User Reviews

Just boring and all over the place... would give 0 stars if I could....

Next time get a proper writer and don't steal the concepts from The Shining. Acting was so horrible. Just because you may like horror films does not mean you should try to make one. So slow and extremely disappointing.

Production value was acceptable, but other than that give this movie a miss.

Incoherent nonsense. From the lack of character establishment to the incompetence of every technical department, this is an easy contender for the title of worst film ever made. The emptiness of the writing and absence of a coherent plot are made even more frustrating thanks to the filmmakers' pretentious faking of cultural relevance - it is a complete con job. Even the poster is a deceit. Although they have eerie (and utterly ridiculous) sound effects and stole entire scenes and set pieces from real horror films (Kubrick should get a credit since so much of 'The Shining' is ripped off here) this fails to be even momentarily scary. It's just a mess.

I have seen other movies based on The Tokoloshe, sadly this film has little to do with that and is a very cheaply made poor remake of The Shining that should be avoided. Its poorly edited is only 67 mins long and is essentially a series of scenes sewn together to try and make a cohesive film, but they failed. And critically for a horror it has zero scares.

This is just a blatant rip off of The Shining by Stephen King. They changed some of the elements to update for the 21st Century.

The beginning and ending music was really good!!!

Sorry, Gen X here, very hard to impress any more.

It started out hopeful but quickly spiraled south. Horrible "the shining" rip off... also it's like they didn't know how to end it. All over the place. Don't waste your time.

Stricken with terrible recurring dreams, a woman finds herself drawn to a mysterious and cursed hotel where a family is staying there while the husband writes a new book, and when a dangerous entity is known to be lurking inside its walls tries to help them escape the area.

There wasn't much to this one but it does have some redeeming qualities. What tends to work best for this one is the films' striking and often pretty chilling shock scenes that serve up some creepy ideas. The idea of the haunted hotel and its cursed history that houses this terrifying being that's capable of shapeshifting into anyone to carry out its plans serves as a workable and solid basis for bringing these kinds of efforts together. By providing a logical enough reason for the constant and utterly unneeded confrontations with the ghostly beings in the hotel, there's a great energy present here as the pacing is at a frantic clip rushing by without any dull points or lagging spots at all. These are what generally works for the film. This one does have some minor drawbacks. The main aspect holding it back is the generally scattered narrative approach that makes it difficult at times to figure out where we are or who we're watching. The primary focus in the first half on generating random short scenes without even getting to know the family members, who they are or even what's going on in the hotel doesn't generate any real suspense or shocks from these scenes. they're simply random, unknown people hanging around a creepy hotel that could be haunted, and the reasons why are never made clear at all which causes frustration when featuring creepy ideas or concepts without explaining anything in favor of jumping around to brief moments in various periods of history with nothing connecting them. On top of that, the film has a real problem creating scares or tension beyond creepy flash images. The scenes of the girl following the children playing in the hallways who led her into secret rooms don't come off in the slightest bit creepy or chilling, the constant influx of scenes and ideas outright copied from other films which are supposed to be scary come off as lame and the ideas presented as scary come off as questionable and underwhelming. There's no reason why a doll is talking at all if it's supposed to be a protector, the flashing cuts to the kids laughing by themselves while moving in jarring fast-motion are just dumb after awhile much like the constant, unintelligible whispers and squishing noises heard here. With inept technical work and no real interesting characters, there's hardly anything worthwhile here.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.

The movie is different from any other horror movies I've watched. It's a bit scary but it's worth the watch. 💃🎉

The movie brings out a different concept of African mythology. The Tokoloshe being a shape-shifter, takes on many human like forms throughout the movie. The outstanding part of the concept is that my eyes never drew away from the screen because it (the movie) requires complete concentration. Brilliant production.

Truly incredible story and overall production. Cinematic and original. A very captivating story with great local actors, producers, and directors.

Not to brag but I know one of the writers. ohm but yea it was a cool movie, well written and hope to see more movies like this

A compelling movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Brilliant and thought provoking. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it had me in suspense from start to finish. I recommend it. It does pay homage to alot of horror movies but has a unique angle I appreciated.

A review of #Tokoloshe #TheCalling by Narendh Ganesh (public figure) Lx Seth Sanjay Laljith

TOKOLOSHE : The Calling - My Review

Having been invited by the producers of the movie, TOKOLOSHE:THE CALLING, I was initially apprehensive as horror movies do not fall in the category of my favourite genre.

A Tokoloshe, as I am to understand, is a term in Zulu/Xhosa mythology that means a water sprite that can be invisible and is meant to wreak havoc and evil on the unsuspecting.

This movie, however, angles a view that might not necessary be the conventional.

A local production that, I believe, for the first time attempted to create an aspect of movie-making that was never done before in South Africa - not to the extent of the cinematography and sound effects as has been done in this movie.

One had to concentrate deeply as the plot is not easily apparent and characters rarely proffered a smile, only so as to enhance the intensity of the developing plot and eventual ending.

Every action, with dramatic sound effect accompaniment keeps one riveted throughout the movie, with the audience not knowing what to anticipate and when.

In the Steven Spielberg mould, the movie is a dark tale, told with the compelling myth on which it is based, and the visual effects of some of the character's facial expressions, to say the least, are rather scary.

The movie moves back and forth, transporting the audience into eras of haunting at a hotel where the spirits of evil have lurked and sowed horrific and untold mayhem, and which has been revisitedd to complete a story that needed to be completed to relate the effects of the Tokoloshe.

It is not for the feint-hearted and certainly not for those who enjoy straight-forward plots.

