Muse (XII) (2017) User Reviews

5 stars only for the gorey bits

[gary-elrick · 5/10 · 23 August 2018]

One of the slowest movies i have ever seen, not scary at any part of the movie, even the supposedly scary bits were not even scary. I dont like to pull any movie down but if you want action and horror and sci fi then watch something else please as this is none of the above. i could go on and on and tell you more boring stuff about this movie but its pointless its the biggest pile of trollop ive ever sat and watched and i did even watch thwe entire movie, sorry but 100% garbage.

Deadly muse

[imursel · 5/10 · 16 September 2018]

Directing: 4 /Acting: 4 /Story: 5 /Production values: 5 /Suspence - Thriller level: 8 /Action: none /Mystery - unknown: 7 /Romance level: 8 /Comedy elements: none

Plot OK, acting really bad

[maxvent · 4/10 · 25 November 2018]

Sounds like nothing new, plot sounds like a siren twist, acting looks like coming out from the school

No, baby, gory violence isn't a turn-off at all... Come here, you hateful violent forest groupie...

[fedor8 · 1 December 2019]

A laughable B-movie so mired in clichés, predictable "twists", amateur overacting, dumb cardboard stereotypes and pedestrian dialog - that you'll be grabbing the remote control soon after the kick-off, and not to kiss it, trust me. I assume there are a lot more people who gave up on the movie than there are those who managed to finish it.

Those who gave up are a lot smarter than me.

I stuck it out - but only because of my loyal friend, the remote control. (Disobedient and treacherous only when its batteries run low.) There is a wonderful function on it called "skip the next 15 secs of this Dreck". Or at least that's what I call it. I pressed that button on multiple occasions: that button is almost as loyal and protective of its master as the demonesse in this silly movie.

The film's ineptness is cringy at times, especially the scenes when violent characters get angry: like a very cheesy pulp-fiction comic-book. Bad guys smirk, good guys look on helplessly. It's that kind of movie.

The short struggling artist (no taller than Richard Gere or Tom Cruise - either of whom probably would have been cast if this awful script had made it into the hands of a slow-witted Hollywood producer), extremely insecure and jittery to the point of being annoying, is played by an uninteresting overactor incapable of being subtle for a second. (Yeah, Cruise would be perfect.) He somehow becomes the object of worship of a skinny but dangerous (= Lara Croft) forest fairy; a sort of supernatural "art-crowd" groupie. She doesn't go for rock bands, she goes for struggling artists. This skimpily-clad demonesse acts as the artist's muse: she gives him great sex, and in return he creates great art. Because that's what screwing is essentially: musing. I.e. give a man constant erections and watch him amplify his creativity tenfold.

However, she is also his protector. (Some male fantasy, huh? A nymphomaniac fashion model that does double duty as bodyguard! Add some 5-star-restaurant kitchen abilities into the mix as well - and voila, the perfect woman... A Stepford wife extraordinaire.) She inspires him to "artistic" success, killing everyone in his path... because - clearly - an unemployed artist has so many enemies. Hundreds. And, clearly, unemployed starving artists reside in large lofts that are somehow situated in mob-ridden neighbourhoods.

And, clearly, nerdy sensitive artist types cold-bloodedly dismember bodies with carpentry tools. They never struggle with that. It's second nature to them, because they see corpses daily in their jobs as artists...

One of these generic mobster neighbours offers him a job (?!) of driving (?!) the mobster to the woods. Because that's what mobsters do: they can't drive so they hire their neighbours to drive them deep into the woods where the cocaine money is waiting in a remote shed. Standard MO, right?

The first sex between the nerd and the killer-goddess occurs just MINUTES after she very brutally kills his landlord right in front of him. Now, I don't know about you, but witnessing the decapitation of an innocent man would KINDA kill the mood for me. Especially if the woman who wants sex with me were that killer. Call me old-fashioned, but a woman butchering people at whim isn't very sexy to me, even if she's doing it naked. Not appealing. But apparently our tiny artist isn't the type to have his sexual excitement curbed by such trivial distractions as murder, blood, corpses, necks breaking, extreme violence and the like. So, covered in another man's blood, he proceeds to allow her to ride on him... So romantic. So Goth. He is - clearly - a good guy, so we should root for him. Or not?

The artist is so incredibly thick (yup, Cruise would be ideal) that it doesn't even occur to him that the extremely violent fairy MIGHT just be a tad jealous if she ever caught him with another woman. It takes a lengthy description of fairy demonesses by his female employer (the curator) to finally make him realize that the object of his desire (oh yeah, there's that other female protagonist he secretly worships) is in danger of being killed by his jealous forest-creature girlfriend.

