Movie Reviews

Antrum, The Cursed Film

  • 12/24/23

      Antrum is a horror film that has made a controversial wave recently. The viewers’ opinions of this film seem to be very black or white, with no gray area.  They either love it or hate it.  A lot of people love the cursed idea but some believe this narrative was an easy marketing stunt by the directors. Some think the film presents a very eerie and psychological story while others believe it was a long drawn-out movie about nothing. I can understand the criticism that Antrum is running into. If you are a horror fan who likes blood, jumpscares, and an obvious killer then you are not likely to enjoy this film. Antrum is more of a puzzle that you have to put together with every detail in each scene being the puzzle pieces. This is why I believe that if you like this type of horror, watch Antrum before finishing the review. The best way to understand something is by seeing it yourself first. The rest of the review might be spoiler-heavy as we delve into the three main components that make or break the film. Is Antrum the deadliest film ever made? Or is Antrum cursed with a “bad film” label?

     During my first watch of Antrum, I remember feeling annoyed and at some points bored. These feelings mainly occurred in the beginning of Antrum. I didn’t like the history lesson bit at the beginning of the film. This is where the film is easily forgotten because of its sparseness of emotion. It seems rushed with the acting. It gives the audience a feeling like we are rapidly being shown a series of fun fact flashcards. With this, I thought this section was a mockumentary rather than a documentary consequently making me question its authenticity. The acting of the main characters is well executed considering their age and lack of experience. A notable performance is acknowledged by the antagonists and the man we caught attempting seppuku in the forest. They authentically express the emotions their characters are feeling during the situations they find themselves in within the film. I’m able to empathize with the characters as well as root for or against them depending on their morality. Before the film was over I had decided I would give this area a 2/3 but changed it to a perfect score in the end. You’re probably wondering why someone would do that if they didn’t think the acting was flawless for the whole film. Well, it always comes back to storytelling. 

     The story told here is very intriguing. You are hooked with the title, Antrum, the Deadliest Film Ever Made.  Automatically, it is a challenge. Your cockiness is shortly crushed when the film starts and the documentary proceeds to tell you all of the things that have happened to others who viewed the film. The theme of paranoia and superstition shown here builds significantly throughout the movie. Antrum is a perfect example of the expression “less is more.” I think this is where the acting can be appreciated, the sense of a stale mockumentary makes viewers question the presented genuineness. This is the director’s way of telling us in the very beginning that we should not trust anything in this film, none of the information can be relied on. The story focuses on two children, Oralee and Nathan. We are told they would come to the woods to dig a hole in hell in the hopes of finding and saving their recently deceased family dog. Pretty soon after the pair begin their descent into the gates of hell, we become aware of the danger the children might be in. The audience might not be able to put all the pieces of the story together from the first watch which leaves the audience with an eerie feeling for the children. This seemed to be the goal of the directors. They wanted the audience to question the information that was given to them and to look further for answers. Antrum ends with a cliffhanger…or does it? After researching some for the review, I came across an interview with the directors of Antrum where they spoke about how the cliffhanger ending has an answer. The answer is hidden within the film. There are zero jump scares in the film, Antrum relies heavily on psychological horror. It does this successfully with masterful cinematography. 

