Temple (2017) HD online

The film starts with a survivor of a tragedy in a wheel chair telling a story of what happened, including the parts when he wasn't there.

Kate (Natalia Warner) wants to film rural Shinto and Buddhist temples as part of her research. Her boyfriend James (Brandon Sklenar) comes with her as well as her lifelong friend Chris (Logan Huffman). It takes 30 minutes for them to get to the remote evil temple with a murdered monk, missing children, protected by shapeshifters. Then it takes another 30 minutes for something to happen.

The drama aspect of this horror film was fairly good. It had the makings of something decent. They made it clear they didn't know how to end the feature, so they just left a confusing mess.

Guide: sex scene. No swearing or nudity

Three American tourists use a mysterious map to find an ancient temple deep in the jungles of Japan.

Their adventure soon turns into a nightmare when malevolent spirits trap them inside..........

So the film starts with an interrogation scene featuring someone in a germ safe wheelchair. They are asked to look at some 'found footage' and then the narrative begins.

Temple had the makings of another perfectly perfunctory found footage movie, but the makers decided to turn this into more of a J-Horror, and the first act is very interesting, there is clearly tension between the two males regarding their mutual ward, but as soon as we reach their destination, that's almost forgotten about, albeit a little argument toward the end.

The problem is that the film doesn't hide anything up its sleeve, and any horror veteran would know the little boy is just apparition as soon as he is first introduced.

Then night comes and......... not much happens really. We see something paranormal, then we go back to the interrogation scene, and this takes you away from the main narrative, especially when you realise the person they are questioning was fluent in Japanese all along.

But the biggest flaw in the film is the ending. Much like The Devil Inside, it just ends, with no real conclusion and it appears that all loose ends remain untied.

It had potential, but as soon as they reach the titular place, it falls apart.

Oh wow guys. This represents Western ignorance? Man, that's deep. I know I've sure never seen a horror movie before where young American idiots ignored piles of blatant warning signs and got themselves killed in the woods by supernatural forces of evil. Thank goodness this brought Japan in to teach us this valuable lesson, especially since they're known for being so respectful of other cultures. Hur hur.

Forget about that though. Let's talk about how this movie is only 78 minutes long and is made up of about 63 minutes of build-up (and credits), leaving only around 15 minutes of jumbled, unsatisfying, lukewarm horror.

Let's talk about the fact that this movie has to promote itself by trying to invoke the names of more popular movies like You're Next and Blair Witch, but if you actually look at the credits you'll find that this was only written by the same writer of those, and was actually directed by that guy's brother who has nothing but cinematography credits to his name.

Makes sense though, doesn't it? The one positive thing I can say about this is it was certainly a well-shot film. Other than that though, it's an empty waste of time. Nothing but sightseeing shots and filler.

Its pretty bad.

Temple isn't scary, suspenseful nor is it interesting, and its probably one of the worst movies of the year.

Its quite a messy movie, its all over the place in terms of storytelling and tone. It doesn't even feel like a complete movie, just when you think something interesting may happen the movie ends abruptly, which is a relief considering how painfully awful it is.

Boring, uninteresting, predictable and absurd.

Three American tourists (that create a love triangle) decide to visit a temple located at the forest of a small Japanese village, because one of the tourists (Kate) is studying religion and its traditions.

All well, seems like a decent plot and overall the acting (especially from the Japanese actors) is quite good. Except for the actress who played Kate, her acting skills need to improve... a lot.

Well-shot, with a good scenery of Japanese rural landscape.

Unfortunately the plot is very weak, there's no tension and the last 10 minutes seem rushed and quite confusing.

Could've been a good one but it was a waste of my time.

The film had beautiful photography direction, but the plot was unacceptable. It is literally a composition of erratic and incoherent plot points. The transition between these points was rather 'normal' in the beginning. However, there was such a lot of time invested in it, that the middle point was extremely rushed. I have never watched a movie that does not have an end. This film had a beginning and a middle - it lacked a denouement.

Natalia Warner's performance was atrocious. All she did was smile exaggeratedly in a tone that was quite reminiscent of a valley girl (without the 'oh my god's). There was a lot of subtlety in the feelings she had to convey, and not once was I convinced that I was seeing her as her character.

Brandon Sklenar, on the other hand, was promising, but he was purely decorative thanks to the predictability of his role. For such a small cast, that had a strong impact.

Character development was nonexistent. A group of three is in Japan and they decide to go a temple. We only know why they are there. That is pretty much it. Next thing we know is a repressed passion surfacing - though it was pretty evident from the first scenes.

Additionally, the sound effects were clumsily put together and did not have any fade-ins and fade-outs.