The curator is an expert on forest-dwelling killer-models. Thought I'd mention that too... No idea why or how, but she knows everything about them. She is the world's leading authority on sheobhans, or whatever these fairies are called.

Nor is it clear what an Irish folk-tale demonesse is doing in urban America. Perhaps she won an Irish singing contest and got a free flight to NY. (No, wait, she doesn't even speak.) I know she's Irish because of her name, not her accent: she never says a word. She is a mute as well as a muse. A mute muse.

OK, so she's "Celtic". Same thing...

Nerd-boy, who was totally insecure and nervous just days earlier, suddenly morphs into a confident successful artist. Just like that. Like in a Jerry Lewis comedy. Except that there was no magic potion to explain this extreme turnaround. And this isn't a comedy. At least not intentionally.

The plot thickens: Cruise's love-interest already has a boyfriend. A big bad arrogant jock boyfriend. (No, this isn't a mindless high-school teen romp... I mean, it IS mindless, just not a teen romp.) A big bad arrogant jock boyfriend - who is an artist himself. (Great writing, huh? He is a dead ringer for an artist the way Seth Green is a dead ringer for an NBA pro.) But wait, it gets dumber: as the nerd's career suddenly skyrockets due to excessive mystical "musing" (i.e. screwing) which enmuses Cruise's previously demused artistic career, the jock's own career just as suddenly comes to a halt. No explanation given... We are just supposed to accept all these age-old clichés... because they're clichés? Or maybe Cruise's success makes jock-boy unable to draw and paint anymore? Makes a lot of sense...

Did I mention how extremely predictable the plot is? I have. No harm in repeating this though: because every single "twist" is phoned in miles ahead. This is Thriller Script-Writing 000, not even 101.

Predictably, the jealous demonesse attacks Cruise's love-interest right after the scene with the curator when Cruise finally added 2 and 2, finally realizing that a jealous demon might just be a tad dangerous vis-a-vis the "other woman". Predictably the demonesse somehow loses her killing skills: for some (plot-device) reason her target keeps eluding her. Somehow she kills gangsters much more easily than harmless, unarmed women!

He predictably arrives just in time to save the girl. He does this by shooting his supernatural all-powerful demon lover with a common pistol - in the back. So cavalier and brave. So he kills her.

Or does he? A little later the two of them are shown walking away into the forest, accompanied by melancholic music.

They were last seen a few weeks later in a forest clearing, urinating on the script.

Can I get my $3 back?

[alyssa_starelli · 1/10 · 19 October 2018]

Couldn't even make it 5 min in. Should have read reviews. The Amazon description sounded interesting but belies the reality. Bummer.

Interesting Little Film with Basis in Mythology

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 7/10 · 21 July 2020]

This was a movie that I had the pleasure of seeing when the film company behind it reached out asking if I was interested in watching it for a review. Since I enjoy seeing more of the independent movies, I agreed and was sent a screener. It has an interesting premise as well that is grounded in mythology, which I'm also a fan of. The synopsis though is a painter's life is changed forever when a mythical and deadly spirit from Celtic lore becomes his muse and lover.

We start with two guys that have a flat tire on their truck. They're stranded in the middle of nowhere. One of them goes out in the woods as he hears something. It is there he encounters an emaciated man with a harmonica.

The movie takes us to a dream sequence where we see a woman's eyes and we get a flash of her. This is our main character of Adam (Riley Egan). He is a struggling painter who lives in a studio apartment. He has a crush on the girl across the way, Maria (Kate Mansi). He is lacking in his confidence though. Something I liked here is that we get quite a bit of it through facial reactions as well as a scene where his landlord informs him his rent has gone up and he needs it now. His landlord is Lance (Phil Abrams). We get an interesting duality here though is a new resident Hector (Max Decker) bullies Lance.

Adam goes up to the roof where Hector gives him a proposition to help inspire him. He believes you can't sit up on the roof like he's doing if he wants to be great. There's an interesting aspect here where Hector shows a tattoo he has on his forearm of a tree that Adam drew in his sketchpad before they met. Hector tells Adam he can make some money if he drives him that night and it just takes 2 hours.

