User Reviews

I don't care how bad the reviews are, the chance to see Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia, Spanglish, The Other Side of the Bed) means I will watch it.

As a bonus it has Claire Forlani from Meet Joe Black. I like her, too.

We are treated to violent flashbacks, gratuitous nudity from strippers and prostitutes and vaguely supernatural facial distortions in an attempt to distract us from the bad acting and bad script.

Similar to Taken, it also has elements of A History of Violence. Of course, come may recall Eyes Wide Shut at certain points. In other words, there is nothing original as this film is capitalizing on Simon Baker's popularity as The Mentalist.

Jack/Roberto is not the only one with a secret.

"Not Forgotten" probably won't do much to enhance U.S./Mexico relations. Set in Del Rio, Texas, a town located just north of the border, this thriller stars "The Mentalist"s Simon Baker as a loan officer whose daughter is kidnapped by a bloodthirsty religious cult that, we're told, has achieved widespread notoreity in Mexico.

"Not Forgotten" - which is strong on atmosphere and milieu and weak on anything even remotely resembling suspense - features all the red herrings, false leads and narrative blind alleys that we've come to expect from such films, with each of the characters harboring some deep dark secret from the past that, when it is finally revealed, turns out to be a surprise only to the other characters in the story. For, indeed, when the most likely suspect turns out to be the actual culprit in the end, you know that the screenplay could probably have used a few more runs through the typewriter before going before the cameras.

I went to preview screening at 20th century Fox and I would say this is a solid thriller along the lines of "8 mm"… As an audience member, I was intrigued right up until the very last line (which totally creeped me out, by the way). There's a MAJOR twist that I really didn't see coming; at that point, I realized this was no ordinary thriller. Paz Vega's performance is awesome--- maybe one of her best ever (I'm biased though; I think she's fantastic). Very subtle—she really draws you in. And Simon Baker is a great match for her.

In short: if you like smart, suspenseful, creative, original movies, see this movie.

In Del Rio, in the border of Texas and Mexico, the female teen-soccer coach Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) is very popular and he loves his eleven year-old daughter Toby (Chloe Moretz) and her stepmother Amaya (Paz Vegas). When Toby is kidnapped, Amaya's cousin, the rookie Sheriff Casper Navarro (Michael DeLorenzo), is in charge of the investigation, but sooner the FBI arrives in town to lead the hunt. However, Navarro and Jack travel to Mexico following a lead and the hidden past of Jack returns to haunt him.

"Not Forgotten" is an intriguing thriller that uses the mysticism of the Mexican cult "La Santa Muerte" and has a promising beginning. The cast has names like Paz Vega and Simon Baker in the lead roles and Claire Forlani with a minor participation. Unfortunately the resolution of the original story is simply awful and messy, wasting all the potentiality of the plot with a terrible conclusion. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Regresso do Além" ("Return From Beyond")

I was open minded when I chose to see this film but I have to say that this film was NOT good. I thought the story left enough to play with but in the end the film fails to impress. There is not so much plot twists but instead the introduction of characters you learn nothing about.

It is slow paced and there is very little importance on the build up so I was bored watching it. I found some parts quite silly like the brake out of jail. There was a lot of detail missing in the film and too many questions left unanswered. You could save a lot of time by simply watching the repeated scene throughout the film and the ending because that's just about all that happens.

I would be embarrassed to recommend this film to friends and this is one film I will want to forget in a hurry.

I saw an advanced screening of this movie, and it was definitely a slow movie, I thought, because...well first of all...some things were a bit confusing towards the end; and I personally thought the storyline, well when you read about it online it may sound better, but after I saw the movie I thought the storyline was really weak.

The acting was decent/decent-OK. The music is eh-eh-so-so. I wouldn't recommend it to my friends, only if they had seen everything or if nothing interested them and I'd say, "OK, well, check this one out and tell me what you think."

Simon Baker's acting is pretty - OK - to - good. Paz Vega is a fairly decent actress. This obviously and of course is just my opinion. Those who have some curiosity and interest in seeing it, go ahead and check it out and "leme know what you think."

A poor plot, badly acted and lacking in anything approaching suspense or excitement. The premise for the film is fine and if you read the plot outline then you tend to think that this film will be OK even if it hasn't been produced on the biggest budget and perhaps is lacking in the A-List star department. If I've seen a worse movie this year then I have been lucky enough to have erased it from my memory. To see Chloe Moretz in truly outstanding form in a great film then watch her star as Hit Girl in Kick Ass and not be embarrassed this lumbering shambles. I did just manage to stick it out the the bitter end of this movie but in all honesty I'm not sure how !! I gave it two stars and it was lucky to get these.

