Can't Take It Back (2017) User Reviews

Troubled from scene 1 onwards

[hi_im_manic · 3/10 · 6 January 2018]

One reviewer is either terribly confused or trolling by stating that this film is in any way about zombies. Surprise, No Zombies!

This is about high school seniors who find a deceased former classmates social profile and leave some nasty comments on it. Then each of them is haunted by a malicious spirit and discover that their cruel remarks cannot be apologized for nor "taken back".

The storyline seems cliched and unimaginative, even so, it could have been better written. Much of the acting is wooden though it's not the worst of 2017. The finished product is reads as a campy B-flick potpourri inspired by similar themes and it is unforgivably predicable. This one seems like it's the work of a film student/ first-timer and was hurriedly completed on a shoe-string budget. Many great films have been produced under them same constraints, but this isn't one of them. I agree with another reviewer that says this movie would appeal greatest to very bored teen girls.

Overly sensitive ghost makes bullies feel bad.. again. Like all the rest, really.

[rushknight · 3/10 · 17 January 2018]

It's not the worst movie. There are some good parts. The acting is not terrible, and there are some fine moments. As for scary parts, there are a few that were notable.

Unfortunately most of the film just falls into the "overdone" category. They were trying too hard to make a scary movie by using too many scary scenes, too much scary ambiance, way too many horror tropes without any new original spin on them, etc, etc. You can't scare people by inuring them in scary scenes, their potency fades almost immediately. After that, all you have left is a dreary collection of jump scares that have no effectiveness because the viewer has already been primed for them.

This alone could have made the film much more viewable: Less time being haunted and more time developing characters who were sorely in need of development.

An additional weakness that killed the immersion for me was the poor imitation of modern day technology and social media. Obviously the plot hinges on the use of social media as a means of bullying. But anyone who has used social media knows how it works (which is nearly everyone at this point) and they know that you can or can't do this, or that this program doesn't work like that, or it doesn't react this way, etc. There were literally sound effects from the older laptops in the early 2,000s played to "add realism" to the classy, sleek looking laptops of today. Didn't work at all for me.

There were just too many places where the technology used didn't reflect reality and it kept ripping me out of the film, literally screaming into my ear, "This is a movie, remember? We're trying to make it look real without violating any copyright laws."

It came off as very weak.

But the final iron nail in this bedroom door was the weakly conceived plot in the first place. Please, how many movies are going to keep beating this dead horse of school bullying? Apparently having someone post an embarrassing picture of you online is the last straw for our young people today? What childishness. Join the army or something. Don't be so fragile.

Unfortunately the writers simply did not make it seem real for the viewer, it came off as more of a cheap ethics punch, sort of like how the Saturday morning cartoons years ago used to play little clips after the episode to teach some moral lesson to kids who apparently couldn't glean it from the show. "Remember kids, bullying is bad, and you should feel bad."

Logan Paul!

[wiluxe-2 · 5/10 · 21 May 2020]

Worst actor I've encountered in years. Absolutely laughable in this film.

Terrible and formulaic

[andy-383-830048 · 2/10 · 11 November 2017]

One of the worse of the recent "social media horror" films.

Having watched "Smiley", had I realised that this was a social media horror starring a you tube vblogger I would have avoided. But I didn't realise and therefore wasted 90 minutes of my life.

Somebody is badly actedly mean to somebody online and therefore an unimaginative evil force seeks revenge. Yawn.

Terrible stuff. One character is so forced and unnecessary I wondered why it was in there... surprise surprise it was the you tube "star".

Unless you are a 14 year old girl with no attention span.... avoid,

Speaking ill of the dead

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 11 July 2018]

Was drawn into seeing 'Can't Take It Back' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing if not creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre as said many times. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Can't Take It Back' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better. 'Can't Take It Back' is very weak with a lot of big problems. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.

Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Can't Take it Back' could have looked far worse visually, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me there were moments where it didn't look too bad, having said that a lot of it is crude and rushed-looking.

'Can't Take it Back' has some suspenseful and creepy moments in the first third and it started off on a fun and intriguing note.

Albeit, there is nothing new here, it's all familiar territory and executed in old-hat fashion. The second half also takes itself far too seriously and gets incredibly idiotic, a very completely different film feel here. The creepiness dissipates completely fairly early on, with the horror, suspense and tension being nowhere near enough. Things start not making much sense and gets silly, with one of the most ludicrous and easily foreseeable endings ever. The acting is not amateurish, but it's also fairly unremarkable.

Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppiness can be found in editing and narrative, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script likewise. The concept is not a new one and there is nothing new or illuminating here, it is a harrowing and relevant subject that is being explored and the film underdevelops, overdoes and trivialises it.

