic on that site is, "If loud noises that turn out to be nothing are your bag, then you'll love John Carpenter's horror movie 'The Ward.'"  But it's carpenter, so I'll watch it.

[The Burgomaster]

Actually, it may be his best film in years . . . because it's his ONLY film in years!   

[Neville]

I am a big Carpenter fan, but I was inmensely disappointed by this one. Yes, it's OK... but only when you compare it to the drivel these days goes direct-to-DVD, specially horror. Certainly, his work is not embarrasing, his sedate pacing and attempts to build an atmosphere are a stark contrast in style with other directors and he manages to make the most of the script. But here's the problem: the script is just awful. Just a poorly written Shymalan-wannabe plot that would have looked original 10, 15 years ago, but now just feels amateurish.

[66Crush]

I guess I'm just getting into the atmospheric style of old horror movies (I seem to get this way around Halloween). Another movie in this vein, that I like is the remake of "And So The Darkness." Both movies, oddly enough, star Amber Heard. (I guess she's a fan of these kinds of films) This one has a slow build up, and relies on suspense rather than gore. I've seen so many bad remakes, that when a good one comes along I'm elated. Also when I see a well done original flick like "The Ward" by a familiar name like Carpenter, it helps me to forget about most of the dribble that passes for movies these days.

[tahrgat]

Yeah, the last really good film I saw from John was Cigerette Burns.