     Antrum’s cinematography is my favorite thing about the film. There is so much detail packed into every scene.  Since there is so much, I’m sadly unable to cover all of it. The ones that stand out to me and the ones I’ll be discussing are the sigils, Latin terms, and demons. Before we are introduced to a true antagonist we are shown many figures moving out of view right as the camera looks in their direction. Some of these scenes are short but some are eerie and go on way too long for my comfort. In one scene a demon-like figure is in front of the hole that the children were previously digging. He smiles and laughs like he is having fun. Later in the film, another demon is shown. However, it seems more serious as a hand slowly rises from the dark and points at the viewer. These are pieces to a puzzle and they fit with the Latin phrases that appear throughout the film. The Latin phrase that stands out to me the most is “cave ab homine unius libri.” When translated this means “beware of the man of one book”. I interpret this to mean that someone who has dedicated themselves to learning just one thing can be dangerous in two ways. They can be untouchable in that subject, mastering it perfectly. Yet being knowledgeable does not mean they are truthful. Someone with one book can share only the good things in that book but keep people blind to all that is bad. Oftentimes people’s knowledge is measured by how long they have studied a subject. If you have studied for a while then anything you say is taken as fact. For example, scientists, doctors, and priests. How do we know that this person is telling us what they know? How do we know that they are telling us everything we ought to know? The only way to defend being corrupted by lies is to “unus multorum librorum” or, be one of many books. With that, Sigils play a big role in this film and we are shown the same sigil 170 times, some appearing more obvious than others. We are told this in the last Mockumentary bit of the film. As we have viewed Antrum in its entirety we are only now told that this sigil summons the demon Astaroth. In demon lore, it is explained that Astaroth is a demon that sits alongside Lucifer and Beelzebub in hell. He often indulges in interfering in human affairs. Although he likes to meddle he is weary of advising because he does not want his knowledge to be perceived as good or evil. With this information, it is clear that the viewer has been a part of this story all along.  First the sigils, then Astaroth laughing at us, and then pointing at us, making us the next person Astoroth has chosen to meddle with. Making Antrum, the deadliest film ever made.

    Are we next? The mockumentary, in the beginning, tells us that we are if we continue, and then we see Astaroth point at us in the middle. Let us not forget about that Latin phrase that is shown to us, beware of the man of one book. As we do research into the film, many inconsistencies are brought to light. The directors told the audience from the beginning that they were not to be trusted with that phrase and the odd acting in the mockumentary. Further, digging proves that the sigils that we were shown and told are Astaroth are slightly different from the actual Astaroth sigil. The experts in the beginning and end told us that this demon can curse us. But should we trust them because they are “experts?” The directors laid out a beautifully detailed story inside and outside of this film. Oralee’s fake religion at the beginning of the film only proves to be dangerous for both her and her brother. We saw Astaroth mark Nathan with a sigil after pointing at him and then meddle with their lives all starting with the dog. The same thing happens to the viewer, making the film linger after it is over. The directors wanted this feeling to continue, but they also wanted you to question everything. When you do start to question everything you find that the deaths in the beginning were all made up and that the date in which the film first was shown was also made up. The very title of this film is a lie, which is why I love it so much. There are so many layers and theories in Antrum, which allow you to perceive the story in many different ways. David Amito and Micheal Laicini intended for this film to be a message for people to question what they are being told, and to show you that you give power to what you believe in. Some may believe that Oralee kills Nathan in the end, others believe she didn’t. But if you look harder and pay attention the answer becomes apparent. I’ll let you decide if you want to find the answer, my knowledge shouldn’t be perceived as fact.  I give Antrum a 10/10 because I believe it is creative in how it uses different techniques to invoke fear and horror and the story only grows the more you question it. Antrum might not be the deadliest film ever made however I believe that it is one of the best horror films ever made.

The Shining, is it Worth the Hype

* Today’s review contains material that might be difficult for some readers. The themes of incest and sexual abuse/assault will be discussed only in paragraph 4, you can skip ahead to paragraph 5 if those themes disturb you. 

  • 11/19/23

     The Shining opens with the iconic score “Dies Tres” which is featured in A Clockwork Orange also directed by Stanly Kubrick. The eerie notes as we inch closer to the overlook, give you the right amount of dread before the movie even introduces you to a plot. Kubrick was a well-known director with many classics under his belt. He is known for his obscure style and of course the Kubrick stare. The Kubrick stare is a method he uses to make one of his characters stare directly into the camera making the audience feel even more uncomfortable and in danger. The Shining is known for its dark undertones of abuse and visions that terrorize a young boy. Kubrick uses cinematography and storytelling to send chills down your spine and leave you in a place of uncertainty. Even though The Shining is known to be a classic, is it worth the hype that it receives, is it a masterpiece? Let us dive into the madness that is The Shining and discuss what makes and breaks this film. Is The Shining worth the hype?

