Totem

1999 "Going Up the Pole...of Evil."
3.2| 1h8m| R| en| More Info
Released: 28 September 1999 Released
Producted By: Full Moon Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Six people find themselves inexplicably transported to a remote cabin that is surrounded by an invisible barrier. In a nearby graveyard, they discover an ancient, carved stone monument that they dub a "totem pole." Soon, they find themselves trapped in a murderous plot by malevolent forces that can control and manipulate their actions with the ultimate goal being to unleash three demonic entities from the monument.

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chrismulkeyisgod I liked this movie a lot; had excellent pacing.My favorite character was the Native American. He knew how to keep his cool in the midst of the chaotic, but well paced events transpiring inside the cabin and around the graveyard. I know that if I were in the presence of something that could be older than Stonehenge, I would just ride my wheelchair right off a balcony or down a flight of stairs. Despite not being Native American (I don't think...?) he was perfectly cast, and his accent was dead on. I have seen other movies about Natives, like Braveheart and that one movie about the sled dog and the Eskimos that had Kevin Costner in it, and this guy was right up there with the very best. I learned a lot about his culture!My second favorite character was the girl that was tied to the table the entire time, who spoke in tongues. These scenes did not go on long enough.My third favorite character was the girl who wanted to kill everyone. This is an example of losing one's wits!! LMAO!My fourth favorite character was the guy who killed the first girl who who spoke in tongues. He was funny in a weird sort of way--the "beak nose" of the film, so to speak. Though I may have him confused with my least favorite character...the sixth.My fifth favorite character was the girl who fell in love with the zombie and was able to use the power of love to nullify zombie magic. This was a powerful life-lesson and I made my children come into the room to watch this part of the film ***they weren't allowed to watch the rest though because this is not an appropriate film for younger children***My sixth favorite character was the sixth character. I may have him confused with my fourth favorite character though--I have a hard time telling people apart. The production values were a little lackluster but that was made up for by storytelling and the excellent pacing. The rate of time by which the plot progressed left a little to be desired for, but this was made up for by the fact that there were 6 people in the movie (for a lot more information about these characters plz see above). I would recommend this film to anyone interested in history, and Native American Cultures.
Jack This movie is about 6 people who are mysteriously drawn to a small cabin out in the woods. They're all strangers to each other. Once at the cabin, they find that an energy barrier prevents them from traveling more than a few hundred feet in any direction. They also find a cemetery with a sort of totem pole in it. Actually it doesn't look anything like a totem pole, it looks like three dolls on a vertical shelf, but I suppose "Totem" makes a much scarier title than "Three Dolls On A Vertical Shelf Unit". Once night falls, one of the characters turns up dead, and everyone suspects another character of killing her, but he can't remember doing it. Then a little demonic Muppet comes running into the cabin, and they manage to drive it away. Another character turns up dead, another demonic Muppet drags off a corpse, and our characters figure out that three of them are to kill the other three for some "mysterious purpose". Probably the most unbelievable thing that occurs in this movie is when they finally figure out the "mysterious purpose". One of the girls is dragged off by a demonic Muppet, and the other is lying helpless on the floor, and then we just cut to an old Viking movie. There are flames superimposed on the lower part of the screen. A narrator explains to us that in times of old, there were some bad guys who were really powerful and nearly took over the earth. I guess we're supposed to assume that these demon dolls in the movie are those bad guys. This whole thing will just leave you shaking your head. I mean, did the demons make this up as a sort of video informational packet for their intended victims to view before their demise? And since such a big deal is made of telling up that no one has been in this cabin for 100 years, I guess we can assume there's no TV for her to watch this on. So did they just beam the video into her head, complete with extremely grainy image quality?I won't spoil the thrilling ending for you. Basically, this is a zero-budget movie with young actors who probably haven't been in much else, and they're not helped by a lousy script (half of the dialog is just nonsense, and it's a very dialog-heavy movie). And then there are the special effects - demonic Muppet dolls. As if everything else wasn't bad enough, these guys are just comical. Then you've got one of the actors who barely speaks English. He speaks paragraph after paragraph of dialog, and it's painful trying to figure out what he's saying. There's a scene where a girl is unconscious and she's mumbling a few random syllables, which the "English as a second language" guy translates. The humorous part is that she mumbles "umph, um-mm, uhhh" and he manages to translate each one of her syllables into a couple of sentences. That must be one extremely efficient language she's using. There's also the odd habit that most of the characters seem to share of using the F word in every sentence. I personally couldn't care less how much people swear, but it's so overused here that it's humorous.I really can't criticize the movie too heavily. It's a no-budget cheapie probably filmed in a week, and for that it gives you exactly what you'd expect. A little bit of atmosphere, a lot of bad acting, a really slow moving plot, some utterly ridiculous moments, and a cute girl or two. Okay, so maybe the whole movie qualifies as a really ridiculous moment. I still found it vaguely enjoyable. Let me put it this way: I'd rather sit through this again than watch Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.
Ilanya I saw this movie with my friends and now we have this on going joke about the "TOTEM" if you are up for a laugh than i would say rent the movie "TOTEM" but if you want to see a scary movie rent"SCREAM". So if i were going to review this movie i would give it a 0 or below. Sorry.
joehed In the tradition of Full Moon's excellent b-horror movies comes Totem. The story of six people who find themselves mysteriously drawn to a cabin in the woods. They decide to leave and wander into a nearby graveyard that contains a totem pole, the crux of the film. The gothic style pole has three monsters carved into it. These creature are looking to raise the dead or complete some sort of ritual and they need three victims and three killers.This movie is undoubtedly a product of Full Moon in its style, acting, and plot. The special effects are hysterical. One of the monsters who can supposedly fly sports a pair of wires that are all too visible. Also towards the end, when dead people are rising the make-up warrants an oscar award for a job well done. The corps wear rubber masks that yield no facial expressions whatsoever and when they grab for the people you can notice that nothing has been done to their arms so there is a complete contrast between the decayed face and the skin on the hands and arms.Perhaps not an instant classic, but definitely a movie to sit down to. Ifyou are a fan of Full Moon's other productions you're sure to like this one. Its filled with awkward lines and, as expected, at some parts less than good acting. Even though its a bit short ( about 73mins ), head out and rent this puppy!