All You Need Is Death

This is not a movie that it is easily defined. It is part folk horror, part Gothic horror and unique in its own right.

Two people. Anna and Aleks search for old folk songs the rarer, the better. They visit an old woman, Rita who sing them an ancient and forbidden song. The song in an ancient and unknown language is creepy and the way the old woman belts it out is actually quite unnerving. This is the bare bones of the story and I am not going to go further into depth as this needs to be experienced without knowing the plot of outcome. This is a wonderful film that explores all the darkness that the song describes.

There is a bleakness to this film that gives the sense that nothing good is going to come from discovering the song or the story behind it. There is a real sense of unease and dread as the story unfolds and towards the end, it is not for the faint of heart.

This is a movie that really ups the stakes in the horror genre, it is well acted and well told, a visual treat that while some might find slow and a little confusing, other will love.

Give it a watch and decide for yourself.

This movie wasn't what I thought but it's a heck of a concept. The beginning is slow. There are several "had to rewind and read that again" (I suggest subtitles) some is very old Gaelic. The story telling is masterfully done. The makeup and special effects, tho minimal, are well done as well. There are a few things that caught me off guard that I would suggest to not let young viewers see, so viewer discretion is advised.

Love is a knife with a blade as a handle... the song is haunting, the folk story was done well to me. You were able to see what the curse was. The ending was unusual, not bad but different. All in all, I liked it. It was done well.

The idea of tracking down a forgotten, cursed folk song for a movie is pretty good. This isn't that movie.

What follows an ok beginning just gets worse and worse until a absolutely dismal ending. Is the curse passed on to the woman who memorizes it, is the curse passed on to anyone who hears it, or is the curse even a curse? You won't know after watching the movie because the people making this mess have no idea either.

The best you are going to get out of this is some nice looking location footage and a performance by Olwen Fouéré that ends way to early. Everything else is a nonsensical mess where nothing set up pays off. Truly and awful film.

So it's always interesting to go into a film based on the reviews and accolades it has gotten and the fact that it's a foreign film. There's a certain allure to its potential and ability to give us something new. Sadly I can't really speak to any of that being a function of this film. It just never feels like anything is really happening outside of the engagement with the actual music being sourced and the characters it's sourced from. I really did want this to be a Lynchian world of bizarre visuals and a truly uncomfortable exploration of the human plight through attaining that which we shouldn't. It never rose to that level but I think there's the possibility they can attempt again to get there on the next go around.

One of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time yet I'm unable to give it a higher rating due to the lackluster screenplay. But it's a got a strong plot and I loved Simone's performance. I'm also shocked to know that a movie like this has received such minimal coverage cause it's a really good movie. The movie is about cursed Irish folklore songs and the darker aspects of love, unconventional and surreal kind of presentation, excellent dialogues. The ending is probably going to leave you a bit disappointed but when you put the pieces together, you'll realise that the movie is a masterpiece, yet, it's unusual storytelling style gets little points from me. Its a Must watch..