      Kubrick used unique angles to get interesting shots to convey a certain feeling appropriate to the scene. Many shots of Jack are close and centered to make you feel like he is threatening, the constant eye contact with the camera plays a huge role in our subconscious. Because it isn’t normal for an actor to glance directly at you during the film it makes you feel unsafe and uncomfortable. Throughout the film Jack makes his glances more and more obvious, eluding to the fact that he is losing his mind, thus becoming more and more dangerous. Kubrick moved and added things to each set in between shots, another way of playing with the viewer’s subconscious. In the beginning, when we perceive Jack as safe, his clothes have hints of green. Toward the end his clothes start to primarily show red, implying danger is imminent. The SFX in this film is impressive, especially the scene with the elevator full of blood.  This scene used 3,000 gallons of fake blood. The attention to detail in every scene helps add to the suspense and makes this film iconic. 

     The two main actors in this film are played by Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall and both did an amazing performance. Some people disagree with the opinion that Shelly acted well. I believe Shelly accurately portrayed an emotionally exhausted person who doesn’t want to have to do what is necessary to save her child. How would you react if the person you loved was coming to kill you? Would it be easy to believe and would you automatically use lethal force to stop them? Or would you try anything you could to avoid that? The person coming for you can easily overpower you, if you get too close or miss, then they have a chance to grab you. Jack does an excellent job of slowly turning crazy. It does slowly build, although there never was a moment where I thought Jack was fully sane. You see a man in the beginning who is hiding something in his past, alcoholism. His abusive behavior has been exhibited twice. I can’t help to have hope for the family but the dread soon consumes you as time ticks away and Jack stares longer into the camera. You can feel the friction between the husband and wife while they are around each other. You can tell they are faking their happiness because they are desperately trying to better the relationship but it seems to be making it worse. Jack is scared of what he will look like if he loses everything and Windy is scared of not only upsetting her son if she moves forward with a divorce but you can feel that she is subconsciously scared of the physical repercussions of Jack’s reaction. Danny Lloyd, who plays Danny Torrence, does as good as I would expect a 6-year-old to do. A lot of Danny’s acting is just staring and making big eyes as he sees something lurking in the hallways. I believe this is a little unrealistic, Danny acts a little too casual when he sees two freaky dead twins in the hallway. However, I can understand that an actor at his age is not going to be able to put on as good of a crying show like Florence Pugh in Midsommar. A small cast allows you to dial in on the imperfections of each actor and adjust to the movie. Kubrick does a great job of getting authentic reactions out of the cast thanks to his intense directing methods. 

     The storytelling by Kubrick is well done. The Shining is a slow burn, which many are not a fan of, but I believe it is necessary for this film. Many situations are not filled with obvious detail, a lot of the film is a guessing game. Because of this, many theories have come about. One theory is that all the hauntings happen because of the Native American genocide that happened on the land the hotel sits on. We can assume this because of the multiple details all over the hotel that hint at Native American culture. Because of the horrific past the hotel is said to be cursed which is why the spirits come back and why horrific crimes happen here as well. There is also another theory that I think is interesting mainly because it strays from the book entirely. This theory goes down a dark disturbing path. The theory is that Jack has not only been physically abusing Danny but also sexually. I didn’t personally pick up on this during my first watch but there are a couple of unanswered questions that this theory can explain. The biggest question we are left with even after the story comes to its conclusion is who caused the bruising on Danny’s neck. If you pay attention the answer is easy and it was not the woman in room 237, although she does play a part. But first, we will discuss the fatherly love scene which takes place in Jack and Wendy’s hotel bedroom. We see a timid Danny enter the room and Jack opens an arm to Danny urging him to come closer, similar to the old woman in the bathtub. Jack sits his son on his lap and reassures Danny that he would never do anything to hurt him or his mother, the score that plays in the background is both depressing and bleak, and then the scene cuts, and we are onto the next day. Here is where people theorize Jack straggled Danny and abused him. Following are scenes that are believed to be nightmares of the assault that just happened. Jack’s nightmare starts lustful and then turns into a disgusting sight.  This could symbolize how Jack felt at that moment as he did terrible things to Danny. Danny experiences a more terrifying experience, we only know this by the music that is played, but we are never shown anything. Believers of this theory claim that this is the moment that Danny sees the bruising of his neck and the trauma that is written all over his pale face. We then cut to the scene where Danny quietly walks up behind Windy as she is speaking with Jack. This is where she discovers the blue bruises on Danny and because she has not seen any spirits she automatically blames Jack for doing it. During my first watch, I was on the fence about who I thought choked Danny and I think this is a better answer than the spirit answer. The more and more Windy talks to Jack about the injury, Jack just gets increasingly more defensive, screaming guilt with every facial expression. There is so much more evidence and hidden details that progressively become more obvious as you rewatch that seem to be connected to this theory. If I explained all of them then I’d end up writing a book. This Video by Collective Learning does a great job of explaining this theory if you are interested and want to learn more. Some many other theories and videos go into great detail but I’m only mentioning the two. Although Kubrick does well at telling this story through his cinematography, one scene feels extremely out of place. That scene is the skeleton room. As things are turning into complete madness Jack comes across another room filled with skeletons, dust, and spiderwebs. Up until this point, everything has been terrifying but this part just kind of feels funny and out of place. This scene looks like a picture taken out of a Halloween decor magazine and in my opinion takes away from the tension built up throughout the film. My only other complaint was that the ending felt chopped short and not executed very well. It ends very abruptly.  Because of this, I prefer King’s ending to Kubrick’s. Even with those complaints, Kubrick’s storytelling abilities are amazing and I appreciate the attention to detail that Kubrick put into this well-executed slow burn of a film. 

