Take the low budget, settings, and direction of Evil Dead crossed with The Blair Witch Project and mix it with the theme and atmosphere of The Ring and you have Soft For Digging. Sounds promising, eh? Well, it is
but with some faults. Some will be turned off by the slow pace, others by the almost complete lack of dialogue. For me, neither of these things were major problems. The biggest complaint I had is that it wasn't quite as "scary" as it should've been. It's like right on the edge of being a truly frightening film but somehow fails to take the big plunge, at least for me. If you thought The Ring was scary, this flick will be right up your alley. Nonetheless though, I did find it rather enjoyable (if that's the right word) and like I said, being right up to the edge, it did provide me a few chills and effective scenes. Good, dark-humored ending too.
17 Reviews
Not that anyone will guess though!
christopher-underwood7 November 2008
Billed as a horror film and in the end proves to be so but for most of its running time this is a rather disconcerting film about an elderly gentleman who lives alone in the woods. He sees something disturbing whilst searching for his cat and then has his dreams disturbed by the imagery and tries to solve the mystery. The woods are bleak and shot with hand held camera giving creepy and atmospheric tone to proceedings. Proceedings are, however, a little slow and the pacing is not helped by chapter headings, every now and again. In a film without dialogue, of course, there is little option but to use headings, if only to give the audience some notion of where we are going. Not that anyone will guess though!
An interesting idea
The_Void15 December 2004
This film, that received an incognito release back in 2001, isn't actually as good as it's minor cult following would suggest. That's not to say that it isn't good, however; it's refreshing to see something a little different and although the film is flawed, it does succeed for that reason. The story follows a reclusive man that lives in the woods and witnesses a murder while searching for his cat. The film doesn't have any dialogue, and is told in chapters. This makes the film different from the outset as it leaves the audience with only their own thoughts as to what's going and nothing is ever really explained. Other films, such as the worst film ever made; The Blair Witch Project, have tried similar ways of developing a plot and most have failed. This one doesn't really succeed, but it's probably the best example I've seen yet.
The film is almost completely set in the woods, and there aren't many people other than our central character shown on screen. This gives the film an intense feeling of loneliness and isolation, which is always unsettling. The film also seems to have taken some influence from true cult classic 'The Evil Dead' in the way it is shot. The way that the camera moves through the woods is reminiscent of the 'Raimi-cam' that was introduced in said movie. In spite of having no dialogue, and moving relatively slowly; Soft for Digging never becomes boring and the scenes where we are allowed to brood with the main character are kept alive by what the audience thinks as we see him trying to continue with his life. The film features some very unnerving nightmare sequences, which are the movie's best moments and also come as something as a surprise in a movie of this nature. Nothing, however, can prepare you for the ending, which is as ambiguous as it is disgraceful and I almost guarantee that it will shock, repulse and surprise you.
There's not really enough of this film, and what there is isn't really good enough to call it 'good' without lying. However, this is an impressive first feature from director J.T. Petty and I look forward to seeing better things from him in the future.
The film is almost completely set in the woods, and there aren't many people other than our central character shown on screen. This gives the film an intense feeling of loneliness and isolation, which is always unsettling. The film also seems to have taken some influence from true cult classic 'The Evil Dead' in the way it is shot. The way that the camera moves through the woods is reminiscent of the 'Raimi-cam' that was introduced in said movie. In spite of having no dialogue, and moving relatively slowly; Soft for Digging never becomes boring and the scenes where we are allowed to brood with the main character are kept alive by what the audience thinks as we see him trying to continue with his life. The film features some very unnerving nightmare sequences, which are the movie's best moments and also come as something as a surprise in a movie of this nature. Nothing, however, can prepare you for the ending, which is as ambiguous as it is disgraceful and I almost guarantee that it will shock, repulse and surprise you.
There's not really enough of this film, and what there is isn't really good enough to call it 'good' without lying. However, this is an impressive first feature from director J.T. Petty and I look forward to seeing better things from him in the future.
Something different - enjoy
BiggerBoatNeeded25 July 2004
In these days of inane films for the masses, it's refreshing to see a tale told such as 'Soft for Digging'. Take what might come out of Hollywood, but cut the unnecessary dialog, cut the shallow score, rely on some good honest camera work and acting, and get the audience to sit back and enjoy the tale.
