If NOT for the fantastic performance from Mark Kelly playing cleaner Cole Hindin (it helped that I had a huge crush on him during this, but that didn't alter my review), some good cinematography and a great soundtrack/score, 'Removal' (5/10) would be a complete waste. Why? Well, I can't say without spoiling the movie's over-used "secret" that I almost missed. I'll be honest, I usually see this coming, and I did kinda get it through the movie with the numerous clues. Part of the problem was the enormously bad acting from the movie's homeowner, Henry Sharpe (Oz Perkins). In fact, it was so obviously bad, you knew something was up. That said, again, Mark did such a good job, you'd think you were watching a Class A movie vs. the B-movie it was. It's worth a rental if you like those suspenseful (lite) thinkers involving a recovering and separated man, Cole, who witnessed his best friend, Eric, kill himself following Eric killing his own wife. Time has passed and now Cole's being summoned to conduct a solo yet "3-Person" cleaning job at a massive mansion overnight. Cole's suspicious of the owner's secretive nature regarding the quick/quiet job and the weird disappearance of his own wife. See it on the cheap.
11 Reviews
Not so bad
whiteshadow160612 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not really a fan for a movie this type. So, I give it a 5 for neutral. The twisting plot is so awesome. It's like I've been thinking the whole time what the hell is actually happened? And wanted to know how the ending's gonna be. Well, at least the ending told the whole story.
But, what's weird though is how the two-characters talk to each other. It doesn't seem like he was talking to himself. More like a real conversation to another guy. That's not how hallucination looks like. Yeah, i know he created another identity for himself so that he can cover up what he had done from the past, but it doesn't looks right. The characters should be played differently.
As i don't really likes psycho movie, so I can say the movie wasn't so bad, and not so good. Just average.
Note: I do a lot of fast forward while watching this movie. :)
But, what's weird though is how the two-characters talk to each other. It doesn't seem like he was talking to himself. More like a real conversation to another guy. That's not how hallucination looks like. Yeah, i know he created another identity for himself so that he can cover up what he had done from the past, but it doesn't looks right. The characters should be played differently.
As i don't really likes psycho movie, so I can say the movie wasn't so bad, and not so good. Just average.
Note: I do a lot of fast forward while watching this movie. :)
We've seen this kind of story before
Leofwine_draca27 September 2016
REMOVAL is your standard psychological thriller set in a dark and sprawling old house. The main character is a cleaner who soon discovers his new place of work has some dark and disturbing murderous secrets to hide. While I appreciate that the filmmakers went out of their way to shoot something other than your bog standard CGI ghost film, the problem with REMOVAL is its familiarity. That, and the fact that protagonist Mark Kelly just isn't a very interesting actor.
This is a film which thinks it is far more original and cleverly-written than it really is. I could name one or two obvious inspirations on the story but I won't as these would give the game away. Let's just say that the film should have given thanks to those movies in the end credits. What we have in REMOVAL is your typical low budget filmmaking, a just-about-adequate type of movie that never really grips or blows you away as it should. It does feel very talky and bogged down in places. The cast features TWILIGHT's Billy Burke, a cameoing Elliott Gould playing a psychiatrist, and a big role for Oz Perkins (son of Anthony). Kelly Brook is here too, and the quality of her acting doesn't seem to have improved with the passage of time.
This is a film which thinks it is far more original and cleverly-written than it really is. I could name one or two obvious inspirations on the story but I won't as these would give the game away. Let's just say that the film should have given thanks to those movies in the end credits. What we have in REMOVAL is your typical low budget filmmaking, a just-about-adequate type of movie that never really grips or blows you away as it should. It does feel very talky and bogged down in places. The cast features TWILIGHT's Billy Burke, a cameoing Elliott Gould playing a psychiatrist, and a big role for Oz Perkins (son of Anthony). Kelly Brook is here too, and the quality of her acting doesn't seem to have improved with the passage of time.
Really Awful
lisajn-300812 August 2022
The soundtrack is just noise in the background that doesn't fit with the movie! This isn't a movie with Billy Burke. He's only in the first 5 minutes of the movie. Oz Perkins is a really bad, over-the-top actor. I'm sorry I paid to see this movie. What a disappointment!
Incompetent writers trying to surprise their audience through lies.
fedor87 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Rather lame "suspense" film that is made on the laughably optimistic assumption that the film-makers can flat-out lie to you for an hour, and I mean completely lie about everything, but then pull out the goofy Oh You Had It All Wrong card, and actually get away with it.
