The Well

Federico Zampaglione's The Well is a chilling exploration of ancient curses and the darkness lurking beneath the surface of seemingly idyllic settings. The Italian filmmaker creates an unnerving atmosphere, layering the film in so much dread, you'll find yourself gripping the armrests in anticipation, even during its pitfalls.

The film follows Lisa Grey, a young art restorer, as she is commissioned to restore a medieval painting in the picturesque Italian village of Sambucci. What begins as a seemingly routine assignment soon unravels into a nightmare. As Lisa delves deeper into the painting's history, she becomes entangled in a web of malevolent forces and terrifying encounters.

Amongst the incredible creature design, one of the film's greatest strengths, lies in its atmospheric storytelling. It's an enchanting, eerie, atmospheric, gothic nightmare that lulls you into a hypnotic state. Zampaglione's direction is astute, creating a palpable sense of dread and unease throughout the film with ease. The haunting score, combined with the film's moody cinematography, immerses the viewer in a world of darkness and decay.

While the film's plot may seem familiar to fans of the horror genre, for the most part, The Well manages to offer a fresh take on the haunted house trope. The film's exploration of ancient curses and the supernatural elements add a layer of complexity that makes it all the more intriguing.

The performances in The Well are generally strong. Lauren LaVera delivers a convincing portrayal of Lisa, a woman caught between the beauty of art and the terrifying secrets it holds. The supporting cast also provides solid performances, adding depth and credibility to the film's characters.

However, The Well is not without its flaws. The pacing can be a little too slow in places, some of the plot developments may feel predictable and slightly underwritten. I personally wanted more lore, and scarier scares. Despite these minor shortcomings, The Well remains a chilling and unsettling cinematic experience. Its masterful direction, strong performances, and exploration of psychological horror make it a standout film in the genre. While it may not be a cinematic masterpiece, it's a well-crafted horror film that deserves to be watched.

The well was better than the sum of its parts brought together would have you seen. Lauren lavera coming off her terrifier fame has ventured into a new horror this time playing a character called lisa. Shes on her way to italy to restore a painting in a big mansion on behalf of her father who could not be there. It seems routin at first but the woman she is doing it for seems to have an altier motive. These some gore here and there and the makeup of the creatures we see is very good. There are other characters a group lisa meets that get caught up so its interesting watching the action unfold from their perspective also. Overall the well was well good in fact and I enjoyed for what it was even if some elements fell flat when it was brought all together.

There is very slow buid up. Plus the suspense they want to create that is also not engaging. I need 4 days to compete it !!

Still completed with skipping. There is only violence. No horror or no paranormal activity. You cannot make movie horrific by only using violence. Story is also boring and strange. Can't grip your audience. The actress did well with acting. What's with the well ??? There is better well in "Ring" movie. Here only cutting body parts makes you scare ! No scare also only feel weird. Expected good story but cannot match with even poster also. Only the tent scene is little scary.

To start with, this was not what I expected. After reading the reviews, I thought this is gonna be another poorly made "amazon prime" special - low budget, made with little talent to fill a time slot. I was surprised.

Firstly - I'm a huge movie fan and a massive indie horror supporter. I'm a filmmaker myself and produce folklore horror films based on Scottish Myths. So a folklore story based in rural Italy is right up my street.

For the first 20 minutes I was unsure, then something clicked and I started really enjoying it. Interesting premise, some creepy moments, well shot, surprisingly well acted, good creature / monster design and yes good gore if that's your thing.

I would definitely give this a go.

It's like lemonade. Little substance.

Were it not for the annoying sickening gore, it would be something to leave on in the background and occasionally glance up at.

With the gore you can't even do that.

Not once does it make you feel horrified, terrified, or thrilled in any way, and it doesn't grip you with intrigue, characters, or plot. You feel calm and occasionally disgusted. If the genre was called "disgust" instead of "horror" it would make sense. This way however, it's just not well made. If you want to watch gore go look at a slaughterhouse.

The cinematography is basic, the acting ok, the audio between irritating and incomprehensible. At one point a character repeatedly calls out for "tony". And i could have sworn it was "charlie"

It got 4 stars, because while it is nauseating and pointless, it isn't actively evil and damaging, and the plot is actually somewhat interesting.