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      The Ugly

      R 1997 1h 33m Horror List
      40% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 69% Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings Respected psychologist Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs) travels to a New Zealand mental hospital to evaluate serial killer Simon Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo). The patient's debilitated mental condition has so far prevented him from standing trial for his crimes. But Schumaker's attempts to get through to Simon soon turn into something more sinister as the pretty young doctor comes face to face with the homicidal creature haunting Simon's soul, who is known as "The Ugly." Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 15, 2005 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 3/5 Jun 5, 2003 Full Review Maitland McDonagh Film Journal International There's fun to be had for horror junkies, but others may want to wait for Reynolds' next picture. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Harvey S. Karten Compuserve Rated: 8/10 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Brian Webster Apollo Guide Rated: 67/100 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member By New Zealand's standard, this is a pretty decent film, but in reality, this is nothing but a failed attempt of mimicking X Files. The film was extremely confusing, nothing made any sense at all, the characters were all unconvincing, I don't understand anything that goes on in the film, I was pretty bored 30 minutes in. An NC-17 rating? Are you kidding me? There was not a single boob or decent gore, how can this get a NC-17 rating? Extremely disappointed to say the least. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Riveting. I thought this movie was going to be another stupid horror flick but instead it drew me in. It's kinda weird. I did like it tho. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member One of New Zealand's few Horror exports proved to be one of the best genre films to be received in 1997: THE UGLY. Scott Reynolds' chilling psychological thriller shares much of the same power and intensity as the similarly-themed THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and OPEN YOUR EYES, with added elements of ghastly horror. Serial killer Simon Cartwright is interviewed by a beautiful young psychologist at his own bequest, hoping to receive a reevaluation of his mental health that will help to set him free. Dr. Shumaker pushes Simon to reveal the motivation behind his patternless killing spree, but the deeper she probes, the closer she gets to the shocking truth! Simon Cartwright is an excellent addition to the long line of screen killers. Smart. Calculative. But highly sympathetic. Paolo Rotondo brings out each of these qualities smashingly, and manages to earn the viewer's trust despite his murderous past. Even throughout Simon's reconstructed memories, we are always left guessing as to which of the events have actually occurred, and which have been manipulated to suit his own sinister purposes. "The Visitors" and "The Ugly" may only be cunning tools used in his defense, but Reynolds is sure to leave this ambiguity up to the audience to decide. Along with the director's elegant interlacing of past and present events, Victoria Kelly builds upon the suspense with her elevating score. This mixture of psychological terror and outright horror will be perfectly suited for most Horror fans. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Authentically original and twisted little gem--A dark dream of a B-Movie!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Stylistically surreal, generally bizarre, yet strangely compelling. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member New Zealand shocker that kept me glued to the screen the entire time right up until its unsurprising and unimpressive ending. And then there's the black blood. Was that an aesthetic choice? Whatever the reason, it was annoying and distracting. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Ugly

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Respected psychologist Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs) travels to a New Zealand mental hospital to evaluate serial killer Simon Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo). The patient's debilitated mental condition has so far prevented him from standing trial for his crimes. But Schumaker's attempts to get through to Simon soon turn into something more sinister as the pretty young doctor comes face to face with the homicidal creature haunting Simon's soul, who is known as "The Ugly."
      Director
      Scott Reynolds
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Horror
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      May 1, 2008
      Runtime
      1h 33m
      Sound Mix
      Surround