User reviews

This film has quite polarized reviews from suspicious 10 star glowing reviews to 1 star reviews of 'Most Horrible Movie Ever' and other similar variations.

Okay... I really had to think about how I would rate this one because MANY times I read horrible reviews of films that are made very well, but the 'reviewer' just didn't like it so obviously it's just crap. I honestly thought that technically and quality and acting wise that the film was made very well; the pacing and editing, etc. were indeed quite gripping and intense. The overall premise was mildly intriguing because as you went along you were genuinely curious as to WHY this guy was doing this. And of course as ALWAYS Cusack's performance was good (although, quite honestly he DID look like he was kinda sleepwalking through most of it)

Now, as far as the 'Ending'... Well... Firstly it DID catch me totally by surprise; I was actually sitting here saying 'NO WAY!' out loud. But, that is a double edged sword because it was so incredible that many here found it almost ridiculous. I wouldn't put it that strongly but I personally think it could have been worked a little better than just kind of attached onto the end of an otherwise competent film; and then the continuing scenes after that also not really quite matching the quality of the rest of the movie.

So, again, is it well made? Yes. Thus my somewhat generous rating of 6. If a film is put together well (except for perhaps the last 10 minutes) I think that that should be acknowledged so that others reading reviews and trying to decide whether they should bother to see it will know that. It is really great? Well, no... But, if you can take the ending with a teaspoon or two of salt and just enjoy the intensity, pacing, and entertainment value of the majority of the movie, then you might like it.

After watching this movie, I had to wonder if this genre isn't simply exhausted: basically, psychopath kidnaps daughter of someone he shouldn't have. We all buy into this for one reason. We know that we'll eventually get a pay off in the form of revenge. Make the psychopath as evil as possible so that later we will relish his destruction. We will even overlook inconsistencies and absurdities in the plot as long as we get paid off for it. Well, I'll leave it up to each viewer to determine whether this film paid off, for me, it didn't.

This movie can only work if you accept the amazing coincidence that forms the basis of the story, but then you find that you have to accept a lot more coincidences. What I think happened was that the initial screenplay had logical inconsistencies which the writer(s) attempted to plug which led to more inconsistencies and so on. So you get a lot of contrived scenes and 'wow, look what I found, what a coincidence" scenes. I have a feeling that the whole ending was grafted on as an afterthought and then the screenplay was readjusted to it.

I watched this movie primarily because John Cusack was in it and that gave it a certain credibility. He does okay. There's nothing much in the way of interacting with other characters. They could have been played by mannequins and the movie would have been about the same.

Much of the movie seems like a series of scenes grafted on from other movies like "Taken", "Taxi Driver" and a few others. My advice for potential viewers is to watch those movies instead. The Factory needs too many renovations.

The gamut of ratings doesn't surprise me, as everyone has different tastes. The acting was just fine, and the premise I thought was happening for the majority of the movie read much like Law & Order: SVU. I love that show. So this movie was kind of my niche, and I still watched it despite it being a straight-to-DVD film. Hey, Boondock Saints is a B movie by definition, and that movie is awesome, in my opinion. But back to this film. I was having some issues with Netflix, so I had to pause it frequently. I read some reviews during that time, and I knew there would be a major plot twist at the end. So I was pretty excited through the whole film. I think anyone who enjoys SAW movies will like this film. I love those "no way, it was right in front of me the whole time" moments. Also, the cast towards the 2nd quarter of the film were totally believable to me. I am not an expert on cinema, and I have liked some "bad" movies before, but this one doesn't fall into my bad movie category. Date Movie....that was a bad movie! But if you take away anything, stay tuned for the plot twist. Unless you are Sherlock Holmes, you will not guess it!

The Factory (2012)

Well, this is a pretty well made movie with some terrible holes in the plot and the writing. So it ends up being just "stupid" in the way that you are pulled along and want to believe the plot and then it's just not believable. Those few large flaws blow out the whole movie.

Too bad. The photography in particular is really good. And the ambiance in snowy Buffalo is terrific. In fact, the constant snow and all the dark scenes with flashlights seems inspired by "Seven" where it's all rain and flashlights. "The Factory" however isn't as well made as a Fincher movie, naturally enough (few movies these days are). And the basic story here is a little contrived from the get-go, even without the holes in the plot.

The idea of a pair of cops pursuing a mysterious serial killer is a cliché of the movies, of course (including "Seven" which didn't invent the idea). And it could work here. A ridiculous coincidence halfway through throws the movie, and the characters, into a tizzy (one of the characters even bemoans his bad luck). But the basic whodunnit is intact and the great filming makes it pulse along pretty well.

The main character is John Cusack who holds his end up well--he's probably a better goofy dad than a relentless cop but he's decent at both. The supporting cast around him is good, though the female cop sidekick isn't especially compelling, just going through the paces of a female cop sidekick (this is Jennifer Carpenter). The daughter is another story, a surprisingly complex character and a good young actress (Mae Whitman, famous for her role in "Parenthood" more than anything, I think). It's not a bad cast.