     Overall The Shining is an iconic film that I believe horror fans should watch at least once. I still pick the book over the movie, but it is hard to put all of the internal dialogue that King creates into a 2-hour and 26-minute long film. Because of this, Kubrick does not fully hit the mark with his characters, but with his artistic cinematography and creative storytelling I can appreciate the film for what it is. The Shining is terrifying and suspenseful and I enjoyed watching it for the first time. The question still stands, is The Shining overrated or is it truly a masterpiece? Given all the things we discussed, I believe The Shining should be known as a staple in horror cinema, but I don’t believe that this should excuse the mistreatment of Shelly Duval. Based on the film itself I give a rating of 8/10. 

Megan is Missing, a Hard Film to Watch

* Today’s Review contains material that might be difficult for some readers. The film we are about to examine explores the themes of kidnapping, sexual assault, and rape, which some readers may find disturbing*

**This review contains heavy spoilers, read at your own risk**

  • 8/27/23

     Megan is Missing is a disturbing film written and directed by Micheal Goi. Goi wrote this film and released it during the wake of the internet. He wanted to make parents aware of the horrors of predators pursuing children on platforms that were supposed to be safe. The film is controversial because of the grim tone and depictions of assault and torture, with some saying it went too far. Megan is Missing got traction on TikTok within the last year and has recently blown up. Young adults turned it into a challenge to try to watch the whole movie without turning it off. Why didn’t this film gain traction in 2011 when it was released? Was it because the style of cinematography was an odd choice for a cinemaphotographer? Was it because Goi didn’t hire A-list actors? Or maybe the brutality of the story itself was too much for an audience at that time? Let’s break the film down and discuss why Megan is Missing is hard to watch.

     The cinematography for this film was very bad, considering Micheal Goi has done many cinematography projects for big shows such as American Horror Story and Pretty Little Liars. Goi stated that it took him 10 days to shoot Megan is Missing and, in my opinion, it shows. His excuse was that this was a message he wanted to get out to the public as soon as possible. In the first half of the movie, we are given a found footage POV which could have made the film more realistic, however, we are thrown out of that feeling because of the bad editing. The movie Host was shot in a similar style, but the difference is the creators of Host put effort into editing the screens to make it look like we are actually looking at their screens ourselves. When the first serious conflict of Megan is Missing occurs, we are thrown a series of not-well-put-together news footage. The pop-ups and sets are badly placed and edited distracting us from one of the main plots of the movie. With the urgency and passion he had for this film, it doesn’t seem like there was much effort put into it. The cinematography is boring, there is not much else to say except that. There were no crazy or interesting shots. The only reason why I did not just skip this whole paragraph and move on to acting and storytelling is because the last 20 minutes of Megan is Missing slightly redeems itself. One of my pet peeves in found footage films is when the camera always happens to capture all of the action or have just the right lighting to see the creature lurking in the woods. Megan is Missing doesn’t do this, the camera is held as if a criminal is recording a snuff film. It is where the film tone changes completely and it actually starts to feel realistic. Such as, the man putting the camera on the floor or at an odd angle when he’s busy torturing or man-handling a victim, blurry shots during a scuffle, and the lack of answers in any single shot. With that said, I can only appreciate the last 20 or so minutes of this 1 hour and 25 minute long movie.

