Granted, I wasn't really sure what the movie "Tar" from writers Timothy Nuttall and Aaron Wolf was going to be like. Initially I had thought it was a horror movie when I sat down to watch it. But perusing IMDb, I quickly discovered that the movie was labeled as a mystery drama. Already there, some of the air deflated from the balloon.
Sure, while "Tar" is watchable, it just wasn't a particularly entertaining or enjoyable movie. Why? Well, simply put because far too little of any worth or interest happened throughout the course of the movie with director Aaron Wolf at the helm. The events that took place throughout the movie just weren't sufficient enough to sustain the movie, nor really keep it afloat as it was sinking due to the prolonged and slow pacing of the story.
And the movie's synopsis brandish a 'mysterious creature'. Just where in the movie was that? All I saw was a man in rags with tar smeared on him. And the face mask or make-up made him look more like an orc from "The Lord of the Rings" than it made him look like a mysterious creature.
As for the special effects in the movie, well those were actually adequate. Well, aside from the creature design, which was just atrocious.
While I managed to sit through the entire course of "Tar", it was a slow paced journey, where I was losing interest a couple of times along the way. But I stuck with it.
The acting in the movie was adequate, taking into consideration the limitation of script and lack of interesting characters. It was actually a nice touch to have Graham Greene in the movie, because he definitely added something worthwhile with his performance.
All in all, "Tar" is not just an outstanding or memorable movie. I am rating it a generous four out of ten stars. And this is hardly the type of movie that will have you returning to watch it a second time, as the movie's storyline and script is just too simplistic and can't sustain more than a single viewing.