Not to spoil this; but the story opens with a recluse, an old man, who while searching for his cat witnesses something that haunts him thereafter. The story is simple but is told well and is totally convincing.
You may love it, you may hate it, but I challenge anyone to watch this for the first time and to know what might come next. Despite being a fan of horror movies for over 20 years, there are at least two places in this film that blindsided me completely and had me all but jumping out of my chair. Wonderful.
Refreshing in its simplicity, though not a classic, but does what it set out to do exceptionally well.
Not to spoil this; but the story opens with a recluse, an old man, who while searching for his cat witnesses something that haunts him thereafter. The story is simple but is told well and is totally convincing.
You may love it, you may hate it, but I challenge anyone to watch this for the first time and to know what might come next. Despite being a fan of horror movies for over 20 years, there are at least two places in this film that blindsided me completely and had me all but jumping out of my chair. Wonderful.
Refreshing in its simplicity, though not a classic, but does what it set out to do exceptionally well.
Are all old people loosing their mind?
plan9-1011 April 2006
The plot is straightforward an old man living off a main road in woodland one day witnesses a man murdering a child in the woods. Soft For Digging follows the old man's attempts to try and convince the police that what he saw was not a figment of his imagination. However, there is a problem each time the old man guides the police to where the murder happen no corpse can be found. Soft For Digging has a diminutive dialogue which reflects the majority of the scenes of the film, an old man living by himself in a house. During the film I found that I was scared twice namely when the murdered child abruptly appears before the old man. The rest of the film I have to admit did not engage me; I found the tempo of the film a little too slow. The limited dialogue was not a problem. However, the development of the story and its conclusions, after watching the film, took too long. I feel more could have been made of the relationship, ghostly encounters, with the child and the old man. Alone in the woods at night unsure of your own mind can lead to some eerie situations, children are always scary as ghosts, see Dark Water.
Very poor movie
ir_bork13 August 2008
This movie was extremely boring. It should least not more than 15 minutes. The images of child and animal being killed were little bit disturbing.
Usually I don't write comments but this one was so bad having so many good and excellent comments. I think in this case we are one step closer to honest assessment of this title.
What more can I say? I fall asleep during this movie 3 times. It was about 4 hours after I had woken up from 8 hours long sleeping period. I think it is the point itself.
There is no dialog between characters except maybe 2 sentences at the very end.
When you fall asleep once watching it do not try to rewind and catch up because you will fall asleep again.
Usually I don't write comments but this one was so bad having so many good and excellent comments. I think in this case we are one step closer to honest assessment of this title.
What more can I say? I fall asleep during this movie 3 times. It was about 4 hours after I had woken up from 8 hours long sleeping period. I think it is the point itself.
There is no dialog between characters except maybe 2 sentences at the very end.
When you fall asleep once watching it do not try to rewind and catch up because you will fall asleep again.
Very interesting experimental horror.
HumanoidOfFlesh18 July 2006
Virgil Manoven is an old man who lives alone in his remote rural farmhouse.Chasing his beloved cat one morning into the woods around his property,Manoven glimpses what looks like the murder of a young child in the middle of the woods.He reports the crime to the police but there's no body to be found.Troubled by disturbing visions,he investigates further and eventually is guided to a spooky orphanage where events take a supernatural turn
"Soft for Digging" is a fantastic experimental horror with lots of creepy atmosphere to spare.This minimalist film is almost completely devoid of dialogue.Some scenes are genuinely nightmarish and the acting is excellent.The location sets provide plenty of creepiness:the eerie Maryland woods rival those used in "The Blair Witch Projcect".Give this strange horror film a chance.9 out of 10.
