As a die hard fan of Lynch's craft to pour filth on the mundane and twist it and a fan of more underground grime like the Flowers trilogy that revolve more around exploration of a twisted, grimy setting than a by the book tale, I adored this movie.
It's slow, creeping and festering piece with disorienting images strewn in between that pulled me in tighter while making me delightfully queasy. The acting is strong and so is Anvari's skilled steady hand for framing scenes and visceral imagery. It probably belongs more in the terror and surreal categories than standard horror.
My main gripe is probably Armie Hammer's natural charm and the script not really emphasising Will's supposed staleness and hollowness, you often kinda feel yourself rooting for a rather average and flawed guy and his descent feels a bit like the generic sudden descent into madness trope and not like Will's lack of drive and standards being the vessel for the rotten fruit he will harvest.
On a side note, it's also fun to imagine this movie as sort of a side sequel portraying the aftermath of one of the countless "college kids mess with forces they don't understand" movies.
On a side note, it's also fun to imagine this movie as sort of a side sequel portraying the aftermath of one of the countless "college kids mess with forces they don't understand" movies.