From Black (2023) User Reviews

From a Dark Black Song

[Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews · 6/10 · 7 July 2023]

I ended up quite liking this one much more than I thought I was going to. I actually really wanted to give it a 7 but there were two major downfalls that made it so I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

This movie had quite a few factors going for it. It looked quite nice with a generally antmospheric setting and had some awesome sfx and monster makeup. It also did quite a good job at having a slow pace that was tension building and not boring. There were parts that definitely could have been picked up a bit but I was intrigued and engaged throughout the movie.

Another thing I really liked about this movie was the script. I found it quite well written to the point where it stood out to me for the positive, when usually it's the opposite. There were a few clunky/cliche moments but I think that fell much more on delivery than the writing.

One of my two main issues was the acting. Unfortunately it really did not do it for me and I thought it did the movie and script a disservice on multiple fronts. The other thing was its blatant derivative plot. If you have not seen 2016s A Dark Song, it is almost identical. The only problem is... I was not in love with A Dark Song and honestly thought that From Black was more entertaining as a whole. Regardless, the feeling of it being a rip off 7 years later is for sure there.

Despite this, I still had quite a good time with this movie and if they could have done some recasting and sprinkled some originality into the story I think it could have been very successful. Would recommend.

Poor decisions

[projectpat72988 · 5/10 · 29 April 2023]

Wow big sister wasn't lying. This is overall a pretty good movie it's watchable. It doesn't do what a lot of movies like this do and have nothing happening for the first 90 minutes followed by 20 minutes of "horror" or so. It's fair in that regard.

A little over half way through I started to really find the protagonist annoying. Once the guy helping her said do not under any circumstances leave the circle I knew she would. It's not like it was her first time seeing something happened either so IDK why at that point you would be so freaked out so and leave. I was actually wanting her to die lol.

So then when he reveals how things work this....drug addict who was shooting dope with men while her kid was unattended is suddenly morally outraged that the rule in this is she must then help someone ELSE after she is rewarded. Considering she was going to get her son back you would think she wouldn't be THAT upset over this. Her protest doesn't even make sense. Then even though she is standing in the middle of "demon land" she decides to throw it all in their face.....cause that is something one would do in this situation LOL. No biggie, you just cost this guy his life who is getting your son back and POed some otherwordly entity. Small stuff

This thing is for some reason willing to give her another chance. Anytime a movie has a character like the ex boyfriend who is so over the top a jerk. 90% of the time you can tell they're going to be "sacrificed" or something. It's a bit cliche. That part was also silly. However, it wasn't happy with him because hes tainted. So ONCE AGAIN this thing is like....okay for realzies this time lets make up. Why is it willing to let her mess up over and over?

Abrupt end. Could've used another 5 minutes.

A lot of buildup, not enough payoff.

[llxs-a-r-m-a-dxll · 4/10 · 28 April 2023]

Fairly cliched plot. Grieving parent, wanting to bring child back. Obviously things go wrong.

Actors did good. Detailed scenes featuring the ritual creates good intrigue. But that's all there is in the movie. A lot of build up, but it doesn't go anywhere. No real scares, pretty disappointing on the horror front. (The ritual reminded me a little bit of Fullmetal Alchemist.)

The movie also starts in the present and goes back and forth, with the main character telling us the story, but that didn't really serve any real purpose, I'm fairly certain the movie would've played out better if it was linear. The movie is primarily in the past, a flashback, and cutting back for very brief moments to the present didn't add anything to the plot.

Overall, some good moments in the beginning, but ends in disappointment. 4/10.

An utterly incompetent ripoff of one of the most quietly brilliant horror movies ever made

[evanlangleyvfx · 1/10 · 3 May 2023]

A Dark Song is one of the most surprising movies I've ever seen. Its intense atmospheric buildup, flawed characters, and absolutely beautiful cinematography draw you in, but the film's attention to detail and reverence for its subject matter are what truly stand out.

From Black is such an obvious ripoff of A Dark Song that it's embarrassing. From bits of score that seem ripped directly from the latter film, to poorly recreated scenes, to a nearly identical story it's more than clear what inspiration the filmmakers were drawing from. If this film had absolutely anything interesting to add to that concept, I would have been extremely interested to see where it went. But it doesn't. In fact, it's almost impressive how this film butchers every single aspect of its inspiration.