Finally, the Japanese cast was far superior to the American, but Logan Huffman's performance was acceptable, albeit constantly wearing a face in which he looked lost. I suspect this was a direction issue.

I always tell myself that even a bad movie will have something memorable and will be able to evoke some thoughts or feelings. Now, I do not consider this a bad movie, simply far from being a complete piece. As such, I am not sure what the takeaway is.

So three friends travel to Japan and go visit a temple that all the locals warn them against going near. Folks never learn do they, if the locals say stay the hell away then *Drumroll* stay the hell away.

Character development was spot on from the outset so I expected something a bit better. Instead the movie plods along up until the half way point and then turns to crap.

It all falls apart to such an extent that it becomes almost unwatchable. Our heroes arrive at the titular temple and well I'm sure you can pretty much work that one out for yourself.

The end has an ambiguous "Twist" but that does nothing to save the movie from its fate as a mediocre mess.

The Good:

Beginning is interesting enough

The Bad:

Loses steam at around the half way mark

Ultimately is just an all round mess

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If folks listened to the warnings of the locals these movies might actually be better

A better title for this movie would have been Friendzone, scary stuff

This is a far cry from Simon Barrett's work with Adam Wingard. A running time of 78 minutes would be okay if those minutes were packed with meat, but this bone is padded with empty fat calories.

The storyline is like a stretched out short story. Character development is minimal. The payoff is pathetic. The camera work is nice during the set-up scenes in the city and daylight but once the "scary" stuff starts we are literally in the dark, annoyingly so, for long stretches with whatever is finally happening taking place in short bursts in near pitch darkness. One major "surprise" is obvious right from its initial setup.

If you think you're in the mood for this, I'd recommend watching The Forest instead, even if you've already seen it.

Well what can I say about this idiot's delight... You can say what you want about this being a subtle treatment about western ignorance, but that doesn't make it a good movie. And looking at the trailer I don't think that's what the intent was. The vapidness of the characters, I believe, stems from a rushed movie with bad acting. The dialogue is simply disrespectful to the audience. For example, when trying to buy the journal, the clerk and Chris 'the interpreter' have a back-and-forth in Japanese. But when the clerk finally says, 'Not for sale' IN English Chris turns to Kate and, with no hint of irony dutifully says, 'She says it's not for sale.' Wow. And it goes on an on... I see that this isn't even a Simon Barrett script. He's disavowed the writer credit, and wrote an interesting statement in warning to other writers that I suggest giving a read. Lastly, one thing that really bothers me. On Logan Huffman's Instagram account, the DAY AFTER the movie was released, he posted himself in the make-up chair prepping for his scenes as 'the patient.' That an actor is so entitled to reveal (the only) intriguing plot- point for his own personal click-bait just sums up the string of bad decisions made by unprofessional actors in this train wreck. This movie is awful, the actors are awful. The one bright point is Japan is beautiful. They couldn't go wrong there, they just did with everything else.

This movie had great potentials. it looks like a typical Japanese thriller which is great, and cinematography is good but that's where the fun ends. the acting was dreadful. Kate was so out of character and flat. Chris was okaying , so is the boyfriend. the story though lost it's closure. and no this is not the typical way of Japanese thriller. they leave a mystery but don't simply cut the story right when you think something is going to finally happen. the end is terrible and confusing. you don't know who killed who, why did Chris attacked the translator and did he escape or what happened to him. is there a ghost or is it only Chris. what happened to the children. was the monk bad or good. why would Kate decide to look for her bf in a mine while he was going to town. more and more questions that we needed to know but the film makers were so tired maybe and decided to end it prematurally. forget about all those fake 10&9 stars rate. there is no end and that's really terrible.

Expect around 15 mins of action/"scary things" to happen in this film - the rest is boring and mostly meaningless

It's a beautiful scenery but that's the only good thing, I have to say about this movie.

And omg... There wasn't a boy???? I could have told you that the first time we met him in the store...

Started of well enough. Acting was OK and the scenery was good. However, 30 minutes into the movie it became apparent that my grass (Sir Walter DNA Certified) was growing faster than this movie's plot progression. As stated by other reviewers, the story is incomplete and the actors made the most unbelievably stupid decisions. At the end of the film, the viewer is left with a lot of questions, some of which are;

1. Was it the wandering murdered monk that was killing everyone, was it the temples protector statue or was it the guy with the broken leg (or all three)? 2. Why were the missing dead kids evil and how did they die? 3.Why were their bodies/bones never found when their skeletons were under the temple floor? 4. How did the guy with the badly broken leg hobble half a mile to kill the other guy? 5. Why was this movie ever made?

I just watched another Asian horror film, i.e. "Ghost House" which really creeped the bloomers off me. Surprised by how much I enjoyed that one, I saw this little thing was available On Demand, so I thought I'd give it a try. BIG MISTAKE.

It is almost impossible to state how inept--from top to bottom--this movie is. It is also very hard for me to like any movie where everybody makes every mistake known to man and seems hell-bent on his/her demise. The publicity (as listed by On Demand) is completely false. It states (sic) "three Americans follow a strange man to a temple..." There was NO strange many followed to any temple. They followed a 10-year old boy. Even though they are warned to be sure to be out and away from the temple and the forest before dark, do they listen? Hell no. And it only gets worse after that.

I believe the movie was rated MA (Mature audiences). It has a little language, some laughable images, and horrible acting.

WHAT A CRAP ENDING... WHY no movie can just make a decent ending and explain the plot? I understood nothing... i don't even know who is alive and who is dead...

It starts OK it develops OK ... but sometime you must explain the audience where all this goes... boring and wasted 1.20 of my life

How many more movies are Hollywood gonna make about dumb American tourists traveling to Japan to either look for a sister (The Forest, The Grudge 2) or looking for thrills??

Three unlikable Americans travel to Japan, because the woman wants to see temples. One of the guys, a Ryan Gosling look alike, is the woman's boyfriend, the other her childhood friend who is only there, because he can speak Japanese. The boyfriend is jealous because he's never known a girl that wasn't his girlfriend.

The couple screws right in front of the guy who is clearly a third wheel. And allows him to film them. This is not normal behavior.

The woman is a real bitch who likes the rivalry between the two guys and them fighting for her affection.

They go to the temple and ignore all warnings not to go there. Some ghosts show up and kill the bitch and her boyfriend and leaves the Japanese speaking guy alive and disfigured.

Dumbest movie I've seen in a long time. Even worse than The Forest.

Avoid it.

What got me??? Not the plot, seen it all before. No! It WAS the MUSIC! It had me anticipating, then it was a complete let DOWN???? It left me with wanting more. Like what happened to the girl? How did the children die? What happen to Chris? Did he have another breakdown? I mean come on now!!!

I am a fan of You're Next, i enjoyed Frankenfish, VHS 1 and 2 and to a certain extend Dead Birds.

I really tough that Temple would be good and i was expecting something a lot better then this dumb love triangle drama.

This movie takes forever to get moving, and when its all said and done you are left wondering what the hell just happened..... with all the illusions, did the monster kill them,,,, or did the guy who was so called possessed do this.... at the start of the movie he is wheeled in on a wheelchair all disfigured and at the end he escapes killing a police officer and you never see him again...

In other words this movie is horrible...... i never give such low ratings unless the movie is bad and this one was really bad.

I was blown away by how many people found this confusing, incomplete and not executed well!

It's a very simple story and told in a very simple way (not all over the place!). It excels in its cinematography and carries through from beginning to end in typical Asian thriller/horror style. If anything i would say it was more 'cookie- cutter' of many other films.

It isn't a deep philosophical movie with riveting plot line and award winning dialog, the acting wasn't contrived and out of place, all cast fit their roles well.

If you follow the dialog the story is knitted together quite well. Having said that, it is a 'simple horror flick' layered on top of Japanese spirit myth, can't understand why it got such a low rating.

a couple of minor spoilers are included, but just so you know, i assure you that it's IMPOSSIBLE to further spoil your enjoyment of this movie.

I know people have said it many, many times before but while not actually at the top, this is now on my list of the worst movies ever.

it's yet another movie about a group of arrogant tourists to a foreign land - japan this time, ignoring a mass of actual warnings that they're about to do something terribly stupid, do it anyway, and pay the price.

i only wish i had heeded the warning given by the terribly low score here on IMDb before i decided to watch it anyway.

you may also choose do so if you wish, and i won't "spoil" the movie for you, but just so you know: the movie doesn't have an ending, it looks like it's been abandoned, possibly in frustration, which i would totally understand. do stay and watch after the credits kick in as you will be treated to a totally necessary last minute revelation.

also, note that this must be the only horror movie EVER where nobody dies... well... sort of, there are certainly a few injuries here and there, but death? on screen? nope, not a one. although due to the nature of one injury we can safely assume that one person died offscreen. on the other hand they were in a hospital... "a kind of hospital" (you'll understand if you choose to watch it) and there were both a brave nurse and a cowardly doctor in attendance, so he could also have survived. Yep, it's THAT bad!

