Matriarch

I thought this movie started out decently, but fell apart as things started to unfold, by the end leaving you questioning what you just watched.

It almost felt like the writers/ people Involved/ maybe even the actors were confused on what exactly this plot was. It was very successfully atmospheric and kept you engaged until the third act where things kind of went off the rails. It was all... kind of explained, yet still even after I was left asking why. I think the plot/script needed another couple once overs to really iron it out and make sure it made sense and was cohesive. Regardless, I thought the mother and daughter both did a solid job as far as acting goes with this and there was still some solid creep factor.

I felt this one had a lot more potential that it didn't quite tap into but was not overwhelmingly unsuccessful. Would recommend but not fervently.

First off, Jemima Rooper is entirely awful to observe throughout the whole film. She's dreadful and not in a good way. She's a miserable, atrocious mess of a disaster from the start. The first third of the movie is all about her and her nasty habits and behavior.

Then she goes home to her mother, played by the always-awesome Kate Dickie. And then you kinda see why the daughter is a loathsome person. But by contrast, Kate Dickie can portray appalling without being unconscionably annoying.

Then it turns into a Village of the Wicker Song kinda thing, I guess. The reveal of what is going with the townspeople is a big "um, okay".

The special effects are cheesy in places.

The fudge looked good. Better than the film which, sadly, Kate Dickie can't save.

There's a really great core idea here and an overall solid story that with just a few minor tweaks could've made an absolute classic, but there's something hard to define that's not quite worked.

I can't figure out if it's the characters, the acting, the editing, or what, but for some reason I couldn't connect and wasn't absorbed on an emotional level - there was no character I was rooting for, none I was rooting against. Someone died and it was acknowledged, but I didn't care.

And if I'm not feeling something emotionally, it loses a major part of the battle for me. The brain parts of the people behind this got everything just about right, but the heart parts I think got left at home.

Wasn't sure what to make of this, and in many ways it's a few different films put together. It's a mother/daughter relationship drama, it's an addiction drama, it's a folk horror and it's a body horror.

The actors are tremendous - Kate Dickie is always good value and is deliciously insincere.

Jemima Rooper manages to make a pretty unsympathetic character somewhat likeable, though that is a bit of a flaw in the film.

The cinematography is lovely - the British countryside has never looked so desolate or haunting.

The music and sound design is incredibly atmospheric, and works in conjunction with the editing to really keep you uneasy throughout.

Perhaps by the end of the film one too many ideas have been thrown into the pot, but I really enjoyed the journey and would happily recommend it.

To get that out of the way .. i rate this movie to be a bit above average.

If i wanted to describe a feeling in one word .. i would probably go with : uncomfortable

A bit like a Lars von Trier movie, but only half way.

Acting is good - although not very nuanced. Cinematography is sometimes good .. but not stellar - and characters act in a very artificial way .. only to support the plot, not in any way realistic (on the basis of the supernatural that is going on)

The CGI was poor ... i mean, Playstation 2 cutscene poor. It was kind of rare .. and i wonder why the movie did not use practical effects .. those would not have been too hard .. and may not have broken immersion as much as those really terrible CGI scenes.

All in all, it was worth watching - for me. But other than that ... a fairly forgettable movie without much depth or meaning (well, unless you are into rural folklore of that region or so .. maybe than there is more to get from it)