Memory (2007)

8% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(2,615 ratings)

A man with the ability to see into the past sets out to solve a dark mystery that has haunted his family bloodline for three decades in director Bennett Davlin's time-shifting thriller. Dr. Taylor Biggs (Billy Zane) has accidentally ingested a hallucinogenic powder that allows him to experience his… More A man with the ability to see into the past sets out to solve a dark mystery that has haunted his family bloodline for three decades in director Bennett Davlin's time-shifting thriller. Dr. Taylor Biggs (Billy Zane) has accidentally ingested a hallucinogenic powder that allows him to experience his ancestor's most vivid memories, and now he is seeing images of a nightmarish predator who abducts and murders young girls. As Dr. Biggs begins to realize that these memories come from a time before he was even born, his suspicions that the killer may in fact be the father he never knew continue to grow stronger with each passing day. Though his mother is still alive, her fading memory has grown increasingly foggy and clouded with the passing of time. With the horrifying final moments in each victim's life consuming his every waking thought, Dr. Biggs sets out to unravel the secrets of his past and unmask a killer who appeared to have, in life, gotten away with murder. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Bennett Davlin
Written By: Bennett Joshua Davlin, Anthony Badalucco
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 23, 2006 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2007
Studio: Echo Bridge Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Peter Debruge, Variety
Considerably better -- and far more intriguing -- than most entry-level horror pics, marrying a retro B-movie setup with the ghostly obsessions of recent Asian extreme cinema.
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger
The movie draws upon so many influences -- stylized Hitchcock suspense, surreal Asian horror and the Gothic romance of Britain's Hammer Studios -- it's easier to follow the reference points than the plot.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Filled with labored exposition, stilted line readings and the most unconvincing romantic hookup since Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley.
Jan Stuart, Newsday
To what niche does this movie aspire, Michael Crichton sci-fi chiller, Ed Wood camp or neo-'60s grand guignol for former leading ladies of a certain age? You decide.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Convoluted fright flick less scary than confusing.
Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews
There's an intriguing premise buried in MEMORY ... [but] he execution leaves something to be desired.
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
Wait, what movie were we talking about again?
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
The fact that it raises worthy questions concerning experience and recollection, as well as cultural, legal, and political definitions of self with regard to memories%u2014well, that's sort of too bad. They're lost amid forgettable plotty detritus.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
A confused, preposterous, overeager mess.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Stylish and twisty, but not clever enough to support its more outrageous plot machinations.
Susan Granger, www.susangranger.com
A bizarre, mind-bending psychological thriller, filled with red herrings.
Tim Grierson, L.A. Weekly
Adapting his own novel, [director] Davlin seems blessedly unaware of how silly his story is, attacking it with such escalating melodramatic fervor that Memory rises from the disastrously campy to the bizarrely hypnotic.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
... tosses us so many hints and red herrings that, by the end, we really don't care who turns out to be the killer. All solutions are equally satisfying, which is the same thing as being equally unsatisfying.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
The director states in the film's press notes that 'all the science you will see in this motion picture is cutting edge,' a statement that holds true if you simply replace the word 'science' with 'silliness.'

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Does anyone but me notice that Billy Zane does NOT age?? Hmmmm...anyway. I like him.. Always have...but his movies are average at best. This one included. It's fairly predictable, but the script is decent and keeps you engaged. Extra 1/2 star for Billy's immortality.
Todd S

Memory is one of the best direct-to-video/b-movies I have ever seen. How a small production company gets a cast like this is beyond me, but this was just a great movie! Billy Zane is a guy with a clouded past, who decides to use an experimental drug to restore his memory. Only to… More
Memory is one of the best direct-to-video/b-movies I have ever seen. How a small production company gets a cast like this is beyond me, but this was just a great movie! Billy Zane is a guy with a clouded past, who decides to use an experimental drug to restore his memory. Only to vividly remember a murder he witnessed, but was it his memory or someone else's? I don't like Zane one bit, but in this movie, he's pure genius. What was really striking about this film, (especially since it's a low budget b-movie), was the imagery. Everything is so vibrate and methodically done. First time director, Bennett Davlin, really has you sitting on the edge of your seat. It really feels like you're alongside Zane, seeing what he sees. As for the ending, I never saw it coming. I've seen a lot of films, and you've got to have a pretty good story to surprise me! It's a film you've never heard of and won't see in theaters, but it's defiantly one that shouldn't be missed.
Panta O

It's very hard to write a positive review of a movie which is not appealing on a first sight for the most of the viewers... but I'll do just that! This is a real thriller with a lot of twists. It was slow at the beginning but during the last part that slowness helped the… More
It's very hard to write a positive review of a movie which is not appealing on a first sight for the most of the viewers... but I'll do just that! This is a real thriller with a lot of twists. It was slow at the beginning but during the last part that slowness helped the ending which reveals the truth in clensing and furious fire... It's not one of the best movies I watched but it's not in the category of boring ones either! Judge it for yourself...
Chosen 7

Decent film, good yet somewhat predictable ending...
paganchild1979 p

Great movie! The twist, use of medicine, tribes, mystery!