      The acting in this film is awful, or at least in the first half. It is almost unbearable to watch as characters deliver and receive lines. You can see how fake it is and how unprepared the actors were. I don’t blame the actors or actresses because I doubt they had any real time to prepare. Goi shot this film in 10 days. I’m not an actress but I doubt I would be able to perfect my performance in that amount of time. There is a whole scene that I believe could have been cut out completely. The scene when one of the friends stops Amy (Amber Perkins) to yell about how much she loves Megan after she goes missing. I guess maybe this was supposed to make us feel sorry for the grieving girl but the shot goes on for too long and the actress is not the best at crying. There are multiple occasions just in this one scene where we think the interaction is over but the girl comes back to horribly fake cry at the camera. The only emotion I felt was embarrassment for this girl. Rachel Quinn, who plays Megan, is the only reason I did not turn off the film in the first half. She did not have the best acting but at least she added some sort of personality to the movie. Yet again the second half of this film redeems itself. I thought Amber Perkins was the worst actresss in the film until we got to the second half. After Amy gets kidnapped, the tone of the movie changes completely. We can see the terror on the girl’s face as she is locked in what looks to be a dungeon. The crying and the pleading screams as the kidnapper begins the nearly 3 minute assault scene is heartbreaking. We do not completely see the assault but Amy’s face stares into the camera the whole time. We watch her soul break when she realizes there is nothing she can do to prevent the actions that are being done to her, it is too late. We can see the poor girl shut down. How the actress portrays terror, trauma, and hopelessness is so believable that it made me want to turn the movie off before it was over. Maybe that was set up the whole time, maybe Micheal Goi’s goal was that the horrible acting would cause a false sense of security to shock you in the last 20 minutes. Again, I respect all of the actors and actresses that were in the film, but I believe 10 days to shoot a movie is an extremely unrealistic thing to ask them to do, much less to do a perfect job. 

     I believe this film had a better impact in the second half. However, I do not believe that a movie should be set up like that. Megan is Missing could have been a short film, with half of the scenes at the beginning cut out. The acting and horror did not pick up until after Amy was kidnapped. The tonal shift was when Megan’s photos were shown to us. No gore was present in the photos but the manner in which she was positioned made our imaginations run wild. If you are feeling uneasy after viewing these photos I suggest turning the film off. I believe Megan’s photos were used as almost a warning by Goi because the content only gets darker after they appear. Bits and pieces at the beginning of the movie were important to the message Goi was trying to send. However, with so many badly portrayed and unnecessary scenes, the message gets forgotten. If Goi had focused more on Megan and Amy’s friendship, and the problems Megan was facing at home I think he would have gotten a better reaction despite the bad acting and disturbing content. I think the overtly sexual conversations the teens had and sexual situations the teens were put in help wash away the warning Goi wanted parents to receive. I remember in one scene I could not help but chuckle because of how out of place it was. In the scene, one of the men got mad at a party and randomly punched Amy in the face. Why was this needed? Why did her parents, who were very much involved with her life, not say anything or ask any questions? Was Goi’s point of this party scene to show that someboys and men can be abusive for almost no reason?  I feel as if it was out of place. I believe if Goi had focused more on the points mentioned earlier, Megan is Missing would not have had such a controversial impact on viewers.

