Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Canal’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Just because you are paranoid, does not mean that what you are thinking is not true. There are several people who think they are being followed, or tested on, and when everything is said and done, they were correct, but none of their friends or family believed them until it was too late. It is sad for those people, since they were right all along, but with all of their stories leading up to their last seconds, it seemed too outlandish for everyone to believe. Yes, there are the other people that believe something is coming to get them as well, but nothing ever happens to them, but how are you to know if you are a friend, what to believe and what to pass off as someone just being out of their mind?

David is a film archivist and pleased with his job. With his great coworker Claire at his side, he is able to get everything done, quickly and correctly. But David has a life away from his job and a new son that is his foundation. With his wife Alice, the two are living the dream in their new house, but Alice has been working extra late at nights and is starting to drive David crazy. Not being able to prove that she is not having an affair and not even wanting to think about it, David sees her at a party with another man who seems to be a little bit too touchy with her and begs for her to come home early and be with him.

At work David has uncovered an old murder investigation that took place in his house many years ago. Wanting to share the information with his wife could make them change their minds about living there, but Alice will not give up her time to listen to him. Going out late with one of her clients, David follows his wife and confirms his suspicion of her cheating on him. Not saying a word and walking away, David heads home to gather his thoughts, but has to stop at the public toilets when getting sick. Hearing someone outside of the stall, David is frightened out of his mind and tries to cool down, but when he reaches the entrance, he sees his wife being thrown into the canal. Thinking he imagined the heinous act; Alice does not come home the next day and David is forced to call the police to help find her.

The Canal follows David and his son Billy as they are trying to get by when wife and mother Alice vanishes. Although David had witnessed what happened to her, he keeps quiet towards the police and lets them do their jobs. When her body is recovered from the canal, David fears that someone much more sinister murdered his wife and becomes obsessed with a story of murder that took place in his house many years prior. Watching the footage from a murder investigation and making it his own, David is convinced that there is a stranger or ghost roaming his halls, but being as outlandish as it seems, David is not willing to let the cops in on what he knows just yet. With his son’s wellbeing being his number one priority, David has to prove his innocence by passing on his films and proving that there is someone other than himself responsible for the terrible act that took place in the canal.

This movie plays on sights and sounds more than it plays with conventional scares. When David starts to see things in the old films that were taken around his house, he decides to make his own to prove that someone still there. Although he sees what is happening, nobody else seems to see it, but that does not stop him from feeling that he and his son's life are in danger. With plenty of jump cuts in the films, you never really get to see the full story unwrapping in them, but the movie itself does make sure that you get to see the memories of it. I enjoyed watching as David falls into madness over the way his life is going, and how he was unable to depend on his friends or family to see what he does, so that he could prove that he did nothing wrong. Stay Scared.

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