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The Shack

Play trailer 1:00 Poster for The Shack PG-13 Released Mar 3, 2017 2h 12m Drama Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
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20% Tomatometer 71 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
After suffering a family tragedy, Mack Phillips spirals into a deep depression that causes him to question his innermost beliefs. Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to an abandoned shack in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack journeys to the shack and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers led by a woman named Papa. Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of his tragedy and change his life forever.
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The Shack

The Shack

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Critics Consensus

The Shack's undeniably worthy message is ill-served by a script that confuses spiritual uplift with melodramatic clichés and heavy-handed sermonizing.

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Critics Reviews

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Tara Brady Irish Times Perhaps there are Christians who will appreciate The Shack's Oprahfied universal heaven, wherein no bad deed goes punished. But it made us pine for the Book of Job God to spitefully hurl leviathans and behemoths. Rated: 2/5 Jun 28, 2017 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) Making a sincere film about religious faith is a tricky thing to pull off. And this folksy dose of misguided manipulation demonstrates many of the common pitfalls. Rated: 1/5 Jun 11, 2017 Full Review Kevin Maher Times (UK) Touchy-feely New Age therapy runs headlong into evangelical Christianity in The Shack. Rated: 2/5 Jun 9, 2017 Full Review Juan Pablo Russo EscribiendoCine The Shack attempts to offer a message of redemption, but it does so in such an explicit and moralistic manner that it ends up alienating any viewer who does not share the film's religious vision. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 2/10 Sep 11, 2024 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens Essentially a parable at its core, like the book, the film challenges traditional Christian viewpoints, notably in the visual interpretation of God. Rated: 3/5 Oct 30, 2019 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com The Shack is as graceless as its monosyllabic title. Rated: 1/5 Oct 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Darcie J Every time I watch this movie I pick up more. Very awesome and worth watching multiple times. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/22 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely amazing pictured and played, was a great pleasure to watch, smile and cry in the same time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/19/24 Full Review Fred n Regardless of some so called critics views on this movie I really enjoyed watching this ... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/13/24 Full Review Sabrina H Worst movie ever. Another example of Hollywood entertainment, there were no truths in it. Complete garbage Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/02/24 Full Review Leolealui A Is horrible to think that while this is not a true story. Some people do lose daughters sisters etc in such horrific ways and so let's all watch out for one another and protect each other from the monsters lurking among us. And to trust everyone but not the devil inside them. Maybe will help those who have lost loved ones in such tragic horrifying ways to know youre not alone. I pray for all the lost and hurt souls of world. And may this movie will teach us not to take eyes off kids as often in certain unfamiliar environments. Difficult movie and stroy to portray and watch. But needed. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Audience Member My father sent me a text in the middle of the night, since we're both on opposite sides of the world right now, suggesting a movie called "The Shack." This coming from the man who pretty much hated every movie we've seen together, and despite religious movies being one of my less favorable genres of film, I had to take a peak into his recommendation. STORY This movie tells the story of a man (I had already forgotten his name) losing his daughter and consequently his faith in God. After revisiting his daughter's murder site, personifications of the father (or mother in this case), the son, and the holy spirit bring him into their world to help him heal his soul. The plot does stray from the typical storylines of "God pulling the strings from the sidelines and the audience interprets it as God the entire time." Instead taking a more literal approach. However, the characters throughout this story seem almost unreal, overly friendly, and quite corny, even for a religious movie, in fact the main character steals and crashes someone's car and the victim treats him almost like nothing happened. ACTING There isn't much to say, every actor did their job well, nothing bad nor anything extraordinary with their performances. Although, Sam Worthington's accent did slip out quite a few times which was distracting, especially since the director tried to make his character an American. BEGINNING The movie comes out quite strong within the first few minutes, but then failed to keep me invested after viewing the main character's backstory. Instead of utilizing the first few minutes into keeping myself interested in how the character's tragic backstory shapes the next scenes to come, it almost jumps into a whole new story, making the immediate beginning almost unnecessary. END The ending did seem a little rushed. Immediately after waking up, the main character seemingly manages to heal years worth of damage within his family in less than a day. VISUALS Nothing impressive was done for this movie, standard green screen and CGI were noticeable, yet it wasn't anything jarring nor did it ruin the experience of the film. MUSIC The melodies manage to compliment each scene and convey the intended tone. Yet nothing extraordinary was used. PACING This story is a lot slower, allowing a lot of scenes to breathe. Which makes the entire trip to "heaven" feel like one huge meditation. TECHNICAL ASPECTS The use of CGI was apparent, and it does seem almost uncanny at times, yet it does not ruin the experience. Sound mixing was done well, a bit iffy at times albeit. ENTERTAINMENT While I didn't have the time of my life, nor will I rewatch this movie ANYTIME soon, it was satisfying to witness. EXECUTION With the story, beginning/end, visuals, music, pacing, and technical, it is safe to say this movie does an adequate job, doesn't dare to venture anywhere else. OUTSIDE FACTORS With my father as a religious man, it seemed pretty evident within the first few minutes why he recommended me this film. However, I began to connect certain events with real events that happened to the two of us. While this movie didn't exactly turn me into the "man of god" he wishes upon me, it did open my eyes into my father's life, I guess this is how he viewed the world. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Shack

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Cast & Crew

The Shack

The Shack: Official Clip - Meeting the Trinity The Shack: Official Clip - Meeting the Trinity 2:14 The Shack: Official Clip - Laying Her to Rest The Shack: Official Clip - Laying Her to Rest 2:58 The Shack: Official Clip - A Garden of You The Shack: Official Clip - A Garden of You 3:00 The Shack: Official Clip - Understanding Forgiveness The Shack: Official Clip - Understanding Forgiveness 3:00 The Shack: Official Clip - The Murderer's Shack The Shack: Official Clip - The Murderer's Shack 2:57 The Shack: Official Clip - Drowning in Fear The Shack: Official Clip - Drowning in Fear 2:00 The Shack: Official Clip - Revisiting the Shack The Shack: Official Clip - Revisiting the Shack 2:26 The Shack: Official Clip - Boat Flip The Shack: Official Clip - Boat Flip 2:04 The Shack: Official Clip - Reconciling With My Father The Shack: Official Clip - Reconciling With My Father 3:00 The Shack: Official Clip - Send Your Kids to Hell The Shack: Official Clip - Send Your Kids to Hell 3:00 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis After suffering a family tragedy, Mack Phillips spirals into a deep depression that causes him to question his innermost beliefs. Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to an abandoned shack in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack journeys to the shack and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers led by a woman named Papa. Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of his tragedy and change his life forever.
Director
Stuart Hazeldine
Producer
Gil Netter, Brad Cummings
Screenwriter
John Fusco, Andrew Lanham, Destin Daniel Cretton
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
TIK Films, Gil Netter, Summit Entertainment, Windblown Media
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Material|Some Violence)
Genre
Drama, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 3, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 16, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$57.2M
Runtime
2h 12m
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