Reviews

I just finished watching this film in Berlin as part of the FrightFest festival. The cinema was full and the crowd was excited about the film. But, I must say, it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. I was hoping it was going to be great following the stellar reviews of the film, but it was average at best.

I am really sad as I was hoping it would be much better than it was. I missed Fede Alvarez's version. It was the best remake ever made. This one, albeit not a remake, was not a good reimagining I hoped it would be.

I also thought there was going to be a post credit scene, but there wasn't.

I had this film in my watchlist probably since 2009. I always assumed this is one of those popcorn horror films I can watch when I have nothing else to watch. Well, tonight was one of those nights and I thought to put it on and maybe fall asleep halfway through. Oh boy was I wrong!

First of all, knowing nothing about this film (all my assumptions were based on the name of the film and the poster of it), made it even more enjoyable. The twist at the end was something I was not expecting at all. And the person who played Esther, such an amazing performance at her age in 2009.

If you had reservations about this film, you will NOT be disappointed.

Recently I have been watching Faye Dunaway's films, for no reason. I heard Chinatown is one of the best films she took part in so I was really looking forward to watching it. After two hours and ten minutes, I found myself looking at the screen and thinking, what is so special about this film? Why does it have stellar reviews across the board? Why is it one of the films I must watch before I die? I have no idea. It was average at most. Yes, the unexpected story line in the end regarding the father and the daughter was, interesting, but it had nothing to do with the main murder.

I really feel I missed something important to like this film. But I watched it carefully. I didn't drift away. I was wide awake, focused and not tired.

It is the two hours and ten minutes I will never get back in my life. I did not like it and I am not ashamed to say it.

Please change my view on this and tell me what I have missed.

This is yet another example where IMDb score doesn't do justice to the film's quality. It is a decent film with proper directing, acting and storyline and a decent twist in the end.

I watched many horror films that got higher scores than this yet they are half as good.

Absolutely recommend it.

Now, don't get me wrong. This film is not the worst film I have ever watched. But it is NOT a good film. Certainly not 6.6 as it was the score at the time of writing this review.

It is not a horror film, I get that. It is more of a political drama. But, for me, it is not that either as it doesn't do much to tell the history. What is this film then? I don't know.

All I know is this film is 4 out of 10, and that is for the beautiful cinematography and semi-decent acting.

I started watching this film with no background information. Didn't know anything about it, didn't watch the trailer, didn't even know who's acting. Just pressed play and started watching it. And what a pleasantly great slow burner horror film this was.

While the ending could have been explained a little bit more, it was absolutely great. At 84 minutes long, the length of the film is just right for a slow paced horror.

Would I watch it again? Very likely. Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely!

The film is all about madness at best. Main characters lose their mind and we watch their hallucinations. All the religious references in the film leads to nowhere. The film has a few good jump scares and quite a good beginning which makes you think the rest of the film is going to get somewhere. Unfortunately it doesn't. I wouldn't watch it again, nor would I make my friends watch it.

The film goes downhill from there and it cannot decide what to make of itself. Is it an exorcism film? Is it about mass murders? Is there something more philosophical thinking behind everything? Or is it entirely something else?

Luckily I didn't have much hopes for this film. When it started, I was like "oh, I am up for a good one" but unfortunately I was wrong.

If the film could have kept the pace it started from, it would have been an amazing film but unfortunately it couldn't.

I gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 and that is merely for the opening and somewhat decent acting. But that's about it.

Would I watch it again? No. Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely not.

Well, I wish they talked about Kevin a little bit more. Not even a word is spoken about the motives behind what Kevin did. Maybe the Director wanted to leave that to the audience but it was all in the air for me.

Kevin is a psychopath. His only motive is to hurt his mother no matter what - even it means he himself is going to jail for it. That is my summary of the motive behind his actions.

Other than the brilliant acting throughout the film, I found the rest of the story rather bland. In a nutshell, we watch a mentally troubled child emotionally abusing his mother. That's about it. While the acting can take all the praises, I don't think the plot deserves all the amazingly positive comments it gets here.

This is one of those films where IMDB rating is well below than what it should have been. Yes, it is not the best horror film out there but it was certainly good. The story was not boring, there were some very clever scenes and the acting was not bad for a horror film. I actually enjoyed it throughout.

As with pretty much every other reviewer said, the film has no ending. I was actually enjoying the first 70 mins of the film, I was like yeah, this is cool, I wonder what the hell is going on with this family, but then events start to happen in the film and as soon as the moment we are supposed to figure it all out, then suddenly...

The story was good and rather interesting. Unlike some others, I did not find the film boring to watch but oh my god with the directing! What did the director think when he was shooting this film?! Some scenes don't add up, others are simply gap fillers with nothing to add to the overall story. Some acting was seriously an eyesore!

If this film was handled better by a different director, it could have been a different outcome for sure. With 3 out of 5 stars, it might seem generous - maybe it is - but I still think it's worth watching despite all of its shortcomings, of which there are many.

Reading the reviews, I am amazed how popular this film amongst the reviewers. For me, it was a massive, MASSIVE let down.

On average, I am very generous with my rating on IMDB. Usually I rate 1 point, if not 2 points above the rating on IMDB. Especially when it comes to horror / thriller genres, I am super easy to please.

This film gets 3/10 for me - and that is purely for the brilliant acting of the kids. They are spotless. The casting couldn't have been done better. But that is the only good thing about the film.

