From The Shadows review

By Simon Thompson

The plot centres around a paranormal investigator named Dr Amara Rowan (played by Selena Anduze who would still probably admit to being in A Madea Family Funeral quicker than she would confess to being in this) who is investigating an explosion which killed the leader of the Hidden Wisdom cult Joseph Cawl (Bruce Davison). The survivors of the explosion get in contact with Amara to get their side of the story made public, then all hell breaks loose due to the presence of paranormal creatures that have entered the human world as a direct effect of the explosion, as well as the arrival of Cawl’s former colleague Leonard Bertram (Keith David) along with them.

From The Shadows, has a script full of cardboard cut-out characters- from the intrepid paranormal investigator to the shadowy cult leader and the spurned former colleague, all of which squarely fall into unoriginal paranormal thriller boilerplate. This is truly a shame because Bruce Davison and Keith David are both fantastic actors (with the latter being blessed with one of the richest mellifluous male voices in the history of humanity) and their being wasted on a movie as dull and cliché ridden as this is nothing short of criminal.

The monsters in this movie aren’t particularly scary or intimidating and feel less like an unknowable gruesome eldritch horror and more akin to watching a bloke with a duvet over his head sprinting from side to side as if he’s in desperate need of a piss. This is nothing less than detrimental to your movie’s credibility if the main selling point is how terrifying and unknowable the monsters are in it.
The acting in From The Shadows is laboured and dull, if neither Bruce Davison or Keith David can carry the supporting cast through a scene then you know you’re in for an absolutely shocking lack of talent indeed. Half the scenes in this movie can just be summed up as Selena Anduze repeating a statement while the supporting cast produces expressions and responses which are about as naturalistic as a hostage video.

To conclude, From The Shadows is a dull, confusing mess which despite featuring Keith David isn’t worth your time or money unless you suffer from extreme insomnia, because this movie could give any new sleeping wonder drug a run for its money.