Review: Welcome To The Circle

As I write this Review for Welcome To The Circle, it is still early in January of a new year; and I am actively trying to be as positive and uplifting as possible.  That includes a movie review that will test all of the dedication and self discipline I have to that New Years resolution.

Professional actors, makeup artists, camera operators, etc. were employed to make this film, and put a creative project out into the world.  That creation represents money spent by investors, studios, distribution companies, and many others.  So, let’s see how well I stick to my goals!  Shall we??!!

The Plot – Welcome To The Circle

Welcome To The Circle opens with a Dad and his Daughter on a camping trip, somewhere in the woods of Canada as a proxy for Washington.  Matthew Maccaull is Greg the Dad, and Taylor Dianne Robinson plays Samantha the Daughter.  Greg and Samantha tell scary stories as they fall asleep in their tent.

Suddenly awoken by flashes of light and screaming, SOMETHING has attacked their tent!  Good samaritans stop and render aid, taking Greg and Samantha to get help.

Greg awakens bandaged and in pain, and is told that Samantha is OK after they survived a bear attack.  Soon reunited, Samantha and Greg get some food and officially meet their rescuers.

A trio of attractive women introduce themselves.  Andrea Brooks plays Sky, Heather Doerksen plays Lotus Cloud, and Cindy Busby plays Rebekah.  Seated around a circular table Sky, Lotus Cloud, and Rebekah wait as Mathew (Michael J Rogers) offers Greg some food.  The Circle provides.

The Circle is more than just a place, it’s a circular path.  A Circle is without and and without beginning, or something along those lines.  Must.  Maintain.  Optimism.

Mathew starts his sales pitch.  Does your growth process provide you…?  Wait, where is Sam?  We learn the Circle was founded by a man with a circular belief and circular logic.  Literally.  The End is the Beginning, and the Beginning is The End. 

The Circle believes in a WENN Diagram layer of reality, where the overlap area is a purgatory of sorts, and you can enter by looking in a mirror.  Many other subtleties are explained throughout the film.  We also learn the Circle are human cannibals, living on a former Summer Camp with mannequins representing former people they have eaten.

Outside the Camp, we meet Gabriella and James, played by Hillary Jardine and Matt Bellefleur, who have hired Grady, played by Ben Cotton.  Grady’s job is to infiltrate The Circle and rescue Rebekah.  As the story unfolds, more is revealed.  And, the Horror truly begins.

The Good – Welcome To The Circle

Welcome To The Circle gives jobs to actors I have heretofore yet to see.  This is why I’ve listed all the actors playing their characters.  The only actor I’m familiar with is Andrea Brooks who played Eve Tessmacher in Supergirl on the WB.

The Bad

***whew***  Trying really, REALLY hard to stay positive in the Bad section!  But, restraint has won out.

The Review – Welcome To The Circle

Welcome To The Circle is a Horror film in the loosest sense of the word.  Largely bloodless, largely non-violent; most of the horror in this film is a horror of the spirit and of the mind.  The Circle is more Suspense and Mystery than Horror.

Welcome To The Circle seems to stretch every inch of their budget to get the story onto the big screen.  Uh oh…  Must.  Maintain.  Facade.  LOW BUDGET…  An unconventional script…  BAD WRITING…  Played by up and coming actors…  WHO CAN SAY THIS STUFF?  Plays out in an non-traditional storytelling experience.  IT’S BAD!  IT’S SO, SO BAD!!!

OK, I couldn’t quite make it through the entire review.  This is not a good movie, let’s be honest.  I don’t want to trash a project so many people really put effort into, but this movie feels like a glorified student film with a Writer/Director who forgot that a Horror film should make you jump, scream, and have fun.

It should not feel like a Philosophy Major wanted to show off his Freshman year term paper and mental prowess through Cinematic horror.  A convoluted script, played out by inexperienced but dedicated actors, and a low budget production edited within an inch of its life with more stock footage cutaways than I’ve seen in many years.

There isn’t even an MPAA that I could find for this film.  93 Minutes, NR.  

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