The beautiful scenic vistas of Ireland are replaced with drab, ugly views of Mississipi. The old house with so much character and detail is instead a boring modern build with white walls and bland dark wood. The lighting is universally bad, with overlit exteriors and incompetently simple keylights for anything on a set. All of that is bad, but the acting is truly what ruins this film. The delicate performances of A Dark Song really draw you to the characters, who start so harsh and guarded but slowly reveal more and more of what they're truly seeking.

At their core, both films are about broken mothers desperately desiring to see their children one last time. Except From Black is afraid to even commit to that. Cora expressed trepidation at every single step of the way, too afraid and completely unresolved to actually see the ritual through. Where we see the painstaking detail of the incantation in A Dark Song - a process almost impossible to master with months of work and heavy risks - the ritual in From Black seems all too easy, with our characters connecting almost instantly with the other side.

There is truly nothing about this film that succeeds at what it sets out to do. The atmosphere is cheap, the acting is awful, and the only major change from A Dark Song (which I won't spoil here) is a truly horrible deviation from the story that steals away any tiny bit of meaning or growth our character could have. Do yourself a favor and don't waste 90 minutes of your life. Just watch A Dark Song.

Entitled Mom Gets Her Genie Wish

[wop-31529 · 3/10 · 2 May 2023]

What would you do to bring back a loved one from the dead? If you answered "ANYTHING" then this movie will have you constantly aggravated.

The protagonist of this movie is absolutely unbearable. She has the chance to bring back her child, but squanders the opportunity due to cowardice, entitlement, and ultimately selfishness.

Think of the movie Taken, where Liam Neeson has to infiltrate a human trafficking ring to get his daughter home safely. Now imagine instead he just has to play a game of Uno (and he doesn't even have to win, just play) but he ends up rage quitting halfway through because the guy next to him keeps playing Skip cards and Liam is fed up with it. That is essentially what this gal did.

Here is the list of tasks she must complete to resurrect the innocent child she allowed to perish whilst she was high on drugs.

1. Take 3 days off work. She clearly was up for Employee of the Month and didn't want to jeopardize that.

2. Sit in a circle. I get it, sitting with your legs criss cross applesauce can be rather uncomfortable.

3. Repeat words. What human would want to mirror a parrot without the benefit of being perched on a pirate's shoulder?

4. Consume yucky stuff. I mean, sure, people have eaten things 10 times nastier in Round 2 of Fear Factor for the chance of winning $50k, but can you put a price on your child's life? Apparently yes, and it's less than $50k.

5. Reward another grieving parent with this same blessing. Spreading kindness is not all its built up to be. Afterwards, you have to deal with tears of joy and feeling whole inside for the first time in your life.

Look, maybe there was more to her sacrifice, but if that's the case then it wasn't made clear. As things stand, the list of things she had to do was easier than a Sorority House scavenger hunt. I would have gone through her list just to get the AC fixed on my 2008 Mercury Sable.

Perhaps the point of the story is that a former drug addict can never redeem themselves, or a bad parent will always be unfit. Even if that is the case, her selfishness just overcomes everything else in the film and you'll focus on that alone. That ruined the entire movie for me... and oh yeah, the audio levels are way off balance. Positives? The main guy helping her was a really good actor, the special effects were spot on, and the jarring score was effective.

watch this if you want to be irritated!

[ginawilcox-97251 · 3/10 · 29 April 2023]

This movie had a great premise, definitely something a little different than the rest of the movies that try to copy pet sematary. It could have been great if it wasn't for a few major issues.

1. The audio is god awful. The dialogue is dialed all the way down, background music was louder than the characters speaking, even when it wasn't supposed to be suspenseful. I had to have the volume on 30 just to hear a faint whisper of the conversations happening.

2. I get what they were trying to do with the main character, but it really wasn't fitting for the plot. It was "i'll do anything to see my son" and then she wouldn't even do the simplest of tasks. It felt like an essay where you are trying to meet the minimum number of characters but you could only come up with a few paragraphs, so it kinda becomes incoherent when you add a bunch of fancy words so you can meet the minimum and not fail the assignment . I mean this woman was willing to shoot up black tar heroin but not drink a little goat blood in order to have her son back??? "were you grooming me?" girl. He told you from the very beginning that sacrifices must be made and you have to pay the price. Either the character has a learning disability or the script writer does.

Overall super disappointed with this movie. It had the potential to be great but it was pretty unbearable to watch.

