Shaman

Firstly, the poor ratings from other user reviews can be well understood as people following a certain faith will feel their god being deemed less powerful.

This movie has an honest take about the old days when missionaries were trying to advertise their gods all around the globe and make claims about uplifting native lives after acceptance of their god.

Although majority would interpret the movie would go along the lines of defining the Shaman as bad person, this movie makes a complete turn and puts the light on what the real evil looks like.

This movie puts the other religious horror to shame, where you just show a cross or some holy artifact and the evil runs away like a scared kid. The best part is, if evil exists in this world then it cannot be undone, and it prevails.

Without knowing anything about this 2025 movie titled "Shaman", aside from it being a horror movie, of course I opted to watch it since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen. And of course, since I love everything horror, then I needed no persuasion to check out this movie from writer Daniel Negret and director Antonio Negret.

The storyline in "Shaman" was not overly interesting or entertaining. Sure, it was a watchable enough movie, though it sort of lingered on the boring side. The narrative was slow paced and there just wasn't enough of a drive or momentum to really carry the movie up until about halfway through. It took writer Daniel Negret half of the movie to sort of establish the mood and setting, and it was a bit of a struggle to sit through that build-up.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, which was actually something that spoke in favor of the movie. I do enjoy watching new and unfamiliar talents on the screen when I watch a movie. The acting performances in "Shaman" were fair.

Watchable, sure, but hardly an outstanding moment in horror cinema. Would I recommend horror fans to rush out and get to watch "Shaman"? No, not really. Will I ever return to watch "Shaman" a second time? No.

My rating of director Antonio Negret's 2025 movie "Shaman" lands on a four out of ten stars.

There is a reason a movie like "The Exorcist" is a classic and movies like Shaman are extremely pale imitations. The Exorcist was well written with Oscar worthy performances. Shaman is just not compellingly written and the acting is poor to say the least. This is a horror movie that relies on loads of quick hallucination scares and the this new trick, let's throw in many sudden loud sounds. Jump scares are plenty but none of it is scary or suspenseful. The shame is, the story had real potential with good cinematography but a good movie needs great, interesting dialogue and performances to match. The directing was bland. At times I felt like I was watching some old TV movie. Jett Klyne was not good and Sara Canning could not carry this film. The Latin actors were definitely better than the leads but be warned this is another new film shot in 2 languages , as if this makes it more authentic. An authentic possession film, why bother ? If you must see one more possession/exorcism film, well here it is, but there isn't one thing memorable about this.

Must confess I was kinda screwed up for YEARS by "The Exorcist". This one has similar vibes, but much milder. Its missionaries in an area that has / had its own Native South American Spirits... and the people very much believe their Medicine Man can cure their ailments with white magic, and animal sacrifices, not unlike "The Believers" (Sangria) then a lesser degree "Serpent and the Rainbow", "Angel Heart" that are MAJOR movies, in a league of their own, quality wise... but similar vibes, although "Shaman", like Exorcist, has more focus on the kid. Lots of actors screaming and audience jump scares, if you are into that, you will enjoy this movie. It MAY even leave a little something in your brain, afterwards... but NOT as much as "The Woman in Black" (1989). That one may kill you.

I have to be honest. After watching possession films until it felt like I was in one. This was a pleasant change.

For a start. It's not your usual possession. It's set in some of the most amazing back drops you'll ever see. Has some great acting and enough jumps to keep it steadily moving along.

You will guess what's going on and what's gonna happen way before it does. But hey. Ain't that typical of most possession films.

Anyway. Its a decent enough watch so if your a fan of this genre.

Give it a go.