Nick Eric Roberts as Tarkington Alexander Graves has it all rich, handsome and incredibly wealthy. Everything is perfect until a tragedy hits his life and the residents of Graves End. Mr. Roberts pulled off a good performance but the true star here is Steven Williams who was seamless. Very entertaining movie sure to please any film buff.

Ciarán Gibson (atomic440) This film is the worst film I have ever seen in my life. It is cheap and pathetic, much like that wanton woman of a wife in it! The actors were terrible. They clearly thought they were amazing. The storyline pathetic and just stupid. A lot of random occurrences in furthering the story that clearly shows the sheer lack of skill the director has. It looked a lot cheaper than it probably actually was. It might have been at least worth the watch if the whole film didn't try to be so serious. All in all, it's a piece of cr*p. Watching this will waste precious time of your life that you'll never get back. Do something more productive with your time - like sleep...

berlinmovieboy "Graves End" is one of those movies that takes you by surprise with its clever storyline, intriguing plot devices, excellent acting from the lead stars and strong direction. Director James Marlowe opens up "Graves End" with a creepy virtuoso of newspaper clippings and archaic images that is reminiscent of Kenneth Branagh's "Dead Again" and Guillermo Del Toro's "Mimic." Marlowe's opening credits pulls you into the history of the Graves family and what made them what they are. Clearly Marlowe has done his homework about what makes a thriller work and how to compact plot devices into a limited time frame.The strength of film is drawn from the three leads: Eric Roberts as Tag, Steven Williams as Rickman and Daniel Roebuck as Sheriff Hooper. The chemistry between them is dynamic and propels the film forward. Sky Soleil is outstanding as a brutal psychopath and he reminds one of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" with his child-like glee upon slaughtering his victims.The story revolves around a group of missing felons who have been pushed from city-to-city and town-to-town. However, only the little village of Graves End embraces them. These felons happily seek sanctuary in a small town that appears to accept them and all their flaws into their community. All is well until the felons disappear and that prompts FBI agent Paul Rickman to investigate their vanishings and discover what happened to them.I've been a fan of Eric Roberts but in "Graves End" Mr. Roberts redeems himself for years of prostituting himself out to some very bad films. I would say this is one of Eric Roberts's best performances as he portrays Tag as smarmy and arrogant while still being vulnerable and conflicted. Daniel Roebuck shines as a clumsy backwater Sheriff in over his head but Roebuck plays his character with so much dignity and resolve that you feel for his plight. However, the man who stole the entire film was Steven Williams. Mr. Williams has always brought a level of authority to every role he's played from Captain Adam Fuller in "21 Jump Street" to the mysterious Mr. X in "The X-Files". In "Graves End", Mr. Williams does not disappoint and continues with a commanding performance along the lines of Morgan Freeman in "Seven" and Denzel Washington in "Man on Fire."Director Marlowe weaves the film together with a fine tapestry of suspense, humor, drama and action. He seems to utilize gore with a wink toward Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" and Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" trilogy. It seems as though Marlowe believes the gore and blood is an extension of humor that offsets a scene that is previously gruesome and disturbing. However, where Marlowe really makes his mark as a director and an auteur is how he unfolds events, the characters development, the tempo and atmosphere of the film creates a hypnotic effect that draws you into the film deeper and deeper.Though the film has many pluses one of the glaring minuses is the supporting cast. Though Edward Perotti is fine as Doc the film is hamstrung by the weak and unconvincing performance of Anthony Santucci as Tedesco. Santucci is listed as one of the four writers and must have written himself into the movie as his acting is amateurish and stiff. Thankfully Mr. Santucci's role is small and he doesn't get in the way of spoiling the film.These thrillers are often conceived in such a way with clues that deceive. Consequently, with this in mind I carefully explore the motives of each character. I regret to say that I was tricked into coming to a wrong conclusion about the perpetrator of the crimes.I rented "Graves End" at my local video store in Berlin. The cover art to the DVD is rubbish but I rented the movie on the basis it won so many awards. After seeing the film I can see why because it's so damn good. I would rate this film a 9 out of 10 for its combination of humor, drama, suspense and action that is crafted into a first rate psychological thriller.

Dave Dennis I read a few user comments about "Graves End" and was intrigued. When I read about Daniel Roebuck in the Pantagraph, I decided, what the hey, I'll go watch that movie. I was really surprised to see a lot of the cast at our local movie theater. It was so cool! Daniel Roebuck, Steven Williams and Fairly Tull were really the nicest people. The director, James Marlowe was hilarious and the producers were equally fun. I thought, wow, they sure are cool people, I hope they made a decent film. I can tell you this, "Graves End" was not only decent, it was EXCELLENT!!! The movie gets you going from the very beginning and the humor is terrific. There are a lot of twists and turns but that's half the fun. Eric Roberts is a fabulous actor but Steven Williams really steals the show. Okay, it's no big Hollywood blockbuster but it has something I haven't seen lately and that's a PLOT! When the movie ended there was a thunderous applause and the cast did a great Q&A with the audience. What a terrific time I had! I wished I'd gone with some friends! Now I want it to come out in movie theaters and tell my buddies I was there first. Go see "Graves End" and have a good time. DD in Bloomington, IL