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Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Memorable, crazy movie

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A California motorist (Daryl Hannah, in the film for name recognition value) is on her way to Bangor passing through a stretch of Pennsylvania where the road leads through forest on both sides, when she comes across a frightened young woman (Leah Gibson) who seems to have been through an emotional roller coaster (and has blood on her). This shaken woman reveals her name to be Amy Singer and forewarns that something evil is lurking in the woods out to get them. Amy will provide a narrative for how all her friends wound up deceased to Carrie (Hannah) on their way to the next nearest town. The film opened with an ominous figure, dark and not easily recognizable, carrying a bloody machete, pursuing Amy, so immediately established is the Lurking Evil certain to pop up before the fade to black.Backstory: Amy and fellow Boston U students, majoring in Environmental Studies, can get an A if they collect soil samples and study an ancient Indian Burial Ground known as Arrowhead where coal miners (over 200) died in a mining disaster. What they encounter could be something monstrous, chained and hidden inside the barn of a sullen, greasy, rather creepy gas station attendant named Billy (Daniel Probert) who claims that many of the locals consider Arrowhead the "Devil's Playground". Amy doesn't forget this and is the only one of her group who treats him with a modicum of decency (the others toss around insults about him behind his back). The rest of the film follows the basic "city kids fall prey to backwoods psycho beast" plot.Disorienting camera-work, an editing style that doesn't allow for characters to be positioned in frame for more than a manner of seconds, and way too much time where the camera is right in the face of the actors (not to mention, too many shots of the sky and crows squawking) instead of following the action, "The Devil's Ground" doesn't have the technical merits to surpass the generic, "we've seen it all before" story-line. It is hard to react to a menace that is never established in a way that causes us to dread his presence, and the film fails to generate any creep factor whatsoever.Cheap and ugly, with few redeeming qualities at all, this film would remain buried in obscurity if not for Hannah's name in the credits. I hope you like Leah Gibson's face because we get plenty of it in close up throughout the movie. Even worse is the fact that this film has one too many endings (including a couple twists regarding Billy's family members revealed), none of them exactly worthwhile. Amy Singer's fate seems like an interesting twist if the film had ended with Hannah's discovering something peculiar about her passenger during the movie (the film goes back and forth between Singer's story and in the car with Hannah telling it), but the screenplay just doesn't know when to quit. Probert's scowl, worn on Billy's face exclusively, seems as if he were sucking on a sour lemon throughout his time on screen.

I want to agree with the reviewer Jon Doe. They did a great job with what they had. Yes the acting could have been better, yes the script could have been better. But the music was great, the outdoor scenes were good, and if you are a hardcore horror fan, you should check out this movie - it is a good popcorn movie with friends.I also want to agree that although these ideas have been used before, they are good ideas, and that is why they are copied. The movie has a good climax also.The bare midriffs on the girls is always a nice touch. The lead actress has a face to forget, but a body to love.

The movie was boring at the beginning and got interesting the last half hour more or less. Some shots were very clever. I really liked them. If you expect to see a lot of Daryl Hannah, don't. Her role is actually pretty small. As for the other actors in this film most of them are really bad. At the end the story becomes a little more complicated and it leaves you with some questions about the plot but I am sure you won't stay awake at night thinking about them. Don't expect a lot from this film because if you do you will be disappointed. If you see it for what it is (a b-movie with some interesting twists in the story) you won't be that annoyed by it.

By no means groundbreaking, however The Cycle still manages to be a somewhat tense and rather entertaining film. The story is interesting and changes up enough to remain fresh all the way through. The acting was on the mark (even the over-actors you can't help but like) and the action did well to keep you on edge. The death scenes would have benefited from a little more attention as they are a bit on the tame side and over too quickly. Overall I don't see the film as being something that will stick with you long after viewing however it does provide for an entertaining viewing. I would recommend giving it a chance.