Premise is good, but movie could be better

[Shanghai_Expat · 6/10 · 29 April 2023]

I really like horror movies and liked the premise of this movie very much, but it could have been way better.

The directing and sets are good, the story is good, the soundtrack is good, the special effects are good, but....

I don't know if it's the writing or Anna Camp's acting, but at no point did I find her character believable. John Ales was really the stand-out actor is this movie, and even Jennifer Lafleur who played Anna's sister put on a good performance. Every time Anna had any dialog though, it just slapped me in the face and popped me out of the atmosphere.

Anna has a number of acting credits, so maybe it's the writing, but it just seemed like she was monotone and her emotions didn't seem reasonable, nor matched the dialog correctly.

It's funny, I only watched this movie with actors I never heard of because it was rated a whopping 9.0, but by the time I finished the movie it had already fallen to 4.5 which is a bit harsh. I would say this is what I expect from the low 6's.

The movie is worth watching because the premise of the movie is kind of cool, but don't expect too much. Honestly, this could have easily been more on the level of the movie Seven if they had some more seasoned actors, or possibly writers.

Well, At Least it Looks Good

[arfdawg-1 · 1/10 · 9 May 2023]

This is one boring movie. First the good part -- the production values are solid. It looks like a TV movie, and I guess it sort of is since it's on Shudder.

But that's where it all ends. The acting is attrocious. And the directing plods along, putting you to sleep.

There's plenty of omnious music to let you know when you're supposed to feel tension or are about to be frightened but it never happens because the movie sucks.

My god, the acting is downright laffable at times.

The whole thing drones on and on with really nothing of interest happening. It's just slow as mollasses. What a borefest!

I would have liked it more if it was better

[biggs-andrew-1990 · 6/10 · 30 April 2023]

From Black was perfectly serviceable, but it was really hard to sympathize with Cora. Obviously, a hefty suspension of disbelief is necessary to enjoy movies in this genre, but the filmmakers asked a little too much of the audience by writing the character of Cora as they did.

The jumping off point was reasonable enough with Cora's addiction taking precedence over caring for her son, but with the lengths she went to in order to bring him back, it is unreasonable to expect us to believe that she wouldn't just drink from the cup. Then, she brazenly disrespects the process of the ritual and antagonizes the guy who willingly allowed himself to die in his attempt to help her get her son back.

Cora is just a little too much of a jackass to rally for as a character.

Average horror film.

[Vivekmaru45 · 5/10 · 30 April 2023]

I was intrigued into watching this one by seeing the trailer for movie first. I am a seasoned horror fan. I have been watching horror films made from the 1920's till the present. I also watch foreign language horror films.

Occultism has taken a recent trend into mainstream and independent horror movies. I don't know what the agenda is, but films of this sort get me disturbed. Especially if the younger generation of moviegoers are watching these types of films.

This movie is about a drug-addicted mother who loses her young son while in a stupor. When she wakes up, her son is gone. Try as she might her son is never found.

Years later while in a group of similar people who are discussing their problems, a man approaches her and tells her that he knows a ritual that will bring her son back.

Desperate to get her son back at any cost the woman yields to all the man's terms. Watch the movie to see what happens next...

Verdict: the movie is not all that bad for a one-time viewing. The film held my attention through-out which is rare. The acting, photography, background-music and direction is professional. The special-effects though very meager are inspired from Clive Barker's Hellraiser. I loved the special effects however short they were in the film. This is the only plus point of the movie.

Movies like these definitely spawn a sequel and I won't be surprised if this one does. Shall I recommend another film similar to this? It's called Pumpkinhead(1988) directed by the legendary special-effects wizard Stan Winston(Predator, The Terminator, Aliens) and stars the legendary actor Lance Henriksen(Hard Target, The Nature Of The Beast, Johnny Handsome, Millennium TV Series).

Worth at least one watch

[laceydelrae · 7/10 · 30 April 2023]

Think this movie deserves higher than its current low rating. The plot, cinematography and effects were all top notch.

While in a drug addicted haze Cora's 5 year old son ends up disappearing and is never found again. Fast forward 7 years and Cora leads a life of sobriety incase her son ever did come home, she wants to be sober. Through a grief support group she meets a man who used dark magic to get his deceased daughter back and offers Cora the same chance for her boy.

By the end it's hard to believe Cora would just snub her nose and refuse to complete the final "payment" and ritual in getting her son back. Especially after going through so much preparation. This was about the time where I felt it got a bit tedious. Cora's character needed to remain steadfast in her dedication.

