7. The Man In The Farmhouse - Secret In Their Eyes
It's difficult to judge Secret In Their Eyes, this year's unnecessary remake of the Argentine film of the same name, on its own merits. Had the original not been so darn great, after all, would the critics have judged the American remake quite as harshly as they did? It's hard to tell, but given that Secret In Their Eyes is a movie renowned for its shocking final twist, and given that the remake retains much of that shocking final twist (with a few changes), it only seems fair that the film makes this list. In a nutshell, the film concerns three characters: FBI agent named Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor), assistant DA Claire Sloan (Nicole Kidman), and investigator Jess Cobb (Julia Roberts). One night, something terrible happens: Ray and Jess come across a body that turns out to be that of Jess' daughter, raped and brutally murdered. Ray pledges to track down the killer, whatever it takes, and much of the film concerns his attempts to do so. 13 years pass... and then the twist. Similar to the one that got so many people talking back in 2009 when the original flick came out, Ray discovers, to his horror, that Jess managed to track down her daughter's killer thirteen years ago and has been keeping him locked in a cage in a secluded farmhouse the entire time. Ray, overwhelmed, offers her his gun, and she proceeds to take the murderer outside where she assumedly shoots him dead. How's that for a shock ending, huh?
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