This is not worth watching.
dave16618 October 2006
The thing that really gets me about this movie (that is, the thing about this movie that makes me physically ill) is that someone actually paid to have it made. There is absolutely no purpose for the existence of this movie. It is not frightening, it is not thought provoking, it is not entertaining, it is not good. It is a sleeping pill made of cyanide. The DVD case compares it to Blair Witch, Evil Dead, and a few other decent movies, making the filmmaker's desperation glaringly obvious. It is nothing like any other movie ever made; it is far, far worse. The claims of an "extremely shocking ending you will never forget" are the equivalent of one ton of stinking horse droppings. Please do not ever waste your time watching this piece of trash, because it may make you sterile. The man who wrote this movie should be wiped off the Writer's Guild membership list, and never allowed to film anything again. Because if he thought THIS was a movie worth making, he probably does not have much of anything to offer in the future. Zero stars. May Grod have mercy on the soul of anyone unfortunate enough to see this. I am going to go vomit now.
Imaginative and spooky!
lennonforever2 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Don't be swayed by the naysayers. This is a wonderfully spooky film. This was a thesis project for the writer/director , JT Petty. He did a great job of having me on the edge of my seat. I never really knew what to expect, and for a jaded horror-movie goer, this is Nirvana! The film concerns an elderly man who lives in a isolated log cabin in the woods. One day, while searching for his cat in the woods, he witnesses the murder of a child, or does he? He agonizes about this the rest of the film. What is most unusual about this film is that here is no dialogue until the last few scenes. I found this to be intriguing. The writer manages to get hold of your senses and gives them a relentless tug. Give this film a go, you won't be disappointed.
Pure Crap
rosierotten-146-96839718 October 2011
I honestly want to punch the director in the throat for making this god awful piece of garbage. I LOVE creepy depraved extreme horror flicks and this was a pure waste of time. I was turned onto the movie after watching a documentary about snuff films and figured it would be decent. WOW was I wrong. It had everything it needed to be amazing minus the key part... HORROR. It was slow, boring and monotone. There was truly nothing about the movie that made me want to continue to watch it. The chapters gave away what was going to happen and it was left WIDE open from the get go. Sad I wasted time tracking the film down and making an evening of watching it. Thank god for A Serbian Film and the like.
oh my god
pinkxxbunny4 April 2008
what is that??!! no offense but that's not even a horror, that's a result of a very sick mind.... i ve seen the blair witch project and the ring but not even one of these movies reminds me of this movie...well maybe just the woods, cause its similarto blair wood. i would say this movie is more socially disturbed drama with a little suspense and mystery, than a regular horror movie. .................................................................. .................................................................. ................................................................... .................................................................
Another film school project that should never have been commerically released
MBunge6 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
As a film school project, Soft For Digging would probably merit an A-. As a work of professional cinema, it hovers somewhere between C- and D+, depending on how tough you are a grader. It's nowhere near as insultingly awful as other movies of dubious commercial origins, but there's still no reason it needed to be released for public consumption.
Virgil Manoven (Edmond Mercier) is an old man who lives in a cabin in the woods. He looks like the love child of former New York City mayor Ed Koch and Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes. His standard outfit is long johns and an uncinched bath robe. One day, Virgil's cat scampers off into the woods and he follows. He doesn't find the cat but does see a man kill a young girl. The authorities can find no trace of the girl or any murder, so Virgil mopes around his cabin, sucking on reindeer candy canes and having visions of the dead girl. Coincidence eventually leads Virgil to the truth behind the dead girl, leading to a scene of spectral revenge that dances on the line between laughable and unnerving. Virgil then returns home and finds his missing cat waiting for him.
Evaluated as the work of a student filmmaker, there's a lot to admire about Soft For Digging. Yeah, it's a little rough when it comes to technique, slightly derivative when it comes to style and at least twice as long as it needs to be, but writer/director J.T. Petty shows a good eye for visuals and a firm hand at storytelling. There's barely more than 3 words of dialog in the film, until a handful of poorly lip synched sentences at the very end, yet Petty's direction never stumbles and he effectively conveys a number of different plot and emotional developments. Whether you like this movie or not, you can't watch it and deny that Petty knows what he's doing behind a camera.
Unfortunately, knowing what you're doing doesn't always result in doing something good. As a 20 minute film festival entry, Soft For Digging might have been passable. Stretched out to over an hour, it becomes the sort of movie that people just can't sit through. I would bet $50 that the majority of folks who've tried to watch this, in a theater or at home, gave up on it well before it was halfway done. It's too rudimentary a tale to be extended like this. Since I'm reviewing it, I had to watch the whole thing and it was an unrewarding slog.
