I’m again blogging old movie reviews from Facebook.  In retrospect, I maybe should have given this clever, unexpected gem a 9 out of 10.  I am also a little confused about whether there was a sequel to this movie, entitled “The Regret.”  (Or was that an overseas title for this film?)

*****

I really liked “The Tall Man” (2012) though I can tell right away that many other viewers will not. And it’s hard to explain why, because this is a “twist movie” that’s difficult to discuss without spoilers. The film that you sit down to watch absolutely is not the same film that you wind up seeing.

The movie opens with Jessica Biel as an idealistic doctor in a gorgeous but very poor Washington State small town. The town’s children sporadically disappear, according to a creepy and wonderfully effective montage, and townsfolk blame the supernatural “Tall Man.” For a while, it’s a first-rate thriller. I jumped a few times.

Then there’s a twist.

Then, in the movie’s final 10 minutes, there’s another twist that affects the first. And there’s a hell of a lot of moral ambiguity. (Or maybe not – I, for one, disagreed with and would have hated the prevailing character.)

I thought the whole thing was smart, creative and frightening. Jessica Biel did a great job. The sweeping pans of the forest are fantastic – was it partly CGI? Did they use a helicopter?

It actually isn’t a perfect mystery. There are a few implausibilities. One character is far too well adjusted for his or her circumstances, one character conceals something for no reason, and the young mute girl’s decision makes no sense, if you consider what she does and does not know.

Still – good movie. I’d give it an 8 out of 10.