Directed by Richard Green and executive producer Arish Sirkissoon, who also stars in the movie, and co-starring Rubendra Govender (author of Sugar Cane Boy, also actor from Broken Promises 4) and Sanjay Laljith, all of whom put on sterling performances, this is a movie that should be watched by all, not only for its South African flavour, but also for the fact the South African producers can repartee with the best of them.

Govender reminded me of a well-tanned Hannibal Lecter, whose piercing looks, and glaring stares will give anybody the jitters.

Angela Balkovic and Lloyd Grant O' Connor are also play commendable roles in the movie as well.

The movie also introduced child star Lwandile Xaba and it is hoped that better things shine for her on the horizon.

I would recommend this movie to all South Africans - just to be on the edge of their seats - from start to finish.

Narendh Ganesh.

Yup! Something different and eerie. TOKOLOSHE may be whatever you want it to be. Leaves alot of questions at the end which leads to interesting conversations. At 73 minutes it gets to the point very fast... Try it but dont miss a second as every shot may be a clue.

Absolutely loved the suspense .... wasn't what we expect. Keeps you on the edge. 👌 Here's to an amazing run ❤

The Movie is Brilliance at its best 🎥👏🙇 I have no doubt it's going to be a huge hit at the box office 👌🙏

The story was brilliant well written has for the actors and actress they brought the movie to live . It get you on the edge of your seat because you didn't know what expect next our family and friends enjoyed the movie . We hoping they is a chapter 2

South African horror that infuses the different interpretations of what uTokoloshe is

Carefully thought out cinematic production, which sees many connotations to the Shining. I was specifically impressed by the cinematography.

Synopsis Tokoloshe: An African Curse (2020) A successful writer goes to an abandoned hotel with his wife and adopted daughter to finish his much anticipated follow-up book when strange things start to occur. At the same time, a high school teacher is forced to deal with her gruesome past which is linked to the same hotel . Review Richard Green (Spud, Nothing but the truth, District Nine, Long Walk to freedom ETC) who has made films for the last four decades take many risks in his new instalment "Tokoloshe- An African Curse". Together with his writing partner Arish Sirkissoon (AKA Lx Seth) they create a world that one can feel through the screen. The sound design is eerie and crisp. The movie reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes novel which surrounds you with abstract clues. The cinematography in this film is incredible and when watching I had to remind myself this was made in Durban, South Africa. The storyline stayed with me days after watching and I could not help but find different solutions to the ambiguous ending. The movie was just 73 minutes but in a social environment where no one has the attention span I think it works. The references to the "The Shinning" are deep but here's the thing, has any of the new generation really watched this film? This is a great vehicle to introduce them to an earlier art form. The acting performances had me gripped and I was invested in Thembi's story. Psychoanalysis is the theme of this movie and any Freudian can pick up the side notes. I gathered this is CHAPTER 1 of another chapter, I am not entirely sure, but if that is the case I am looking forward to the next chapter. If you're looking for something strange, a little wired and filled with ambiguity, this is your film. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime it's definitely worth your 71 minutes. Also, I am now intrigued by South African mythology, the culture seems to have a complex belief system that is not estranged from a Christian viewpoint. Pay attention to every moment, if you leave your seat for a potty break you may come back lost. The end has a nice post end scene which I could not figure out. I have watched many South African movies over the years and it seems that they always have a political angle. This movie, although it deals with the political landscape, in a subtext, is really about good old fashioned suspense. It's more a psychological thriller than a horror and it is really out the box. I think cinema is becoming more nonlinear in its approach which I welcome whole heartedly but it's a preference in my view. Not everyone will understand it because we have been so conditioned to "follow" a logical coherent narrative. This is a topic for another time. The one negative I do have is that it just left you wanting more. You finish the film needing answers which you have to turn to yourself for.

Richard Green (Spud, Nothing but the truth, District Nine, Long Walk to freedom ETC) who has made films for the last four decades take many risks in his new instalment "Tokoloshe- An African Curse". Together with his writing partner Arish Sirkissoon (AKA Lx Seth) they create a world that one can feel through the screen. The sound design is eerie and crisp. The movie reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes novel which surrounds you with abstract clues. The cinematography in this film is incredible and when watching I had to remind myself this was made in Durban, South Africa. The storyline stayed with me days after watching and I could not help but find different solutions to the ambiguous ending. The movie was just 73 minutes but in a social environment where no one has the attention span I think it works. The references to the "The Shinning" are deep but here's the thing, has any of the new generation really watched this film? This is a great vehicle to introduce them to an earlier art form. The acting performances had me gripped and I was invested in Thembi's story. Psychoanalysis is the theme of this movie and any Freudian can pick up the side notes. I gathered this is CHAPTER 1 of another chapter, I am not entirely sure, but if that is the case I am looking forward to the next chapter. If you're looking for something strange, a little wired and filled with ambiguity, this is your film. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime it's definitely worth your 71 minutes. Also, I am now intrigued by South African mythology, the culture seems to have a complex belief system that is not estranged from a Christian viewpoint. Pay attention to every moment, if you leave your seat for a potty break you may come back lost. The end has a nice post end scene which I could not figure out. I have watched many South African movies over the years and it seems that they always have a political angle. This movie, although it deals with the political landscape, in a subtext, is really about good old fashioned suspense. It's more a psychological thriller than a horror and it is really out the box. I think cinema is becoming more nonlinear in its approach which I welcome whole heartedly but it's a preference in my view. Not everyone will understand it because we have been so conditioned to "follow" a logical coherent narrative. This is a topic for another time. The one negative I do have is that it just left you wanting more. You finish the film needing answers which you have to turn to yourself for.