If J.T. Petty goes on to greatness in the movie business, scenes out of Soft For Digging are what would be played during his interviews on late night talks shows so the host could make fun of his extremely humble beginnings. You're better off waiting to see this film in that format, rather than waste you time and money on the real thing.
Virgil Manoven (Edmond Mercier) is an old man who lives in a cabin in the woods. He looks like the love child of former New York City mayor Ed Koch and Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes. His standard outfit is long johns and an uncinched bath robe. One day, Virgil's cat scampers off into the woods and he follows. He doesn't find the cat but does see a man kill a young girl. The authorities can find no trace of the girl or any murder, so Virgil mopes around his cabin, sucking on reindeer candy canes and having visions of the dead girl. Coincidence eventually leads Virgil to the truth behind the dead girl, leading to a scene of spectral revenge that dances on the line between laughable and unnerving. Virgil then returns home and finds his missing cat waiting for him.
Evaluated as the work of a student filmmaker, there's a lot to admire about Soft For Digging. Yeah, it's a little rough when it comes to technique, slightly derivative when it comes to style and at least twice as long as it needs to be, but writer/director J.T. Petty shows a good eye for visuals and a firm hand at storytelling. There's barely more than 3 words of dialog in the film, until a handful of poorly lip synched sentences at the very end, yet Petty's direction never stumbles and he effectively conveys a number of different plot and emotional developments. Whether you like this movie or not, you can't watch it and deny that Petty knows what he's doing behind a camera.
Unfortunately, knowing what you're doing doesn't always result in doing something good. As a 20 minute film festival entry, Soft For Digging might have been passable. Stretched out to over an hour, it becomes the sort of movie that people just can't sit through. I would bet $50 that the majority of folks who've tried to watch this, in a theater or at home, gave up on it well before it was halfway done. It's too rudimentary a tale to be extended like this. Since I'm reviewing it, I had to watch the whole thing and it was an unrewarding slog.
If J.T. Petty goes on to greatness in the movie business, scenes out of Soft For Digging are what would be played during his interviews on late night talks shows so the host could make fun of his extremely humble beginnings. You're better off waiting to see this film in that format, rather than waste you time and money on the real thing.
Lonely Recluse and a Quiet Atmosphere Conveys Creepiness
autnes21 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The premise of the story is simple: An old man living alone in the woods accidentally stumble upon a murder of a small child, and tries to convince the police that the murder has occurred. Though very little dialog is provided throughout the film, the visual narrative told by the camera's eye alone made the film quite engaging. The setting of the gray woods conveys a feeling of loneliness, which complements the quietness of the characters themselves. We can also sense helplessness in the old man's inability to convince the police of the murder, which parallels the silenced child's inability to tell her own story.
True horror lies in feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and irrationality. This film successfully addresses these elements by visuals alone, rather than relying on cheap sound effects or blood and gore that other bad horror films use when the narrative is weak.
Cleverly, the story unfolds at a slow pace to build up tension for a few creepy and startling moments. The ending is also unexpected and believable. Reminiscent of Japanese horror films, such as "The Ring," and "Dark Water," or English horror films, such as "Lady in Black," and "The Innocents," this film provides viewers the experience of true atmosphere horror. I recommend anyone who enjoys a good chilling to the bone scare to give this film a try.
By the way, if you haven't seen the films I just mentioned above, you might want to give them a try as well.
True horror lies in feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and irrationality. This film successfully addresses these elements by visuals alone, rather than relying on cheap sound effects or blood and gore that other bad horror films use when the narrative is weak.
Cleverly, the story unfolds at a slow pace to build up tension for a few creepy and startling moments. The ending is also unexpected and believable. Reminiscent of Japanese horror films, such as "The Ring," and "Dark Water," or English horror films, such as "Lady in Black," and "The Innocents," this film provides viewers the experience of true atmosphere horror. I recommend anyone who enjoys a good chilling to the bone scare to give this film a try.
By the way, if you haven't seen the films I just mentioned above, you might want to give them a try as well.
Highly recommended spine-chiller...
jazzamind23 September 2006
I really think I should make my case and have every(horror and or cult)movie-buff go and see this movie...