The plot of this movie reminds me of A Dark Song. Between the two A Dark Song is the clear winner. But this one is still worth watching, at least once. It will keep you entertained.

What lies beneath

[adrenachrome · 4/10 · 30 April 2023]

Buried in the overly loud (and overly chaotic) soundtrack, stilted dialogue and budget SFX, is a solid idea for a film. It's let down by some miscast people (the main actress was far too healthy to portray a drug addict, even a recovering one, though her ex-boyfriend was quite believable as a drug addict) and the soundtrack that really takes away from the tension the plot was trying to build.

The central idea was interesting, that in order to get back the thing the main character wanted most of all, it took multiple days to "set the stage" so to speak, and summon things. I have not seen that before in horror films, so a point in the film's favour.

Sadly, lots of lead up to no payoff. I get what the director was trying to accomplish, and with a little (okay, a LOT) more work, it could have been a slick ending, but either lack of budget or writing talent did the film in.

Only for diehard horror enthusiasts

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 6 May 2023]

From Black (2023) is a movie that was released on Shudder last week. The storyline follows a woman who became a drug addict after her son mysteriously disappeared. As she is released from the clinic and begins adjusting to society she is approached by an individual who offers to tell her what happened to her son that day, but at what cost?

This movie is directed by Thomas Marchese (Fallen) and stars Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), John Ales (Euphoria), Jennifer Lafleur (Nope) and Travis Hammer (Godless)

This is another one of those movies where nothing happens for over an hour into the movie. The storyline, acting and dialogue were all mediocre to bad. There's some scenes that were not needed at all (the baby daddy scene). I will say the first action scene was really good. The mask, makeup and costume of the villain was solid. As the movie progresses and the main character evolves, this ends up concluding better than it starts.

Overall, this is a very average addition to the horror genre with nothing new. I would score this a 3.5/10 and only recommend it to diehard horror enthusiasts.

Anna Camp is a brunette

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 11 May 2023]

Cora (Anna Camp) is a drug addict and her son Noah goes missing. Years later, she's in recovery and attending a self-help group led by Abel (John Ales). She follows the mysterious Abel in a ritual to find her son.

It's a low budget, low intensity, low production horror. I like the ritual at first, but it's nothing terrifying. I usually love Anna Camp although she's a brunette in this one. She's rarely a brunette and rarely playing a druggie. It's interesting that she's trying, but it's not her strength. At the end of the day, the movie is lacking with no thrills. It could have brought back Noah sooner in the movie and turned bad. There is a lot that could have been done, but this story just lays there.

Ripoff Or Remake?: A Dumbed Down, Bigger Budget, High Concept, Retelling Of The Film, A Dark Song.

[meddlecore · 5/10 · 26 May 2023]

How far would you be willing to go if you lost a child, and had a chance to bring them back?

This is what one, young, heroine-addicted mother is forced to confront in the new film From Black.

Because, after she loses her son- partially as a result of her own neglect- she's gets such a chance.

When she meets a mysterious man, who teaches her about an ancient mystical ritual, through which she can barter for the return of someone she has lost.

This man claims he learned about the ritual, after losing his own daughter.

And walks her through the steps, required to initiate an agreement, with a dark, occult force...who promises to bring her son back from the dead, once all the steps of the ritual have been carefully followed.

That is, unless, he's just a conman, who has set out to entrap her in a snare, designed to free himself from a deal he could not renege on.

Either way...it unleashes a demon, from which she cannot escape.

Inevitably landing her in jail.

Under the watchful eye of her sister, who works as a detective, that is trying to understand what, exactly, her sister has been going through...and why.

In a desperate attempt to help her.

The story is told to us told through a series of flashbacks, as our protaganess explains the situation to her detective sister.

Though, unsurprisingly, she doesn't believe her.

Until she is forced to confront her doubt, face on.

The flashbacks are broken up into the different stages of the ritual, as she went through them, on the path to achieve her goal.

Giving the whole story an air of mystery.

Of course, it cannot be ignored that this is a bigger budget, high concept, ripoff of the 2016 film A Dark Song.

I noticed a couple other reviewers commenting on the similarities between the two films.

So I went and watched it for myself.

And concur.

Arguably, they did make a few improvements...and completely changed the ending (having completely removed her redemption), in the process.

But, by doing so, they also dumbed it down, as a result of removing all the references to esotericism (Kabballah, Gnosticism); the psychedelic aspect; and character development of the guy running the ritual.