What I mean is that the first hour is basically all horse manure. None if it happened as shown. We find out instead that:
1. Burke never existed.
2. Kelly is actually Burke and it's Kelly who killed his family. (When? We have no clue, considering that even the "one year later" caption may have been a lie. That's what happens with liars: once caught, nobody ever believes them.)
3. Perkins isn't a killer. Hell, Perkins isn't even a rude yuppie! Even his absurdly confrontational attitude was imagined by Kelly! It appears that Perkins had been speaking normally all along. In other words, the writers and the director gave us ZIP truth in the first hour.
4. I guess this means Gould is fictional too. The scene at the shrink's office? BS too.
5. Everything in the first hour is just a vague, false, blurry, fictionalized version of what really transpired. But hey, "we had the decency to tell you that after an hour, so we're in the clear. Right, audience?"
"You've been lied to, audience. Nice one, huh? How ingenious we film-makers are. We don't even have to set up a REAL mystery anymore. We can now build a mystery based on deceit, misinformation and lies. We tell you lies - and then at the end we admit we were lying and be generous enough to tell you the real plot. Clever, huh?"
Not really. Using this dumb shtick I guess you could play a sci-fi movie with monsters to your audience for an hour - but then suddenly switch to a costume drama, saying that it was all a dream by some 18th-century child. Clever, huh? Not so much clever as just plain dumb. Not to mention easy to write.
A movie can withhold information, yes. It can try to confuse you a bit, yes. It can challenge your perception of what's going on, yes. But what it can't do is mislead you about every single thing/aspect, for an HOUR, then expect the audience to be awed by this "amazing" twist. Any moron can set up a "story" like that. Deceit is easy. A proper twist exists within what the viewer knows, not within a movie that is never shown.
I wasn't awed, I found it laughable. If you lie to me about everything, then what chance do I have? If I can't trust the first hour why would I trust the last 30 minutes either?
To exacerbate things, the plot moves far too slowly. We even have extended, pointless scenes of Kelly sweeping floors while entire songs play in the background. Like MTV throwing clips into a movie.
Hipster indie rock, which makes it far worse. Horrible crap that doesn't even suit the tone of the movie.
Oz Perkins, one of the writers, had already shown that he doesn't have a penchant for writing with his "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House". That movie is stylish but its content is one big drawn-out cop-out with no resolution. This time the resolution is based on laughable, previous lies. Oz is of course a nepotist, son of that awful over-actor, the nerd from "Psycho", and in fact Oz is not even one of the really bad nepotists. His exaggerated portrayal of a narcissistic yuppie here is ludicrous but at least he looks the part. And since Kelly imagined everything, he had an excuse to be over-the-top. A flimsy excuse, but still an excuse. He just needs to stay away from writing - because a good writer isn't created simply by being born into a powerful Hollywood clan.
What I mean is that the first hour is basically all horse manure. None if it happened as shown. We find out instead that:
1. Burke never existed.
2. Kelly is actually Burke and it's Kelly who killed his family. (When? We have no clue, considering that even the "one year later" caption may have been a lie. That's what happens with liars: once caught, nobody ever believes them.)
3. Perkins isn't a killer. Hell, Perkins isn't even a rude yuppie! Even his absurdly confrontational attitude was imagined by Kelly! It appears that Perkins had been speaking normally all along. In other words, the writers and the director gave us ZIP truth in the first hour.
4. I guess this means Gould is fictional too. The scene at the shrink's office? BS too.
5. Everything in the first hour is just a vague, false, blurry, fictionalized version of what really transpired. But hey, "we had the decency to tell you that after an hour, so we're in the clear. Right, audience?"
"You've been lied to, audience. Nice one, huh? How ingenious we film-makers are. We don't even have to set up a REAL mystery anymore. We can now build a mystery based on deceit, misinformation and lies. We tell you lies - and then at the end we admit we were lying and be generous enough to tell you the real plot. Clever, huh?"
Not really. Using this dumb shtick I guess you could play a sci-fi movie with monsters to your audience for an hour - but then suddenly switch to a costume drama, saying that it was all a dream by some 18th-century child. Clever, huh? Not so much clever as just plain dumb. Not to mention easy to write.