     In conclusion, I believe that with more time and effort, Megan is Missing could have the potential to be a successfully impactful movie. However, with the bad acting and odd storytelling choices, the message is pushed to the back burner and is almost never talked about. It is very important for parents to be involved with their children’s lives. It is the parents job to raise their children, not the Internet. I think it is fitting for this movie to gain traction at this point in time, where the internet is more popular than ever. On almost every platform on the internet there is a potential to be contacted by a stranger. Preaching the importance of online safety to kids is crucial more now than ever before. Megan is Missing had the potential to send that message but with the lack of time and effort it is deemed controversial and nothing more than a TikTok challenge. With better cinematography, acting, and storytelling, places like New Zealand may not have banned it for the opposite reasons Micheal Goi made it for. Because of all these things, I rate this film a 6/10. 

 

You can watch Megan is Missing by renting or buying it on Prime Video, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft, or Google Play.

Come and See, a Beautifully Disturbing Film

  • 8/12/2023

     Come and See is an anti-war film that was produced in 1985.  It was written by Elem Kilmov and Ales Adamovich and it was directed by Elem Kilmov. This film is under the genres of war and drama, however, some argue it could also be considered a horror movie. At the very least, in my opinion, Come and See is a psychological thriller that depicts disturbing scenes of violence. Kilmov said that he made this film hoping to make everyone understand the dangers of war and propaganda. Although there isn’t much blood and gore, can this film be considered disturbing? Does it tell a truly awful tale of war? What kind of message does the odd filming style convey?

     I definitely had a better appreciation for the cinematography the second time I watched this movie than I did the first time. At first glance, the details of the cinematography go out the window because the scenes you’re watching are so shocking. As you delve further into the film, you realize how much of the emotions of shock and sadness were caused because of the cinematography itself. Throughout the movie, many of the scenes are medium close-up shots. These close-up scenes used to be seen as goofy and were said to take the audience out of the authenticity of the story. However, horror movies that have followed Come and See have challenged that argument. Now when an actor looks directly into the camera lens, you feel close to them and are forced to feel their emotions and see their pain. The close-up shots do the opposite of what originally was argued. The movie The Shining is known for the same type of shots. These shots subconsciously made you feel how dangerous the antagonist was. Come and See gets the same effect but with a different message. The emotion that is perceived as each character evolves goes from determination, to fear, defeat, and ultimately hopelessness. Another scene that sticks with me, due to the impact it had on my emotions, was the scene with the group of dead villagers. It’s a quick shot but a shocking one. As Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko) and Glasha (Olga Mironova) get back to the town, it is assumed that something is not right but we are not quite sure what. We haven’t seen the town completely because the camera has stayed close to our character, therefore only allowing us to see the characters back and mere glimpses of the town. It is only when we enter the home that the camera stops moving with Floyra. As we sit still, we watch the main character investigate the house. We are shown that everything has been left where it was and the food was left uneaten. We can be sure now that something isn’t good but Floyra keeps his hopes alive and tells Glasha that his family must have escaped to a spot in the swamp. The camera going from unsteady movements to suddenly becoming still and only letting the characters do the moving gives us a sense of chaos. In some moments we feel as if we are the characters, but in these still, silent moments, we are helpless viewers only allowed to consume the story that is being told to us. As they run out of the house and the camera begins to follow them, we are thrown into the next shot unexpectedly. The next scene is disturbing as we see all the dead villagers that have been tossed into a pile only hidden by the back of a building. The main character doesn’t see the bodies, only Glasha and us, so we’re left with the irony of knowing Floyra will not find his family. Many more scenes are impactful and the audio decisions that the director made release certain emotions in this movie. However, if I were to talk about it all then I would be giving away the entire movie, and you can only truly appreciate Come and See for all that it is by watching it for yourself.