Above all, this film is not a horror film. Not even close. It is not a thriller either. It is simply a drama film, trying too hard to give a message to make the film feel like it is one of those "yeah, I didn't understand the film and that's why it's great 'cos I'm cool" reactions. Sorry, not for me.

Very, very disappointed.

I knew this film was going to be something different but I didn't read anything about the film before I started watching it. And this is my absolute recommendation to anybody who is thinking of watching this film. Don't read anything about it. Just watch it. It is different, obscure, unusual, political, weird and overall awesome!

Would I watch it again? Yes! Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely!

This film has been on my archive for quite some time now... I heard good things about it and that's why I have this film. Unfortunately it was so far from being good. It wasn't even average at times. There were so many unanswered questions about the characters, too many in fact. I don't want to list them all here but there is not a single answer given in the film about why the characters are the way they are.

Would I watch it again? Nope. Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely not.

This is my kind of film. Suspense throughout, mystery till the very end... I could write a long review about the film but I realise it wouldn't be that different to what others have already said about it, so my only criticism goes to Anthony Hopkins.

I enjoy watching Anthony Hopkins. I really do. He is a brilliant actor and deserves all the credit he gets. However, his acting seems rather repetitive. He is always assigned to play the role of a man who is highly intelligent, mysterious, always a man of wisdom. Yes, this makes him an interesting character to watch, but we have seen it so many times. The funny thing though this never gets boring. So, I guess, hats off to him for his ability to make us watch the same character over and over again.

Would I watch this film again? Well, I guess so, only if it was on the telly and there is nothing else to watch it. Would I make my friends watch it? Possibly.

Just finished watching this film without knowing anything about it beforehand. Its references to a pandemic somehow made it much more relevant to watch right now than it would have been back in the day when the film is released.

Somehow I expected a better, more clever ending to the film but it lacked that element. However, it was a good watch overall.

Would I watch it again? Probably not. Would I make my friends watch it? Yes.

It is one of those films that you really feel for the characters. Its story is very engaging, heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

I heard a lot about this film before. People kept saying it was one of the best films they have ever seen. While I cannot say the same, it is certainly a film I am glad to have seen now.

Would I watch it again? Probably not, wouldn't want to stress myself that much again. Would I make my friends watch it? Yes to that.

I was looking for a film to watch. Being a big Helen Mirren fan, I decided to give this one a go. What a great choice it was!

The fact that the entire film is in real time, meaning we watch the event as they unfold in real time, makes it a true edge-of-the-seat stuff. Acting was nothing to brag about but the story was great. As you watch it, you keep finding yourself arguing with yourself, trying to decide what you would actually do if you were one of the characters in the film.

If you're looking for something to watch and have access to this film, don't even think for a second and press that play button.

Would I watch it again? Yes! Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely!

I have been reading more and more about this film on the internet as more and more people watch it. While I didn't take much notice of the reviews at first, the more I see its name mentioned, the more I became curious about it.

When the film started, I thought it is going to be one of those mystery films which an unknown entity starts troubling people and you get to find who or what it is towards the end of the film. Well, this film is also like this but with a big, unexpected twist halfway through. And for that, the film gets a positive rating from me. A well-deserved 7/10.

Would I watch it again? Probably not. Would I make my friends watch it? Sure.

While this is not one of the most popular Alfred Hitchcock films out there, it is still brilliant.

You can immediately recognise this film has Sir Alfred Hitchcock's signature on it from the way the film is shot and its story is told.

I did not know anything about the film before I started watching it and I am glad I did it. There were plenty of surprises to see me going to the end of the film.

Would I watch it again? Possibly. Would I make my friends watch it? Definitely.

I was not expecting this film to be this good! Didn't know anything about the film before I started watching it and what a pleasant surprise it was!

The film, which tells the true story of a young woman with multiple personality disorder, is way ahead of its time in my opinion. Coupled with good acting and a storyline that never bores you, it's one of the best films I watched that is from the 1950s.

Would I watch it again? Absolutely. Would I make my friends watch it? Definitely.

I have no idea why I was expecting an anthology before I started watching this film. Anyway, it doesn't matter. While I dislike the increasingly high number of horror films which take place in 1960s/70s/80s nowadays, I still enjoyed watching this one.

Surprisingly, each scary scene in the film is better than the one before, which makes the film better as you keep watching it.

Would I watch it again? Yes. Would I make my friends watch it? Why not?

It is not easy to describe this film. For the current generation, the film might not mean much but imagine those who watched this film, witnessing the events they themselves have gone through. Only then you truly understand the power of the film.

To me, who is in his mid-30s, the film is certainly a reflection of decent, honest, not over the top acting you may be accustomed to see in films of the same era. This is certainly the reason it gets the score I gave.

It could certainly be shorter but then you'd have to give up on some important character development scenes.

Would I watch this film again? I don't think so. Would I make my friends watch it? Possibly not.

I watched this film without knowing it was actually directed by Mike Flanagan. When I saw his name in the beginning of the film, I immediately knew I was in for a treat! I was not wrong!

There is something special about the way he tries to scare people who watch his films. I can't tell you exactly what that is. All I know is that he is bloody good at it!

You could see the film had a limited budget but actually the fact that its budget was limited made the film even better. Its atmosphere was unique. The "jump scares" were not really a traditional jump scare but rather an amazing collection of moments where you wished you were so glued to the screen.

Would I watch it again? Definitely! Would I make my friends watch it? ASAP!