As Adam heads back to his room, he bumps into Maria. She sees his sketchpad and notices a drawing of her. She invites him to a local gallery where a showing is happening. Adam agrees to come, partly for her and for the networking opportunity. It is there we meet Maria's boyfriend, Jason Block (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). It is his showing and he's quite arrogant. This encounter doesn't help Adam's self-esteem. It isn't all bad though as he runs into Valerie (Jennie Fahn). She's the owner and she can see something in him. He just needs to find his muse.

He goes home and that night he sees Maria and Jason hooking up through the window. This pushes Adam to seek out Hector about his proposition. They drive to the middle of nowhere and it turns out that Hector is a drug dealer. Adam is his driver. While he's waiting, he goes out into he woods. He hears something, but when there's yelling as the deal goes bad, they flee. They don't get far when Adam sees the woman from his dream. He spins out causing Hector to freak out. He ends up shooting at the woman.

Once again, Adam wakes up in his apartment. There is also a new painting in his room of the woman he saw the night before. The woman then appears in his room. Hector is upset when he learns that she is at his place, since she saw what he did. This isn't just an ordinary woman though. Valerie calls her Leannán Sí. Is she real or just in Adam's head?

Now that's where I want to leave my recap, I think that leaves the jist of what we're working with here. To go back to what I said earlier, when I first saw the title, I was excited as I like mythology. From my understanding there are muses in Greek and probably Roman mythology as there's a lot of cross-over there. It wasn't until watching this movie that I learned they are also in Celtic history. I shouldn't be surprised as there is a lot of overlapping and the many of the stories have their variations. One of my favorite characters becomes Valerie for the reason of sharing this information to progress things.

My first real introduction to what a muse was though was from the Albert Brooks' film The Muse starring Sharon Stone. I then learned about them from class and me just doing my own research. I like what they do with here though and expanding more to the Celtic history of them. The Leannán Sí will kill anyone who tries to come between her and the one that she is latched on to. Now I make it sound bad. Adam or any other artist is drawn to her, it helps them proceed the best work of their lives, but they just live short spans for that greatness. They also get to have sex with her, which as a male, good for them. This does play some interesting things with those that try to get in her way or his way in the movie.

Something else I found interesting is that we get a look at the art community. Now clearly if you follow me, you know I love film and I do have some pretentious taste at times. The painting community from everything I've seen in movies isn't for me. I'd say this is up there with Velvet Buzzsaw in presenting this as well.

Since we're talking about the community, I'll shift this over to the acting. I think they did a really good job in the performances across the board. I'm really impressed with Egan and his ability to convey a lot with his body language and facial expressions. He looks defeated and no self-confidence until he meets the Leannán Sí. From there it is such a change. I was impressed with Evans in that role as well. She is nude quite a bit and I'm thankful for that. She doesn't have any lines though so again, all through facial and body expression. Mansi is also quite attractive. My only issue is that I feel like she is coming on to Adam from the beginning. We see that her boyfriend is a jerk so I guess it is possible, but it feels a bit off. I do think though that low key, Fahn really steals the show as the best character for what she does for Adam and providing the mythology. Decker, Ferrigno, Abrams and the rest of the cast rounded this out for was needed as well.

Really the last thing to cover would the effects and how things are edited together. Most of the deaths we get are done off-screen which is fine. I think many of them are just the same thing repeatedly. The blood looks good though. We do get to see some people stabbed with a painting tool which works. It is a bit unbelievable what Adam does with the bodies; I do have to admit that. If I do have an issue, we use way too many dream sequences. That is a troupe that is played out in my opinion. I think the editing is fine, but that is just where my issue comes from.

Now with that said, I came in not sure what to expect with this movie and ended up really enjoying it. I thought it has a solid little premise that is grounded in mythology and what they do with it works. There's not a lot to the story and I think a lot of what works here is the acting. I think that Egan, Evans and Fahn are all good. The rest are solid in support. There aren't a lot in the way of effects, but it doesn't need them and the soundtrack fits for what was needed. Just lacking some aspects to be good in my opinion, but I'd say that this is an above average film for sure. I would recommend it as well.

Simple but interesting

[SilverOrlov · 7/10 · 13 March 2020]

I do not agree with a low rating. This film looks like a third-rate drama at first, but the chosen topic and how it was presented deserves a normal average rating. This film made me surf the Internet for looking for other similar films, about the relationship between people and fairies, etc.