I wish I could give this film a zero. The producer obviously likes to have an endless display of non stop naked women. I mean gimme a break! we GET it. Did it really have to go so over the top? it was totally degrading and disrespectful to women. To have a woman push her freakin T_ts up against a car and rub them all over watching them press against the glass, to strip club scene after strip club scene and women propping up their boobs and shaking them....endless. I thought I was watching a soft core porn or the ultimate revenge of PORKYS. When a director has to stoop this low, to me it shows he lacks creativity and is using women as shock value to "capture" his audience (lame) and WOW so origonal. Aside from the gratuitous female nudity, it was OK. I probably would have actually given it a few stars but I am still so morbidly offended that I wish I couldn't even give it 1. lousy. director and writers are perverted womanizing pigs. tone it down next time for christs sake. If you are that hard up, go buy a playboy,....women like to watch movies too ya know. It doesn't always have to have an enormous amount of raunchy nudity in it. thats what porns for.

Jack Bishop (Simon Baker, "Land of the Dead") is your typical American. A beautiful wife and daughter, nice home, coach of the soccer team. But things go horribly awry one day when his daughter Toby (young horror veteran Chloe Moretz) goes missing... has she been brought across the border to become a prostitute? Or is she the victim of a known sex offender? Jack will stop at nothing to find out, even if he must reveal his own secret past.

I had little familiarity with the people who made this film, beyond Chloe Moretz, who has been the girl in more or less ever horror film for five years -- and I'm not complaining. Paz Vega played a strong lead, although the rumor is she replaced Jordana Brewster, a friend of Killer Reviews. With all due respect to Brewster, I think Vega was the right casting choice -- she had the elegance, the versatility and the pluck to be the multi-faceted character she needed to be. Rounding out the notable cast is Claire Forlani ("Mallrats"), with a far too small role as the prostitute Katie.

Simon Baker, who was not known to be (I have not seen TV's "The Mentalist"), was a commanding lead in every sense of the word. A devoted father, mysterious possible suspect, heroic ex-thug. I felt he was a natural for every position he was put into. As the plot twists and turns (which is really another strength of this film -- I had to keep guessing) he is able to roll with it and make every thing believable.

Horror fans will enjoy this film, though it's not horror in any strict sense. It's a dark mystery thriller, with a cult, some epic violence -- one of the most brutal beatings I have ever seen on film -- and some creepy imagery. I was visually seduced. There's also some decent action and suspense... not too much romance (sorry, ladies) and a spattering of humor, but only just the bare minimum, keeping the film tense and taut.

I found the film to have an interesting social and political commentary, though I don't feel it was intentional. Over the last several years, there have been a few horror films with a Mexican flavor, such as "All Soul's Day" and "The Dead One". By and large, these were failures. "Not Forgotten" has a strong American/Mexican theme, with border crossings and international crime being a key undercurrent. How accurate these are, I do not know -- I live in Wisconsin where we see more Canadians than Mexicans. But the way the border was portrayed struck me as fascinating and believable, as well as timely in a culture where fear of immigrants comes to a head again and again. This film portrayed Mexicans as both heroes and as ruthless killers, not stereotyping them one way or another, and I found that to be very honest.

"Not Forgotten" is a straight-to-DVD release, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's less than great. Even with my sporadically short attention span (I often require friends and/or booze to get through a film in one sitting) I could not remove my eyes from this movie. A pure win from beginning to the amazing twist at the end. Could a prequel or sequel be in the works?

I've LONG given up trying to understand the people who rate films here; truly, it is just WAAAAAAAAY beyond me...

I can honestly find no flaw in this film what so ever. The mood, atmosphere, acting, look, soundtrack, and especially the direction are DEAD on.

I love this kind of film where you really do NOT know everything at the beginning and things are indeed not what they seem. Truly an excellent story and beautifully told. If my life depended on it, I would be at a total loss to find ANYTHING that would make ANYONE not like this movie.

The suspense (really helped by superb direction and editing) was slowly but relentlessly built as the story goes on. And this is certainly just about the best performance I've ever seen from Simon Baker. I really like the twists too; I promise you, you will NOT see them coming. The ONLY thing that you might say is a bit of a stretch is the 'conversion' at the end (that shouldn't give too much away : ) I could see people perhaps having a little trouble buying into the change of attitude. Like I say, I DON'T want to give too much away, but that is really about THE only part that might not set perfectly with some people. But even with that said, it still in NO way diminishes the excellent quality of the film that precedes it.

If you like movies that are very well made and your Thrillers Dark with just a touch of the otherworldly 'tastefully' thrown in, and you like powerful twists that pack a solid punch, then you should very much enjoy this film.

There are certain primitive cultures which definitely believe in Vodoo and the Black Arts. Others subscribe to the superstitious belief in a Christian God, sacred relics, prayer and chants. In this film written by Tomas Romero and directed by Dror Sonef, one is offered both. Filmed and played out in a Tex-Mex town along the U.S. Mexican border, the story concerns Jack Bishop, (Simon Baker) a Former hit-man and assassin, now a soccer coach, his daughter Toby (Chloe Moretz) and his second wife Amaya (Paz Vega). Despite his first wife's death, Jack believes he has found happiness until his twelve year old daughter is kidnapped, which sends his world tumbling. Jack places good faith in the sheriff Casper Navarro (Michael Dell Lorenzo), his brother-in-law to return her. The case is slow, but surprisingly reveals several strange clues to the F.B.I agents (Mark Rolston and Gedde Watanabe). They believe they should be looking for their suspect close to home. The movie is a shallow copy of 'Taken' but with gratuitous nudity, dramatic violence and savage brutality, does add a creepy, shadowy black magic and murderous multi-plots to an otherwise suspenseful action movie. Given patience, you might enjoy the film, otherwise it's not for the squeamish. ***

Stereotypical, very "80's" vision of racial/cultural differences in the Mexico-US border.