I did!
It-is-excellent: Very atmospheric and unsettling and scary...
Incridible how they could make such a gem of a film with the very low(read-"no"!)-budget they had....
Synopsis taken from website: "One morning, an old man wanders out into the woods in search of his runaway cat. He finds instead a child without parents and a murder with no corpse..."
On this website(IMDb) there is no trailer, but I will leave a link here to the site of the movie itself where there IS a trailer which is quite unsettling so please go and check it out...
www.softfordigging.com
I did!
It-is-excellent: Very atmospheric and unsettling and scary...
Incridible how they could make such a gem of a film with the very low(read-"no"!)-budget they had....
Synopsis taken from website: "One morning, an old man wanders out into the woods in search of his runaway cat. He finds instead a child without parents and a murder with no corpse..."
On this website(IMDb) there is no trailer, but I will leave a link here to the site of the movie itself where there IS a trailer which is quite unsettling so please go and check it out...
www.softfordigging.com
Wonderful
alan.hughes14 December 2003
This is an excellent film and one should not be put off by its strangeness. There is genuine skill in manufacture of this work. It manages to be intrigiung, funny and frightening at various times. Work with it for the first few minutes and you won't be disappointed
Perfect for elderly women who want to be bewildered.
ty40001 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
This movie will appeal to elderly women who may have seen the Exorcist in a daring moment of their middle age and were absolutely terrified into a near heart attack by THAT movie and are now trying to get that little jolt from watching something not billed as 'graphic horror.'
This movie is NOT a horror movie. Well, it would probably scare someone who was shocked by 'Blair Witch,' but that movie is not worth expounding on here. But, elderly women would love this. It has an elderly man running around in his long-johns a lot. It has a a little girl with 'dead' make-up on being shown in quick, flashy shots, and we know that that kind of film making is scary itself! Did I see it? Was that blood? Is that the killer's eyes running through the woods? William Malone used that technique way too much in his recent horror flicks.
I laughed at the inane lack of exposition of this film. It had potential and should have had dialogue. Yes, yes, it is sooooo artistic to have a movie with three lines spoken. Yes, but it is also highly pretentious.
*spoiler* The 'horror' is an old man witnessing a supposed child being strangled. Granted, it's not SUCH a surprise since the director puts in these little 'silent movie' screens of text explaining the 'chapter' we are about to see, so I knew the kid was gonna get it, along with everything else that happened.
I'm not knocking J.T. Petty's attempt at making a film. In fact it had many aspects that I found rather pleasing. The choice of music was excellent in that it was so melancholic and dreary that it added to the dream-like quality of the filming. The lingering on objects, or watching the action going on behind an object, that is creativity and I enjoyed that. The use of locations was quite nice and atmospheric. I see that this film was made in 2001 and he has another one from 2003, 'Mimic:Sentinel,' that I will certainly check out. I also liked the clandestine sense of humor displayed; the farting, the whole cat thing, the priests method of delivering his lines.
However, for future, new, budding filmmakers, please note that you can get people who can REALLY act (and for free) if you try harder to get them. Perhaps a University, a local playhouse, high school drama teachers, etc. You can also have a 'silent' film if there is enough in the story to challenge the viewer to think (this films intention I'm sure) and have visuals equal the story, but to have it be all so.....vague, is a bit trying too hard to be innovative. Especially if you have characters walk up to other characters and not say anything but gesture instead. How often does that happen? Especially at a crime scene?
A 3 out of 10 for sure attempt and probably a good future for J.T. Petty, but he may try comedy instead.
This movie is NOT a horror movie. Well, it would probably scare someone who was shocked by 'Blair Witch,' but that movie is not worth expounding on here. But, elderly women would love this. It has an elderly man running around in his long-johns a lot. It has a a little girl with 'dead' make-up on being shown in quick, flashy shots, and we know that that kind of film making is scary itself! Did I see it? Was that blood? Is that the killer's eyes running through the woods? William Malone used that technique way too much in his recent horror flicks.
I laughed at the inane lack of exposition of this film. It had potential and should have had dialogue. Yes, yes, it is sooooo artistic to have a movie with three lines spoken. Yes, but it is also highly pretentious.