A smart, solid blend of genres, well made & entertaining

[I_Ailurophile · 8/10 · 23 October 2022]

It's a bit of a rough start as the movie throws a lot at us in the first twenty minutes without significant or clear plot to go with it. (Props for the unmistakable theme established early on, though, that all landlords are trash and should be abolished.) Once the narrative does pick up, and protagonist Adam becomes involved one way or another with the unnamed leannán sí, the picture is wonderfully enticing. 'Muse' presents us with a mixture of fantasy, horror, romance, drama, and thriller, and while one vibe may take precedence at certain points, overall it's very well balanced - and importantly, filmmaker John Burr never loses sight of prioritizing the narrative. Given such variety and mindfulness in the storytelling, it's easy to rather fall in love with this; I think it's pretty great!

I appreciate that while the concept of muses are most famous as they appear in Greek mythology, many cultures have their own take, and it's with the Irish strain that Burr found inspiration here. The story may be familiar in the broad strokes, but that doesn't mean a new rendition can't be worthy of its own merits, and there's sufficient worthy detail rounding out those broad strokes as to make this a splendid watch. If not terribly deep, there's enough personality given to the characters to help each stand out and give form to the tale, and the scene writing that pieces the saga together is solid all around. To that point, the subtle arc of the protagonist is just as rich as the abject horror violence, adding another layer to the tableau. And on that note, the cast is swell; above all, both Riley Egan (Adam) and Elle Evans (the leannán sí) inhabit their roles with gratifying nuance that goes a long way to making 'Muse' work as well as it does.

The blood and gore looks terrific, along with other effects, stunts, and action-oriented sequences. I'm a big fan of the production design and art direction. Special commendations to Jennifer Lauren Friedman - credited with creating the paintings seen in the film, her work is outstanding and I'd love to see more of it. Why, all the contributions of those behind the scenes are unimpeachable, from costume design and hair and makeup, to lighting, editing, and cinematography. Burr demonstrates keen command of the medium as director, complementing his sound screenplay, and I adore Alexander Rudd's score, an array of electronic themes that somewhat recalls John Carpenter as they range from hushed and thoughtful to harsh and aggressive.

Honestly, from every angle 'Muse' is very well made. Both in terms of the production and the entertainment value it's considerably better than I'd have ever expected for a feature of this tenor - which is to say, the sort that one probably won't hear of or come across save by chance, or browsing various streaming sites. It's actually rather unfortunate that this has so low visibility, I think, as I'd say it's so well done as to deserve more recognition. Sure, as a matter of personal preference it won't appeal to everyone, but as both writer and director I admire Burr's handiwork, and cast and crew alike all did a fine job on this. It may not be an absolute must-see, but I certainly enjoyed it - and, having watched at an hour when I'd usually be passing out from exhaustion, this kept me awake and attentive, and I think that alone says much. Suffice to say that if you have a chance to watch 'Muse,' I think it's well worth ninety minutes!

Unique Horror That Is Almost More of a Love Story

[kyliethomas-10421 · 6 July 2020]

I caught this movie randomly the other night and was thoroughly impressed. It is not your average horror movie, in fact it is almost more of a love story than horror. Don't get me wrong there is some great blood and gore and T&A (which are the basic ingredients of a any good horror movie), but it is done with a delicate artful cinematic touch. For example there are several love scenes that are almost more art installation pieces. The attention the filmmakers give to the connection between the isolated artist (Regan) and his blood thirsty guardian killer (Evans) is where this movie really shines. The movie is a slow burn that is built around tone and tension. Burr takes his time to setup up scares, and uses the camera in a masterful way to lull the audience asleep into this unique romanticism only to brutally awake it with some awesome scares. Evans, who literally does not have a single line of dialogue, is captivating as the drop-dead gorgeous Muse and heartless killer. The camera and lighting work in perfect tandem with Evans to create a totally captivating killer that doesn't say a single word, yet is horrifying and seductive at the same time. The artistic use of lighting and camera movement help separate this film from more typical genre pieces; Burr takes care and deliberation in setting up the audience and allowing them to see and not see what he wants. All-in-all I was really impressed by this film, and would recommend to those who enjoy character based horror; I'd assume some of the lower scores are from viewers expecting a more typical fast paced action horror movie. But if you liked more psychological horror like Rosemary's Baby, The Witch, Let the Right One In, or Hereditary this one might be up your alley.

Very well done movie!

[gsinghpersaud · 9/10 · 10 November 2020]

This movie is done fantastically. The work ,the art, the way the camera captures every moment. It just lures you into the film. Riley Egan did fantastic acting. If you love art with some folklore this is the movie to watch. Beautifully well done. Great work by the cast directors producers etc.