Some changes also took the forms of tweaks.

Like how they made the main character an opiate addict, instead of an alcoholic; and removed the sexually abusively, toxic, nature of the occult dude (who is actually the heroine addict in A Dark Song)- having transferred those qualities into the character of her former boyfriend.

But she's still trying to get her kid back.

The sister still plays a supporting, yet critical, role (albeit, not one central to the plot, like we have here).

And, like someone already mentioned...they even copy the jerky violin music straight from the original soundtrack.

But, while this film is wholly unoriginal...it's just different enough to not be a total write off.

Because, for one, they do improve upon the special effects.

Albeit, with CGI.

The monster has a very Del Toro vibe to it (think, Pan's Labyrinth).

Which, although, it is rendered with CGI (something I would normally hate)...it's actually not done too horribly...and doesn't come off as out of place in the film.

And, they also fashion a more clear introduction (removing the ambiguity from the opening of the original).

With Anna Camp doing a great job in the leading role.

Her torment feels genuine.

So the problem, here, is not that the film is not entertaining.

Because it is definitely entertaining enough to hold your attention.

It's just so hard to overcome how horribly they rip off the other film (which is a low budget feature, no less).

Unless you consider this a remake.

Because the plot is almost entirely the same.

Only, with the disturbing, psychological, torture, she is forced to endure, revamped.

You shouldn't be able to take someone else's original idea, dumb it down, and make a bigger budget, high concept version of it.

Without repercussions, at least.

Though, it's not inherently clear whether they purchased the rights to do so, or not.

Either way, it comes off as bad form (not to mention low class).

Although, by removing the redemptive aspect present in the original...they do make it a somewhat different film.

Transforming it into more of a true horror, as opposed to a psychological thriller.

You can tell they were trying to make it less drawn out, and remove the ambiguity, for more mainstream audiences.

But it's still far too close to the former film for comfort.

Especially if they DO straight up rip it off.

But watch them both, and judge for yourself.

See what you think.

4.5 out of 10.

the devil is in the house...

[ops-52535 · 6/10 · 29 April 2023]

And lets deal with the devil the deeds that has been done...there will be grief, there will be agony, there will be blood, and there will be daaaarknesss...

its a devilhorror, parapsychological consience driven film about loss, about addiction, about using every opportunity to correct ones mistakes. It is a film for all those who believes in the twilight zones, and its abilities to communicate with the otherwise incommunicados of the spiritual world.

Its an extremely slow churning flick of i say you say in custodial interviewing, over a lost child and a bloody crimescene.

Its not bad acted at all, and the musical score really hits your innermost strings of your sole...if you are a believer...in the dark forces... its plot though seems like a never ending story of introduction, just like watching a dork and dark tv series on the squarebox in the middle of the night due to lack of anything else to view(im not using cellphones for entertainment) that im not keen about... till the climax hits in, and the questions thats left to answer, because its dark and its sinister , and the director has laid a dinosaur egg of speculations for the generation z to chew on.

So a slow entendante into the shadows of everyones riddled small secrets, a sense of fright to everyone out there that finds life hard to believe and hard to put ones own life in the limelight. A distinct howl from the black. Its a film that i , the grumpy old man,dare you to see.

Rooting for the demon

[dartgabriel · 2/10 · 21 July 2023]

Dear Demon (or whatever you are), please take Anna Camp so she shuts up. Oh my god. This movie was laughably abysmal. Like, embarrassingly so. This movie is what happens when you order A Dark Song from wish.com. PS: A Dark Song is so much better.

Anna is an ex-junkie, whose son went missing 7 years ago. She was too strung out to notice and blames herself. Anna attends a grief support group whose moderator approaches her with an interesting proposition. Complete this bonkers ritual, and she'll have her son back. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

The script is objectively awful. The acting, somehow worse. The score, worse still. I was literally rooting for the demon.

Just save yourself the trouble and watch A Dark Song, which in of itself, is far from perfect but light years beyond this isht.

Decent yet flawed - Ultimately unremarkable

[Scodelli · 6/10 · 30 April 2023]

This is an interesting film.

The setting it opens with is different.

A woman in recovery wrestling with the loss of her son.

The drug/recovery aspect is portrayed with a degree of focus and relative accuracy. Something you don't see in alot of movies.

As the movie starts to kick into gear it offers a pretty compelling and engaging journey into it's central theme.