Then there is some padding and aimlessness that also gives the film a dragging sensation. The characters are flimsily developed, annoying and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music and sound editing are far too intrusive and obvious. It is not a case of not trying, it is a case of trying too hard and the execution suffers as a result.

In summary, weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox

"Evil spirits stay up late"

[quantumbanana1980 · 2/10 · 12 May 2020]

Pretty much sums up this movie ....

The pros: There are some cool technology-based scares utilizing laptops/cellphones (although not original). These scares have a few effective moments.

The cons: The dialogue is poorly written. The story is extremely unoriginal and boring. The acting is a mixed bag, the main chick is a decent actress and given a script that isn't sub-par would likely have a stronger performance. Movies like this are a dime a dozen and whoever wrote "Evil spirits stay up late" should really be saying "do you want fries with that?"

not that great been done before and much better

[buckeyefanohiostate · 4/10 · 30 June 2021]

This movie reminds me of so many of the teen horror movies made in the last few yrs like unfriended ect you can see every single jump scare coming and the ending i knew what was happing from the mid point of the movie its not the worst movie i have seen but its far from the best.

Generic horror movie

[send-04871 · 1/10 · 20 February 2021]

I would give this movie 3 stars had Logan Paul not played in it (it takes a desperate company to hire a POS with his history.) The movie was another, "I did something online while drunk, AGAINST MY WILL, that I am now getting punished for. DESPITE THE FACT THAT I DIDN'T POST IT MYSELF!!!? " This type of horror is tired. Its annoying, lazy, and disrespectful to the genre.

Not as bad as made out to be

[babywardy-79143 · 6/10 · 26 September 2019]

It was definitely worth a watch it wasnt as bad as the reviews here made it out to be i never comment on here but felt i had to with this film worth a watch xx

Terrible Movie and also Logan Paul is in it........

[adeep-10048 · 1/10 · 4 July 2021]

There is literally nothing good about this movie. Then they cast Logan Paul just to make sure it was trash. The guy is NOT an actor and it is very obvious. He's not a huge role in the movie but its akin to having a crusty booger on the side of your plate, you're not going to be enjoying that meal with it there.

Oh come on, it isn't that bad

[haskel-72951 · 6/10 · 8 January 2020]

It's an average teen horror flick. I've seen tons worse. Decent production value, decent acting, what more do you want from a movie with this premise? I'll take it over a lot of Blumhouse theatrical releases. Far from perfect, but you could definitely spend an hour and a half in worse ways.

If you value life please don't watch.

[mohamedfarah-56394 · 1/10 · 24 February 2020]

There's so much more you can do with what little time we have as humans. Go for a walk, get a bite to eat, spend time with friends, family. Take classes. Play video games. Read a book. Please don't waste that precious time on this abomination of a film.

1hr 28mins. I definitely can't take it back!

[ehartland1 · 4/10 · 11 July 2021]

This isn't the worst teen film I've seen but it's in no way the best. The genre is tired now and I'm amazed producers still think it's worth putting money into scripts like this. It has some good creepy moments but is lacking overall. It's nothing special.

Not Great but Not Bad.

[madeleineadam · 5/10 · 5 May 2022]

It's a decent teen horror honestly. Yes there are problems, but also there are some legitimately creepy moments. Honestly I'd probably watch it again.

Decent, but I wouldn't watch it again.

[sarahkubar · 6/10 · 29 September 2020]

Seemed to have a reasonably original storyline (considering I have only heard/seen about 3 or 4 movies with the same motif.) The acting isn't *awful* but some of it could definitely be improved on. The 'demon' or whatever the hell it is relies on special technical effects as the actual makeup isn't very scary on it's own. As a woman in her mid twenties, I am not a fan of Logan Paul but his acting wasn't terrible; it was passable. Nothing special.

The lead's eyebrows did annoy the hell out of me, though. Plus all of the dumb decision making that always seems to be a common theme in any horror movie, but particularly ones that center around teenagers.

The plot started out valuably, with promise, but as the movie started progressing towards it's second and third act, it was lacking in oomf. There were a few creepy bits, one or two good jump scares, but all in all; I would not watch this again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

Decent for a teen based flick

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 7/10 · 3 April 2020]

This had a quality that made me think of the Gallows but done well. Spin on a social media horror flick, this incorporates ideas of the supernatural better. And doesn't belabor the message of the dangers of social media; it speaks it clearly and shows the consequences (aside from any supernatural elements). Decently acted and production. Also incorporates some aspects of peer pressure, not the seriously overt kind, but the kind of basic pressure that we can feel to fit in with a friend or group leading to the consequences of not being true to one's self.