In fact, the film has the bones of being excellent. It's the story, and the specific writing that went into the story, that kills it. No pun intended.

While the pace in "The Factory" is not head over heels fast, then it doesn't really slow down the movie. This movie is built up in a very nice way that slowly builds up suspense and feeds the audience bits and pieces along the way.

What appealed to me about this movie was the storyline, and the way that director Morgan O'Neill managed to entice the audience with the way that the story was presented and still managed to put in some really genius plot twists along the way.

The storyline in "The Factory" was alpha and omega in the movie, but the good cast also helped the movie along quite nicely. It was essentially John Cusack who made me sit down and watch this movie, but it turned out to be Dallas Roberts who ended up carrying the movie with his phenomenal performance as Carl.

I can't claim to be familiar with the true story upon which this movie is based, but the events that took place in the movie were portrayed nicely and realistic. And the fact that some of this actually happened to a certain degree is just disturbing.

"The Factory" might be slow paced, but it is an outstanding movie that really should be watched if you enjoy crime thrillers. Quite a unique movie experience.

Hollywood veteran John Cusack is detective Mike Fletcher, a maverick cop who has a hard time playing by the rules at the best of times, let alone when trying to find his missing daughter. Mistaken for a streetwalker by the creepy-for-the-sake-of-being-creepy Gary Gemeaux (Dallas Roberts), Abby Fletcher (Mae Whitman) is thrown into a makeshift dungeon with a couple of other inmates who are forced to produce children for a mysterious benefactor.

Cusack and Roberts make an honourable effort despite an uninspired script, but that is the only highlight to draw from this film. Part-police procedural, part-torture porn exploitation, The Factory blends the two polarising genres with mixed results; the end product serving more to unsettle than stimulate or entertain.

Many of the film's victims are inherently unlikeable, and as such do not demand audience sympathy for their dire situations to the extent that they should. The Factory is actually tolerable, albeit immediately forgettable, for much of its run time, until an overly ambitious climax shreds any filmic credibility that might have still lingered in the mind of the viewer. The 'twist' ending is both predictable and illogical, resulting in a disastrous conclusion leaving one feeling somewhere between 'unsatisfied' and 'downright cheated'.

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We all like John Cusack. He's a lovable presence, very watchable in anything he's in, and possesses a kind of wiry energy which translates brilliantly to the screen. But he's really squandering the good feeling with "The Factory" and looks throughout like he's embarrassed to be part of something so intensely pathetic and which insults the intelligence of its audience so catastrophically - but you still took the cheque, didn't you, John? Weak...

"The Factory" is set in a world where there's only one type of pregnancy test kit on the market. It's a world in which imprisoned female victims of rape profess undying devotion to their rapist captor - and mean it. It's a world in which people are sliced open and drowned but are okay two minutes later.

I hate myself for seeing this film through until the jaw-droppingly ludicrous final twist. So will you. Please, please, if you have an hour and a half to spare and are considering seeing this movie, you can achieve the same feelings of incredulity and self-loathing for free by standing in a corner and occasionally hitting yourself in the face with a big spoon.

This film moves on at a good pace, the characters are played well and the story is pretty good too. And although I was watching this thinking I've seen this kind of story before I was interested in how it would turn out. You know, the story where a father is on a case which ends up involving him because the daughter becomes a victim, but just as you think you've worked out how it will go, BAM, a massive plot twist which you never see coming! If you say you did see it coming, then you're a genius! I'd heard about this movie over a year ago and then it went off the radar but when it turned up I had to see it, and I an so glad I got to. A truly great film and that plot twist just made the movie so much more enjoyable. I'd watch it again as it was that memorable. So I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10.

I watched this movie over the summer and thought it was really good. Very good story and a great twist at the end. Dallas Roberts, who is now on Walking Dead, is excellent. Jennifer Carpenter is pretty much playing her character from Dexter minus the cursing, but she still manages to do a great job. Cusack is good as usual, but the movie has a great ending and is a nice little thriller. The only weird thing is that you'll notice that a lot of the scenery seems outdated. That's because the movie was taped in 2007. Why it was sitting on the shelf for so long? Your guess is as good as mine!

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I had quite a hassle with trying to watch "The Factory". I rented the Blu-ray of the movie, but when I took it home I accidentally dropped the Blu-ray box down my building's elevator shaft. I had to wait overnight for the elevator man to come and retrieve it, and only after he retrieved the movie could I watch it.

It wasn't worth the hassle.

Now, this is not one of the worst movies ever made. For one thing, the movie does has some atmosphere - the Canadian locations covered in snow add a somewhat moody feeling. Also, near the end there is a twist that I admit I didn't see coming... though when I thought about it after the movie was over, it seemed to be silly and not making much sense.

But that silly twist doesn't sink the movie. There are two things that ultimately don't make the movie work. The first is that there is no sense of tension or desperation at any moment in the movie, despite the fact that the story is about a cop's daughter who is kidnapped by a deranged lunatic. The cop - and everyone else for that matter - takes the situation much too calmly. The second problem is with John Cusack's performance. John Cusack has given good performances in past movies, but he's really miscast here. He simply isn't believable as a tough cop, and sticks out like a sore thumb.