A movie can withhold information, yes. It can try to confuse you a bit, yes. It can challenge your perception of what's going on, yes. But what it can't do is mislead you about every single thing/aspect, for an HOUR, then expect the audience to be awed by this "amazing" twist. Any moron can set up a "story" like that. Deceit is easy. A proper twist exists within what the viewer knows, not within a movie that is never shown.
I wasn't awed, I found it laughable. If you lie to me about everything, then what chance do I have? If I can't trust the first hour why would I trust the last 30 minutes either?
To exacerbate things, the plot moves far too slowly. We even have extended, pointless scenes of Kelly sweeping floors while entire songs play in the background. Like MTV throwing clips into a movie.
Hipster indie rock, which makes it far worse. Horrible crap that doesn't even suit the tone of the movie.
Oz Perkins, one of the writers, had already shown that he doesn't have a penchant for writing with his "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House". That movie is stylish but its content is one big drawn-out cop-out with no resolution. This time the resolution is based on laughable, previous lies. Oz is of course a nepotist, son of that awful over-actor, the nerd from "Psycho", and in fact Oz is not even one of the really bad nepotists. His exaggerated portrayal of a narcissistic yuppie here is ludicrous but at least he looks the part. And since Kelly imagined everything, he had an excuse to be over-the-top. A flimsy excuse, but still an excuse. He just needs to stay away from writing - because a good writer isn't created simply by being born into a powerful Hollywood clan.
Lie to me
baunacholi-861599 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Right from the get go. Let's create a movie where everything is just mocked up/imagined/ false.... Nothing actually happened.
I've seen really strong movies (identity 9/10) where a similar approach was embedded into a fascinating, twisted and dark journey. Not here, here it falls flat and left me betrayed and disappointed.
I've seen really strong movies (identity 9/10) where a similar approach was embedded into a fascinating, twisted and dark journey. Not here, here it falls flat and left me betrayed and disappointed.
Well Crafted Psychological Thriller... Certainly worth more than it's current 4.4
lathe-of-heaven16 February 2013
I'll never fully understand exactly how people rate films here; try as I might, the reasoning eludes me...
Anyway, DEFINITELY better than it's current 4.4 rating (especially if graded on the curve with so many other garbage films out there) Well written and acted; especially well directed. Very engaging and suspenseful. YES, we've seen this kind of thing before and NO, it's not the absolutely most original story out there, BUT, a well done film is a well done film, and that is SUPPOSEDLY why we rate and review films here, right...?
The primary actor does an excellent job as the calm 'Cleaner' Cole. There is very nice use of photography and editing and excellent use of sound design to add to the strong psychological mood of the film (with the very minor exception of unfortunately one of my personal neurotic irritations where pouring drinks and other consequential sounds are SO bloody loud, MUCH louder than they should be - GOD I hate that!)
So, if you like solid, competent, Psychological thrillers either with or without 'Twists' and as long as you appreciate good film making, then you should definitely enjoy this movie. BTW, that was the first time I've ever seen Oz Perkins (Anthony's son) who also co-wrote the excellent screenplay, and I felt that he carried the 'disturbed' torch well where his father left off. I would LOVE to see him do more Horror films, but he hasn't really done very many at all.
Overall the movie is strong on mood if a bit lighter on substance. Not anything earth-shaking, but a decent, well done, enjoyable Thriller...
Anyway, DEFINITELY better than it's current 4.4 rating (especially if graded on the curve with so many other garbage films out there) Well written and acted; especially well directed. Very engaging and suspenseful. YES, we've seen this kind of thing before and NO, it's not the absolutely most original story out there, BUT, a well done film is a well done film, and that is SUPPOSEDLY why we rate and review films here, right...?
The primary actor does an excellent job as the calm 'Cleaner' Cole. There is very nice use of photography and editing and excellent use of sound design to add to the strong psychological mood of the film (with the very minor exception of unfortunately one of my personal neurotic irritations where pouring drinks and other consequential sounds are SO bloody loud, MUCH louder than they should be - GOD I hate that!)
So, if you like solid, competent, Psychological thrillers either with or without 'Twists' and as long as you appreciate good film making, then you should definitely enjoy this movie. BTW, that was the first time I've ever seen Oz Perkins (Anthony's son) who also co-wrote the excellent screenplay, and I felt that he carried the 'disturbed' torch well where his father left off. I would LOVE to see him do more Horror films, but he hasn't really done very many at all.