     The acting in this movie is some of the best that I’ve ever seen. Everything comes off as authentic. In the beginning, Aleksei Kravchenko does a good job at being a young inspired boy desperate to make his country proud by joining the army. Aleksei’s transition throughout the film seems subtle, but that is not so when you compare his beginning and end close-up shots. The special effects used in this film take some of the heavy lifting off of the actors. The use of explosions makes Aleksei and Olga Mironova’s fear realistic when they are running away. The use of Molotovs and flamethrowers show how heavy and unforgiving that equipment is. Watching the men pick up a girl and kidnap her with a moving car and seeing how easy it is for a group of evil people to do what they want with victims gave me chills. The way mothers yelled for their children while the farm was being burned down leaves the viewer speechless. The whole scene of Hiter’s soldiers ransacking a helpless village is a very dreadful moment in the film. At some points, I didn’t know what was real or fake. The trauma on everyone faces at the end of the movie makes you feel an uncertain, but negative emotion. For a while after the movie, I couldn’t put my finger on it, and couldn’t describe how I felt. The emotion I was looking for was hopeless. You realize despite how bad all the actions you saw were, the war continued and there were many more villages that would be burned down and demolished like this one. Yet we follow Floyra as he keeps marching on and the credits roll.

     In my opinion, the storytelling in this movie has minor flaws. I believe it was a little too long but that’s what you get when you have a realistic movie about anti-propaganda. Most war movies still leave you with a sense of pride in your military, often making one side of the war look completely bad. I love our military but I do not love war. So I appreciate the fact that this movie doesn’t necessarily make anyone the “hero”. Every soldier or character in Come and See does questionable things, and not everything is black and white. It depicts that every human has an inhumane side and that every human is capable of being evil like Hitler. This is why the name originally was Kill Hitler.  As Floyra stares at the picture of Hilter, we get flashes of Hitler at almost every age, and then pictures of his mother. If you kill Hitler no matter the age you’re doing what he thought he was doing. Hitler’s goal was to kill Jewish people and anyone who wanted to fight for them. He wanted this because he believed they were a danger to us all, and what better way to prevent a potential danger than by killing them before they could become a threat? Now obviously I don’t believe this but that is how propaganda is pushed to young consumers. Every country tells their civilians that they’re the best and all other countries are out to get them, but some take this farther than others. The pictures of Hitler at the end are supposed to symbolize that we all have the potential to be a monster. That is one of the problems of war, we are fighting for someone else thoughts and beliefs. Another disturbing scene in the film, arguably the worse, is the real footage of victims during the Holocaust. Some people say that this was unnecessary, but I believe that it was totally necessary. I think that it was the director’s way of saying that the disturbing things you watched up to this point weren’t even the worst part. The director could have shown us so much worse.

Come and See is a very well-made film. Everything about it was perfect besides the duration of the movie. Maybe I feel this way because there wasn’t a moment to breathe. The whole time you’re watching you’re hoping there will be a happy ending so you can relax. Unfortunately, there isn’t. Feeling hopeless for 2 hours and 20 mins is not the best experience. With that said, I believe that Elem accomplished his goal of not romanticizing war. The acting was amazing from every actor no matter how small the role, everything felt real. Because of the cinematography, this film will be remembered as one of the most beautiful films in history. It paved the way for many films after. Come and See is a work of art. It is disturbingly beautiful, but that’s what art is supposed to be. As Cesar A. Cruz said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” With all that said, I rate Come and See a 9/10. If you haven’t yet, I recommend you to come and see the terrors of war.


Come and See is available to watch on YouTube for free and can also be found on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Prime, and Vudu.

Skinamarink, a Film to Be Remembered or Forgotten

  • 7/26/2023

          First things first, the cinematography in this Canadian film was refreshing and different from many other horror movies that are out at the moment.  It uses negative spaces, darkness, and odd angles to throw you off guard, never allowing you to feel safe. The graininess of the film caused confusion and a sort of dread because along with the darkness, I constantly found myself worried I was seeing something in the background that I wasn’t… or maybe I was. Because of the amount of distress the angles and obscure sounds caused,  when I finally saw something, even if I couldn’t quite make it out, I was hiding my eyes. Whether it be the father sitting on the bed when the parents weren’t meant to be home, the chair all of a sudden on the ceiling, or when Kaylee’s face randomly appeared in the basement. Kyle was trying something different and not in the “hey look guys I’m different and edgy and cool” type of way, but in the way that it actually felt like he was trying to scare you in creative ways. Even though there were only three jump scares, the majority of the time I was biting my nails expecting more to come.