to be fair, there are a couple of decent bits and you'll know them when you see them; both involve eyes: the tale of the eyes with the tangerines as a prop was a good one, but if I understood what the guy was saying, and i don't speak a word of Japanese, how could he fail to is beyond me. the 2nd is, what happens every single time you meet a Japanese shapeshifter, which apparently is also all-knowing and has been on these people's trail before they even got to the temple in the first place (watch carefully and you'll spot it's hands failing to menace the guy with the camera).

finally, note that while the "wise locals" were smart enough to figure out that staying away from the temple would be good for their health, they were effing dumb enough to kill the poor innocent guy that lived in it, starting the curse in the first place. this is especially true considering that AFTER the curse got started and people began dropping off (in theory, because they actually don't, they just return with... injuries) , they were still dumb enough to allow the temple to stand, where a few matches and a few hammers (for the statue) would have solved the problem once and for all.

yay wise locals!

Man what a total mess this film is, I am sure it will scare to pants of Japanese viewers as I used to be friends with a Japanese exchange student years ago, and he would scream at stuff like this and have sleepless nights for days. The story is as thin as it gets, the chick actor should take some acting lessons as she was horrible. But I did enjoy some of the scenery but that was probably the best part. Big fat 0 out of 10 for this one! And Fook mi and Fook yu is not offensive language merely a reference from Austin Power.

It seems white people are stereotyped with their "stubborn" attitude towards suggestion from people. Despite the warning from the local for not visiting this certain temple in the middle of nowhere, they still went there for curiosity.

Excellent movie for the story line. Japanese really know how to develop absolute "mystery" feel to their horror. It seems there is no real ending but there actually is. The revealed fact that there is no boy and he was just one of the missing kids. The woman who kept being trapped inside the cave. The only no ending is that we don't know where Chris escaped after the interrogation with local detective and after he killed the interpreter.

Though I doubt that he killed the other man even if the video showed it. i feel the monster is a type of Shape Shifter or something (maybe this is the unclear one). What I don't like is that everything is in the dark, you can't really see anything clear except when they were using the torch. 9/10 for the story.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

We see Asian characters stereotyped in American cinema all the time and no one bats an eyelid. As soon as that's flipped on it's head and we see a different perception, we label it as bad acting or dull.

Temple maintains typical Japanese cinema structure (slow paced and mysterious) with beautiful Japanese rural landscape. The acting is great and in keeping with Japanese perceptions of typical American tourists. Disrespectful towards the locals, making pointless remarks, ignoring every instruction to stay away from the dangerous place. Brandon Sklenar's character knows he's coming across as like a total ***hole most of the time and hates himself for it. The hotel scene with Kate shows love and true connection between the two but it's so subtle that you could easily miss it. Christopher is permanently lost and drifting in and out of his own world and feelings for Kate. Natalia Warner's Kate was very strong but this is hard to see if unfamiliar with her other work or unaware of the film's true tone. British indie Learning to Breathe premiere at Raindance FF last year is what led me to Temple. Warner is actually British and I think she plays the empty shell valley girl hiding behind a big smile, yearning to be "something more" extremely well. Privileged country club Kate will not experience any kind of awakening. The Japanese supporting roles were all strong. All Japanese characters remain unscathed until Christopher stabs one in the EYE.

All characters were purposefully unlikable. They never fully connect to themselves or each other and so we the audience never connect with them. From what I gather, the film's message is that ancient Japanese tradition and it's powerful forces will always be far more superior to the superficial lacklustre American culture (or there lack of). These Americans deserve to die or go crazy and we the audience strongly agree.

This movie is not for everyone. If you're unwilling to look deeper then you just won't appreciate it at all.

A Japanese "scary wanna be movie". Movie has good intentions but it is poorly executed. Leave it to the Japanese please.

That was an hour of my life that I can't get back. Excellent photography, but that doesn't make up for the confused and confusing plot (assuming there even was one). For me, there's nothing like a good horror story to keep me up at night. Unfortunately, this was nothing like a good horror story. Give it a miss.

Huffman, Warner and Sklenar deliver these stereotypes so subtly that we end up not liking them as a result. Call it bad acting but I think this was plainly paying homage to Japanese perceptions of Western tourists. The tone and pace of this film was super unusual. Not everyone can get on board with a slow moving film with a greater concept. It's not scary per se. More twisted and uncomfortable to watch for plenty of reasons.. Three infuriatingly unaware Americans are rude to the locals, ignore valuable advice, sulk when they don't get what they want and end up paying heavily for their mistakes. We see Japan in all it's glory and vastness. The characters aren't there to be liked. They represent Western ignorance and are punished as a result.