In a few words: Women are moody whores, Latinos are ignorant ill-intended savages and the blonde-haired Saxons should avoid all contact with Mexicans and their evil ways. In cinematography and narrative, the film is not boring but it is quite cheap. The artistic direction and the editing are the work of dilettantes and the "style" effects, coloring and lights are almost awkward to watch.

The saddest part: I'm pretty sure the dude who made this "wild cannibal eating white people" cliché dumb-fest doesn't even realize how wrong he is.

Sorry for any eventual grammar mistake, English is not my first language.

I love dark, twisted movies, and this is definitely right up there... an awesome thriller!

All of the religious rituals are pretty disturbing (but incredibly fascinating). The idea these people really exist and actually practice these rituals freaked me out!

All in all, I thought it was thought provoking, the performances were great, and the ending was entirely unexpected. I got the feeling there might be a sequel; if that's the case, I would definitely see it too.

Long story short: If you're into thrillers with some brains, then you'll really like Not Forgotten.

Has an off-kilter B-movie charm, an intriguing mystery, and great Mexican atmosphere, but never becomes absurd enough to really be a B-movie classic. At times it looks like it as shot on video, which is surprising since this is apparently from 2009, but it's not too shabby looking overall. Simon Baker gets pretty fun the more intense his character gets but the supernatural elements never really pay off in a satisfying way. Doing some research while the credits roll tells me this was funded through a scientology ponzi scheme, and the financiers faced and I think a movie about that might be better, but not bad as far as straight-to-video stuff goes and it's free on Tubi.

Ps' Chloe Grace Moretz would keep her role either way tho. She was a great child actor but I think her career is going the way of Dakota Fanning, the style of acting doesn't transition to adulthood as well.

I really wanted to like this movie, & watched it all the way through hoping it would be good, but unfortunately it never did. Plot, with young daughter getting kidnapped was good, & the reveals about who the main character really was, but it never really got going, & the conclusion was poor. Simon Baker was good, whith Chloe Moretz giving her usual watchable performance. Weakest part was his wife. Paz Vega, who whispered & mumbled throughout, & struggled to hear what she was saying, despite keep turning the sound up.

All in all a disappointing film, & one I wont be watching again, like so many others that promise much & fail to deliver.

I do not understand why the rate of this movie is so low! I think it had both an interesting story and a good performance by the actors. A score of 4.8 is very unfair. I saw this movie because of Simon Baker, of course, and maybe my great interest in him (especially as Patrick Jane) made me enjoy this movie more.

This screening that people are talking about was actually a TEST screening, not an advance screening... aka, it's a TEST to see what people like and don't like, and then they fix things... as for the music, what we heard during the test was actually temporary music. I heard a rumor that Mark Isham (Crash, River Run Trough It, etc) is doing the music for Not forgotten, so that should be pretty great....

I would DEFINITELY recommend this movie. Personally, I thought it had some really great twists and turns, and had a really cool dark feel to it, and a fascinating view of the dark underbelly of Mexico's low lives...Seriously, I did not see the ending coming at ALL. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it's like "Traffic" meets "A History of Violence". Oh, and obviously, Paz Vega's really hot.

"Isn't it funny how people get all religious when things go wrong?"

Quite an interesting psychological thriller, with a dark and mystical atmosphere. Not particularly good quality, but the acting is decent, and the ending twist is really unexpected and compelling. I watched it for Chloë Grace Moretz who, though her role is small, is the strongest asset of this film.

6/10

This is a great movie. I haven't found any good suspense/mystery thrillers lately, and Not Forgotten has finally relieved that. I personally love a good suspense thriller with mind game twists. The depth of the story was refreshing, and it always kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. And the ending, well I'll just say I never saw it coming.

Simon Baker's acting was spot on, and Paz Vega was a great compliment. They really worked as an enticing lead pair. Although Cloe Moretz might not get as much screen time as the other main actors in the film, she still maintains a powerful role throughout the film. This movie is definitely worth seeing.

Their website is awesome too.

With a wonderfully dark performance by Simon Baker and a plot that takes viewers in a few new directions, Not Forgotten is an extremely well done mystery / suspense / action / thriller.

In an era of sequels, remakes and shock value slashers this is truly a unique movie genre and I highly recommend it. After watching I am even more fascinated by the La Santa Muerte cult / or rogue off shoot of catholicism. A few minutes of surfing the web and you can find an entire page that explains this cult > http://www.santamuertenotforgotten.com/

Watch with a friend so you can discuss afterwards, it's a movie worth purchasing for your personal library. Die hard Simon Baker fans will enjoy his performance and a few bad ass scenes.