Unfortunately, this movie has a very severe problem.

The acting. The main actress has a crucial flaw in her acting.

Whenever she should have a grimace or sadness in her face she is smiling.

And it looks like a smile.

She is competent in the rest of her acting though.

But this flaw in her acting is too severe to overlook.

I think it comes from a misguided film school tip of how to portray emotion.

I will explain it like this: Alot of times we will see competent actors whose mannerisms when crying is very close to laughing.

This is something that is taught in more dubious film schooling.

That's why they do it.

And, of course, the result is dubious.

I think why she smiles when she's supposed to be grimacing is something she was taught in film school.

It's strange because her acting is otherwise adequate. But such a severe flaw in acting cannot really be overlooked or forgiven.

I liked the movie quite a bit while I was watching it. To me, the main story thread was a little new and different. For me it was pretty engaging.

But in the end it's just an average movie. I can see why it's rate so low here, with her strangely flawed acting.

But for me, even with the flawed acting from the lead, I'll still give it a 6 because it does portray it's main theme/story thread in a good and relatively compelling way.

In this movie, everything is building to the final reveal. But this film does lack teeth. It's ultimately pretty tame.

This movie also has what I call a "modern horror feel".

What I mean by that is slick, simple and streamlined. A very simple concept and a very straightforward execution.

An example of a movie with a "modern horror feel" would be Smile.

Though I enjoyed that movie it still had that slick, simple, streamlined feel to it.

Films like The Harbinger(2022) for example, fall into this category for me.

Often films with this "modern horror feel" lack teeth. Or at least sharp teeth.

Now this movie has a sister cop interrogating and having close involvement with the main character, her sister.

This is severely unrealistic because a police officer would not be allowed to be involved in the investigation and interrogation of their own sister because of the very clear conflict of interest.

No police department is going to allow that.

In the end, this movie doesn't go too hard with the horror and that is an ultimate weakness of this film.

There is a quite interesting aspect of the final reveal but in the end it doesn't save the movie from the "decent-ish" category.

The final end is meant to shock and close with an umph but it fails and just comes across as a cop out(for me anyway)

Is to A Dark Song what Bird Box is to A Quiet Place

[rmeinerz · 2/10 · 13 August 2023]

An extremely disappointing effort that has no new ideas and takes no chances. As I say in the title, it does what Bird Box did with A Quiet Place....it takes an engaging and interesting story and strips away all that made the original film (A Dark Song...which its obviously trying to rip-off) memorable. Just a really lazy effort here. Its not juat that the movie is slow (it is), but that the movie never bothers to build tension or give you are reason to care about anyone or anything in it. As others have pointed out, the main character is so stupid and selfish, you find yourself openly rooting for her to fail and be punished. One can tell that any positive reviewers are casuals and probably haven't seen many horror movies.

A Decent Supernatural Thriller

[fatfil-414-451797 · 8/10 · 28 April 2023]

Let me just say right up front, that this movie won't be for everyone. It is a slow burner, and reminded me in places of the movie A Dark Song, and both have a similar storylines. However, if you're looking for lots of gore and jump scares, you'll be disappointed. There is some of the aforementioned, but used sparingly.

With out giving too much away, the basic plot is about a women who is a drug addict, and one day her young son wanders out of the house while his parents are passed out, and is never seen again. Flash forward 6 years, and the mother gets her life back together and is attending a support group.

One of the other attendees say he knows how to get her son back.

It's hard to say much more without giving too much of the plot away The story does begin near the end, and progresses through large chunks of flashbacks, and although I'm not usually a great fan of flashbacks, it works in this instance. The acting was good throughout and all in all I really enjoyed this.

Too much Botox

[phildeesnow · 7/10 · 29 April 2023]

I could have given this movie a 10, but let's subtract, minus 1 for the open end. I don't think it's fare that after all the build up, and even clear images of the creature, the end was so blah!.

Minus another point for the unanswered plot points.

Minus another one, because although the acting was superb so much Botox forced the actress to over react when it wasn't necessary.

It could have been a great horror movie. There was character development, a good idea behind, good storytelling...but still missed the mark about making it a metaphor for something, a police case or a supernatural thriller.

All the elements are there, but still... didn't go anywhere. And nothing was solved at the end... because there was no end.

I have to admit, that kept me hooked...but I'm pissed!.

I can't believe how bored I was.