As I said earlier, this isn't one of the worst movies ever made. But those problems I mentioned ultimately sink the movie, and it's understandable why the distributor (Warner Brothers) let this movie sit on the shelf for quite some time (the movie has a 2010 copyright date) before ultimately giving it a direct-to-DVD release.

Everyone's talking about the twist. I watched this movie because of it, and well, trust in John Cusack... I guessed it from the beginning and there were some vague clues but I thought to myself: That can't be It and kept watching... sigh... if only I'd believed in myself better and just forward to the last ten mins...

If you like a cat and mouse game type movie and looking for something with a new twist this is a movie that will meet your needs.

The story is a little slow at the beginning but it keeps you wanting to know the next step.

There are some great blindsides that will get you.

The acting was basic follow the script, not bad but nothing special. The movie has many scenes that are at night so a darker screen. Just making it harder to see the movie if you're in a bright room or watching during the day.

I loved what they did and it caught me by surprise and made me want to tell everyone... guess you'll have to watch to know what scene I'm referring to.

This movie was the worst movie I have seen in a long time. It was all good up until the end. Sitting on the edge of your seat kind of thriller. Just when you think they have it figured out there is a twist at every turn. That last turn just dove off the cliff. A total crash and burn. Just don't watch it it will disappoint. A review needs 10 lines of text? Really how much can you say about a movie that just ends horrible! Pretty in Pink is a much better choice if you are looking for John Cusack movies. If you into the bottom of the pit movies and trying to top your last worst movie then take a dive into this but otherwise just pass it up.

Wish I had read the reviews before sitting thru that.

From the very start, reading the description here on IMDb, I thought I had this movie figured out. Typical "cop makes it personal" story because the criminal involves his family. Well, maybe that describes this movie, but doesn't define it. There are several twists in the plot that I couldn't guess (and I am fairly good at that) and I couldn't have come up with the ending at all. I found John Cusack's performance very real, but just adequate. I have seen him do better filling in and rounding out a character. I hadn't seen any of the other actors so they were unknown to me. There are a few parts of the story and background that might require a bit more of a suspension of disbelief than some viewers can give, but if you can get through the rough parts in the script, you will be rewarded at the end. Overall, a very well paced, well edited, well directed film that should have received more attention than it did. A good pick for "movie night".

I wasn't expecting much when I watched the Factory because of the erratic reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Mike Fletcher played perfectly by John Cusack, is a workaholic cop obsessed with a case about missing prostitutes, assumed dead but no bodies were ever found. Mike is also a loving father to his feisty daughter Abby, played by Mae Whitmanand, who also does a fantastic job of portraying a love sick, rebellious young girl who feels her mother is a tyrant because she wants her to follow the rules. Father and daughter have a special bond and though Mike works too hard, he's there for Abby and seems to be the only one who can reach her. Mike is a dedicated family man, but his obsession with the case causes him to work late hours and frustrates his wife, played by Sonya Walger, who does a good job of playing the devoted but frustrated wife and mother. I would have like to have seen a bit more of her in this film, since the true message of this movie is ultimately about family. Mike's partner played by the brilliant Jennifer Carpenter, is not only mikes partner but also a family friend. She is always there for Mike, checking on his progress with the case and backing him up with the boss. The other bright star of this film is Dallas Roberts who's acting really brings life to his character. His portrayal was not at all what you would expect and that just delighted me.

This movie was very well done, from some really good acting to excellent production and cinematography. I gave this movie an 8 star rating and it's well worth a watch. There are ratings for this movie all across the spectrum from 1 star to 10 stars. My advice is ignore the crappy reviews, some folks just like to hate. Some of the crap that has come out in recent years, especially in this genre, I think is to blame for some folks burnout on the genre. But this one is great, I would have liked to have see a touch more character development in a few spots and bit more juxtaposition of the good vs. evil concepts this movie offers. The important thing is this movie does offer some really layered concepts. Any movie that can deliver a surprise and this one has a couple, is a treat in my book. The factory kept me on the edge of my seat in suspense, It's rare that I find myself rooting for characters and I was SO glad they didn't Disney it up with a typical Hollywood ending.

If your a fan of down right creepy, psychological thrillers, than this is a straight up mind bender. John Cusack is a strong lead in this film, not a great stand-out performance but nonetheless not bad either. Jennifer Carpenter is truly a delight as his partner. The scene stealer for me is the methodical and unnerving way Dallas Roberts comes across as the killer in this film. Inspired by true events is a tagline for this film and although research was done by this critic no information was found. However, everyday we see the truths behind sex-trafficking and developments of missing girls. So this story hits the truth nail on the head. You are literally left scratching your head at the end of this thriller. I give it a strong 7 leaning towards 8.

Police thriller out of the ordinary although it has the typical stuff. We first think Jack the Ripper but it does not add up. Finally an ending not so predictable. The film is flawed but I liked the originality.