*spoiler* The 'horror' is an old man witnessing a supposed child being strangled. Granted, it's not SUCH a surprise since the director puts in these little 'silent movie' screens of text explaining the 'chapter' we are about to see, so I knew the kid was gonna get it, along with everything else that happened.
I'm not knocking J.T. Petty's attempt at making a film. In fact it had many aspects that I found rather pleasing. The choice of music was excellent in that it was so melancholic and dreary that it added to the dream-like quality of the filming. The lingering on objects, or watching the action going on behind an object, that is creativity and I enjoyed that. The use of locations was quite nice and atmospheric. I see that this film was made in 2001 and he has another one from 2003, 'Mimic:Sentinel,' that I will certainly check out. I also liked the clandestine sense of humor displayed; the farting, the whole cat thing, the priests method of delivering his lines.
However, for future, new, budding filmmakers, please note that you can get people who can REALLY act (and for free) if you try harder to get them. Perhaps a University, a local playhouse, high school drama teachers, etc. You can also have a 'silent' film if there is enough in the story to challenge the viewer to think (this films intention I'm sure) and have visuals equal the story, but to have it be all so.....vague, is a bit trying too hard to be innovative. Especially if you have characters walk up to other characters and not say anything but gesture instead. How often does that happen? Especially at a crime scene?
A 3 out of 10 for sure attempt and probably a good future for J.T. Petty, but he may try comedy instead.
At the edges of madness
fathersonholygore19 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I have to say, I'd made it an hour in, and I was absolutely ready to turn it off- not because it wasn't interesting, or that it was boring, but because I just didn't feel like there was going to be a great pay off - I always stick with a movie, and there are only two movies I've ever turned off with no intentions of every finishing later. So, to my surprise, the ending of Soft for Digging absolutely blew me away! There are a few shots where I felt a very strong Kubrickian vibe (particularly from The Shining's influence), and others where it was just pure terror.
The finale most definitely made the wait worth it. A lot of people, rightfully so, were not impressed with the running time, in terms of how much dialogue it offered, and also not much action in regards to the plot itself. I agree- not a lot went on. However, I think Soft for Digging burns slow, the way any suspense should in my opinion, and it works- the end is incredible! I'm not saying you're going to throw up on yourself or urinate, or stay up for nights on end due to nightmares solely caused by the film's finale- I'm just saying it was well done, it was intense, a little disturbing. The images were wonderful! It was a treat to see, and I'm so glad I didn't let myself be fooled by the rest of the film. Now, the lead-up to the finale wasn't bad either- I just didn't expect the pay off that came. Once it did, I had a whole new look on what came before it, so the entire film became a great piece of work by the time the end credits rolled.
J.T Petty is not necessarily one of my favourites, though I hope to see him continue making some unique pictures. Soft for Digging took awhile to find, but I'm now glad I tracked it down after so long, it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys indie horror to check this out- if you can handle a slow-burn film with minimal dialogue, maximum imagery, then go for it! 10 out of 10 for me; a great, original independent work.
The finale most definitely made the wait worth it. A lot of people, rightfully so, were not impressed with the running time, in terms of how much dialogue it offered, and also not much action in regards to the plot itself. I agree- not a lot went on. However, I think Soft for Digging burns slow, the way any suspense should in my opinion, and it works- the end is incredible! I'm not saying you're going to throw up on yourself or urinate, or stay up for nights on end due to nightmares solely caused by the film's finale- I'm just saying it was well done, it was intense, a little disturbing. The images were wonderful! It was a treat to see, and I'm so glad I didn't let myself be fooled by the rest of the film. Now, the lead-up to the finale wasn't bad either- I just didn't expect the pay off that came. Once it did, I had a whole new look on what came before it, so the entire film became a great piece of work by the time the end credits rolled.
J.T Petty is not necessarily one of my favourites, though I hope to see him continue making some unique pictures. Soft for Digging took awhile to find, but I'm now glad I tracked it down after so long, it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys indie horror to check this out- if you can handle a slow-burn film with minimal dialogue, maximum imagery, then go for it! 10 out of 10 for me; a great, original independent work.
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