[joy1973 · 1/10 · 7 May 2023]

I'm not sure why anyone thought this deserved 10 stars, but I'm assuming those people are related to people involved or were involved themselves, because this is one of the dullest things I've ever watched.

There were ridiculous plot holes all the way through, I could not have cared less for the main character and the other to character was wooden and completely useless uninspiring.

I did not care what happened to any of the characters and that was the theme of the whole movie. Nothing happens. If I had to choose something good to say, it would be the antagonist was pretty impressive.

I just really wish I hadn't wasted so much of my life watching this.

Side note: people with main characters life story don't have perfect teeth.

Waste of time

[williamsmichaelantoine · 1/10 · 24 May 2023]

This movie falls into the category of when the trailer looks better than the film itself. The only reason I watched it was because the trailer caught my attention and decided to check it out.

The only good things about the movie are the end credits and the fact that I was able to watch this for free so I didn't have to rent this. The creature did look great as well.

Major problem I had with the movie was the music would become tense, hoping it would lead to something scary to happen and then poof, nothing. Just wish it could've been better and maybe I would've liked it more but it was trash.

Barely worthwhile in the long run

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 3/10 · 26 January 2024]

Trying to contact her dead son, a troubled woman signs on to join a mysterious stranger in staying at a remote house through an arduous series of tests for them to perform an occult ritual inside which soon tests their resolve and patience as they wind through the exacting ritual.

This one was a rather bland and overall uneventful effort. What tends to downplay this one is the rather dull pacing found here that just doesn't offer any kind of excitement for a large portion of its running time. This mainly consists of the two of them engaging in dull conversations over long periods that don't amount to anything as the lack of urgency or intensity as what they're talking about doesn't generate any heat in the matter, so it comes off as incredibly dull. It doesn't help matters much that these are portrayed as being so cryptic on his end towards her that it never really has a chance to build to anything since the entire purpose or meaning of their activities is kept away from the viewer until incredibly late in the film so what it means to have him go through the decorations in the different rooms or the language difficulties throughout here when she doesn't get what they're doing don't serve any point. Even the few digressions outside the house at the beginning are quite obvious as they're utterly unnecessary to see in the film and it gives a profound sense of filler in time during the story that didn't need to have happened since it just eats up time here that it desperately doesn't have. This is mostly held up by the interactions with the former partner who is a deadbeat drug abuser or the constant flashbacks to the interrogating police officer that eat up the running time and stretch this out. There's no reason for the film as it is to be as long as it is, which is due to all these rather bland and action-devoid activities taking up the running time that it feels as though nothing is happening in the film which aids to the bored feeling here. This is the main problem with the film as it doesn't feel as though anything is happening and the horror-based happenings are kept to a minimum for large sections of time being filled with extraneous, non-horrific versions of horror-based actions. While these here hold it back, it does have some enjoyable parts to it. However bland they may be to see play out, the fact that the majority of the first half sees the series of tasks that must be undertaken to accomplish their goal does serve the purpose of starting their ritual. They don't make much sense but it does serve the overall goal of providing the foundation for the steps they take to keep pushing forward in their antics as the gradually escalating series of scenes do provide this with a dark feel once this changes into the darker practices. To be as precise and detail-oriented as this is with its different performances and tactics that are carried out along the way does have a dark and spiritual tone about the proceedings and it does spend the majority of this time with the two of them engaging in rather detailed activities. The only other bit that works here is the rather strong finale which is way too obvious about its intentions but has a rather eerie and more traditional horror outing than anything else committed in the film thus far making it the film's best feature. It's not enough to save this one, though.

Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language and Violence.

ok movie

[prolazniknamernik · 6/10 · 29 April 2023]

Intriguing movie... The film is very solidly made.

As far as I understand, the script is about the use of Black Magic (demonic forces) in a desperate attempt by the main characters to atone for previous failures in life.

Although pentagrams are not drawn and Mesopotamian ritual is mentioned, it is undoubtedly about some kind of influence of the Devil.

In the scenario, imaginary dogmatics are used, because in real theologies there is no power that Demons have, which will last for "eternity", as well as that they bring the dead back to the real world.

There are also no rules that demons obey, ... none, so the main demonic character is unnecessarily demanding respect for some order.

In my opinion, the weakest part of the script is the constant panic and euphoria of the main actress, although the actress herself acts well.

Maybe it was done on purpose, but it's a bit annoying.

Anyway, the film is a solid horror film and should be seen.