The Faith of Anna Waters
The Faith of Anna Waters is a 2016 American-Singaporean horror film starring American actors Elizabeth Rice and Matthew Settle and directed by Kelvin Tong. Billed as Singapore's first Hollywood supernatural feature, the film tells the story of an American journalist who travels to Singapore to investigate the mysterious suicide of her sister, and delves into one of Tong's favourite horror subgenres: exorcism.[1][2][3]
The Faith of Anna Waters | |
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Directed by | Kelvin Tong |
Written by | Kelvin Tong |
Starring | Elizabeth Rice Matthew Settle |
Cinematography | Wade Muller |
Edited by | Olly Stothert |
Distributed by | Entertainment One |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United States Singapore |
The film was released on 6 May 2016, in the USA under the title The Offering.
Plot
American journalist Jamie Waters (Elizabeth Rice) travels to Singapore to investigate the mysterious suicide of her sister, Anna. However, her sister's death is only the beginning of a sinister demonic ancient plan.
Cast
- Elizabeth Rice as Jamie Waters
- Matthew Settle as Sam Harris
- Colin Borgonon as Father James De Silva
- Adina Herz as Katie Harris
- Adrian Pang as Father Matthew Tan
- Jaymee Ong as Majorie Tan
- Pamelyn Chee as May Wong
- Tan Kheng Hua as Charlotte Sharma
Reception
Despite scathing reviews of his latest movie, The Faith Of Anna Waters, Kelvin Tong remains nonchalant. He told The New Paper: "I'm so used to being slammed, so negative reviews don't affect me any more."[4]
Fangoria's Michael Gingold: "It's never clear, plotwise, what is supposed to be on offer in THE OFFERING, though anyone with any familiarity with occult flicks will find they're being sold a very secondhand bill of goods."[5]
The New York Times' Andy Webster: "a muddled horror film, falls over itself incorporating as many genre elements as possible. The result is the cinematic equivalent of combining every paint color on a canvas: a murky mess."[6]
The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore: "Tong employs so many shock cuts and grating music cues viewers will likely find their curiosity fading quickly. What it all adds up to is either laughably baffling or just plain laughable, depending on how much attention one has paid."[7]
Jersey John from "horrortalk.com": "Lackluster acting and too many plot points end up doing just the right amount of damage."[8]
Distribution
The film has been bought for distribution in France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.[3] In Mexico the film is scheduled to have a theatrical release on July 8, 2016.[9]
References
- Zhuang, Zara (10 May 2016). "Kelvin Tong lights joss sticks, explains horror movie to spirits". Today. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
- Goh, Marcus (10 May 2016). "Review: The Faith of Anna Waters has corny demons". Yahoo. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
- Loh, Genevieve Sarah (13 May 2016). "Filmmaker Kelvin Tong in talks for second American horror co-production". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
- Soh, Joanne (10 May 2016). "Kelvin Tong: 'I'm so used to being slammed'". The New Paper. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- Gingold, Michael (6 May 2016). "THE OFFERING (Movie Review)". Fangoria. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
- Webster, Andy (5 May 2016). "Review: The Offering: No, Thank You". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- DeFore, John (11 May 2016). "The Offering: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- John, Jersey (12 May 2016). "The Offering Movie Review". horrortalk.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- "SKY MEDIA DISTRIBUTION". skymediadistribution.com.