Overall the movie is strong on mood if a bit lighter on substance. Not anything earth-shaking, but a decent, well done, enjoyable Thriller...
I like this movie
olcayozfirat9 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Psychological thriller from 2010. The film is about the psychological tides of a man. Actually, almost everything is predictable, but I don't think it's a bad movie. As for his story, a man goes to his house when his friend calls him and sees that the man has killed his wife and child, and the last killer himself commits suicide. Then this man starts to have psychological problems and he is at odds with his family.
Below will be points with spoilers.
The killer and his friend are actually the same men, and his other character, who is a cleaner, wakes up when he doesn't take medicine for it. The movie reminded me of "Season 9" and "Identity". I really like this kind of movies.
There is one open point in the movie. How did this man get away with that murder charge?
There is no sex or nudity in the movie.
Below will be points with spoilers.
The killer and his friend are actually the same men, and his other character, who is a cleaner, wakes up when he doesn't take medicine for it. The movie reminded me of "Season 9" and "Identity". I really like this kind of movies.
There is one open point in the movie. How did this man get away with that murder charge?
There is no sex or nudity in the movie.
AND AWAY WE GO
nogodnomasters13 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The movie starts out with a man on prescription meds getting laid off from work. The next day he is involved in an awkward murder/suicide witnessed by Cole. We then cue credits. Cole (Mark Kelly) is now on prescription meds to prevent hallucinations. He works for a floor cleaning outfit and his condition has alienated him from his family.
After working a week of doubles a tired worn out Cole is offered a job to clean a rich man's floors for an additional $5,000 under the table. Thinking of his wife and child, Cole reluctantly takes the job, cleaning floors to a decent soundtrack while having flashbacks to times with his family...and the murder/suicide.
Oz Perkins plays Henry Sharpe, the odd man whose house Cole cleans. There are hints that Henry has murdered his family...the flashbacks get more intense as the film progresses. Enjoyable film.
Good psycho-thriller.
F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
After working a week of doubles a tired worn out Cole is offered a job to clean a rich man's floors for an additional $5,000 under the table. Thinking of his wife and child, Cole reluctantly takes the job, cleaning floors to a decent soundtrack while having flashbacks to times with his family...and the murder/suicide.
Oz Perkins plays Henry Sharpe, the odd man whose house Cole cleans. There are hints that Henry has murdered his family...the flashbacks get more intense as the film progresses. Enjoyable film.
Good psycho-thriller.
F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
Highly recommended chiller.
parry_na17 April 2020
It must be a fine balance to write a screenplay that consistently wrong-foots the audience, makes them smile occasionally while delivering a fairly grim and creepy story, and ensures that it all makes sense too. Nick Simon, who directs and co-writes achieves this very nicely. There's an irresistible grim strand of humour running through this, although the main character Cole has little to be cheerful about. Mark Kelly is very good as the flawed central character, fighting several of his own personal demons, as well as the manipulations of those around him. Even Oz Perkins as the the unpleasant Henry Sharpe has a dry line in humour.
That the twists and turns pay off is a bonus - it isn't always the case, and while there's nothing wrong with open-ended stories, it's good to have things tied up here. Morte than that I won't reveal.
As a chiller about a put-upon industrial cleaner, Removal works very well indeed. My score is 9 out of 10.
That the twists and turns pay off is a bonus - it isn't always the case, and while there's nothing wrong with open-ended stories, it's good to have things tied up here. Morte than that I won't reveal.
As a chiller about a put-upon industrial cleaner, Removal works very well indeed. My score is 9 out of 10.
Bloody Fun! With an Ending Twist You'll Want To See Again
ginatbryant3 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not usually a big fan of low-budget thrillers with all their gratuitous gore and hacky flashbacks but for its genre, I think this movie is a 10. I love its offbeat intensity. It has all the fun of a campy movie while avoiding being....well...campy. For a thriller it's remarkably gripping, sophisticated and well-acted, without taking itself too seriously. Mark Kelly's flammable character is an edgy yet cool carpet-cleaner. Oz Perkins (son of Tony) gives us impeccable poker-faced comic relief as an uptight millionaire. (Makes me want to look for them in other films.) Billy Burke is his penetrating, sensitive self. There's also a great cameo by Elliot Gould playing a psychiatrist. And there will be blood- plenty of it. But it's the story's ending that gets you. It made me want to turn around immediately and see it again! There's nothing better than walking out of a film reeling! (pun?)
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