MuggySphere Well it scored a 7/10 from me for making me jump near the end.9 times out of 10 horror or scary movies, just don't scare me... Movies on the other hand that are subtle and less up front about their content scare me more where it's left for you to think what happens. I find them more effective. Anyone agree here? I think it was on Monday this week because I had taped it but not gotten around to watching it, but it was a movie called "The Lottery" and the premise of the movie is that there is this small town in middle America where they have an annual lottery and the person that gets that one special ticket has the "treat" of the whole town stoning them to death. The problem with this premise being that a newcomer comes to this town and finds the grave of his mother and several other people. The catch is that the dates on all the headstones were the same date and we even get to see him being almost forced into this town's ritual as they all gather at the lottery drawing. He arrived during the lottery period. Anyway they show us the effects of the stoning by having a lady cast as the unhappy victim and even show her being stoned, first knocked to the ground by a hit to the head, then a succession of other stones all over her body. That was right near the end of the movie too. He escapes the town only to bring back a disbelieving state trooper and other official but can't prove anything. The movie ends with him back in this office outside of the town and a doctor interviewing him. Then you hear a strange voice in the background say "never tell him the truth"..... The movie then ends....

george-holmer I came upon this film on BBC One late one night working. I worked out the story in a few minutes and I must say, I have rarely seen more rubbish on my television screen. The story, and I must say it did surprise me that this film is based on a short story first published in that excellent magazine The New Yorker, is a hopeless nonsense. It is completely unrealistic as the nature of this small town would have come out a long time ago but more importantly, it is historically impossible.The idea is that here is a small, rural New England town with its deeply rooted traditions. Well, these communities where all founded on Christianity and the idea that they would be into human sacrifice is just plain stupid. This goes against the very fundamentals of Christianity. The fact that they sacrifice these people by stoning them is even worse. Did the author actually read the Bible? "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone", Jesus says, not "If you have sinned and want forgiveness, stone this poor woman.".The fact that the acting stinks and it has those commercial break type cuts which makes it so obviously a TV movie does not help. Forget this film.

rmssw Shirley Jackson was one of the most talented writers of the 20th century and her story "The Lottery" continues to be one of the most discussed short stories in modern literature. You would think that a film (or in this case, a television) adaptation would pay a little more attention to detail and try to remain at least a little loyal to the original story. Instead, we get this. The only similarity between this and the story is the fact that someone is stoned to death. Beyond that, it seems as though the screenwriters never even glanced at the short story while writing this. Even when looked at on its own, paying no attention to the story, this movie is bad. It is over-the-top and insulting to the viewer. The context and setting are all wrong, making the plot completely unbelievable. As for the acting, I don't think it's fair to call what is portrayed in the movie "acting". Do yourself a favor and read the story. With this and the recent second film adaptation of her novel "The Haunting Of Hill House", the memory of Shirley Jackson does not deserve to be degraded any further.

weulo This modern day adaptation of the short story by Shirley Daniels is a gripping horror tale that successfully grabs the attention of our modern day teenagers while also making the point Ms. Daniels intended. This story warns us that sometimes traditions can be negative, and we must always stand up for what is truly right. I would love to get a copy of this movie for my own collection.