          The two main actors in this film were Dali Rose Tetreault, who played 6-year-old Kaylee, and Lucas Paul who played 4-year-old Kevin. There didn’t seem to be any information on their actual ages at the time when I researched the movie but I would assume they were pretty close to the movie age since they looked the part. These two young actors did a brilliant job as main characters to be so young. Some people argue and say that kids in real life would’ve just sat and cried and where I agree to a point, what good would a movie be if you watched hours of these kids crying in an empty house? Also, it’s revealed that 500 days have gone by, so nothing in this movie is realistic. But is Halloween or Friday the 13th? Anyway, that’s what makes this movie a horror movie, and exactly why it’s not in the documentary genre. To me that argument is invalid. For the script they were given, I believe these young kids did a great job and Kyle helped them a lot by never showing their faces. You couldn’t see enough of them making it easy to hide that they weren’t famous actors. I think he knew their abilities and made creative and appropriate decisions for the movie allowing us to focus on what was going on in the movie instead of overanalyzing the kids’ acting abilities.

       This is where it gets controversial so buckle up. This movie is almost 100% up for interpretation which is why many people hated it. I really liked the way Skinamarink played on childhood fears. As a kid, if you were scared of being alone, being in the dark, being in basements, of your parents, or of people who were supposed to be safe turning evil, this movie was terrifying. To me, the lack of story allowed me to fill the holes with my own personal experiences and mix it with this messed up nightmare that Kyle made. Having two little kids suffer in the ways they did is distressing as it is. Anyone with empathy experienced a broken heart when 4-year-old Kevin called 911 but hung up because he knew that he couldn’t be saved, or when Kylee followed that obviously evil voice throughout the house, with us knowing that there potentially was no hope for her. Some scenes were heartbreaking and all you could do was watch. I found myself trying to solve the puzzle or find a loophole for them but as the movie ends, we see our fears come to life. The director has talked about the lack of upfront storytelling and has said he enjoys hearing the theories viewers have made. He said none of them are wrong and this is the audience’s movie now. One of my favorite theories is the “Hell” theory. With this theory, it’s believed that the mom somehow killed the whole family and went to hell. Somehow her kids went with her and now they’re stuck in their mother’s purgatory. As the world dissolves around them they get closer and closer to hell. 

       Overall I loved this movie which is why I give it a 10/10. The pacing of the movie was good.  I felt that it was slow enough that it lulled you into a false sense of security, and then all at once everything got crazy.  It only slowed back down enough to repeat the process. I believe more people would’ve stuck around if it wouldn’t have spent so long building, but I see the point in the slowness. The 3 jump scares in this movie were creative. It was refreshing to see something new. Movies like Insidious or The Conjuring use the same sort of jump scares, such as the stillness of a frame or maybe a wide shot. The music suddenly drops out and you’re left with silence.  If you are like me and have watched classic horror movies since a young age, those types of scares become predictable. The jump scares in this movie were different and actually had me jumping out of my seat. There was no film score, and it was filmed with nothing but obscure close shots of a wall or eerie wide shots of a hallway. This tricks you into believing there’s a jump scare around every corner, especially when the camera does a slow pan of the room. There was just enough confusion in this movie that it made everything more scary. Never knowing what was coming next. Not knowing exactly what you were looking at at times. It was all refreshing in a horrifying way. I think the last scene in this movie is genius! However, I can respect people that have the opposite opinion as me, and I can understand their reasoning. This movie was Kyle’s first full-length project and was pretty experimental. This type of horror gets me, I actually have a hard time watching it. Call me a wuss but I can’t stomach the tension. Not being able to read exactly what the film has in store for me haunts me. Something about faintly seeing a face appear in a dark long hallway is very unsettling and creepy. The question remains, will this movie be remembered and create a new genre in horror, or will it simply be forgotten because it was so different? Did it branch out too much? Only time will tell.

    If you think you’re brave enough to watch Skinamarink, you can find it on Shudder, AMC+, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Prime, The Roku Channel, Vudu, and Youtube TV.

7 thoughts on “Movie Reviews”

  1. Hey Ladies and Gentlemen! Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts about the review or the movie itself! I’m looking forward to the discussions.

    Reply

  3. It’s great how you are bringing light to some movies that people might look right over. I look forward to reading more.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *