mdstudio-75425

I'm probably being generous giving this flick a " 5 " but it did have some great cinematography, especially the exterior shots, which may have been CGI for all I know. Otherwise, a very negligible and forgettable film especially when compared to the vividly striking original. Creaky doors, gross outs and spooky music provide just some of the hackneyed bits that are supposed to pass for modern horror. In reality, there is really nothing remotely scary or disturbing about this movie other than a graphic scene where sailors are throwing up. Nosferatu looks mostly moth eaten while speaking in low slow tones that border on a satirical cartoonish brogue one might expect in an SCTV skit. Meanwhile our heroine, played by Lilly-Rose Depp, excursions into somnambulism creates scenes that begin to resemble a watered down version of The Exorcist. Lots of over the top emoting backed with a supposedly ambient soundtrack fails to convey any authentic or solid sense of substantive horror especially considering the protracted and anticlimactic vibe of the entire production. How this tepid attempt at a fright flick garnered such high ratings is baffling. An ambulance showed up at a house across the street during the viewing. So I went outside to watch that for a while as it was more entertaining.

I came across this movie on YouTube by accident and was immediately seduced by its crisp black and white cinematography, exuding an early sixties coolness that is apparently and unfortunately no longer in vogue. Yeah, the story is fairly minimal and only marginally imaginative and you may be tempted to fast forward. However, watching every sometimes excruciating moment carries its own type of masochistic satisfaction, not to mention the glorious monochromatic sheen that pervades the entire production. There's a bit of nudity which is played as intrinsically organic, devised for some easy and harmless exploitation. The movie is at least brief, being divided into two more or less distinct episodes. The first section depicts the newlyweds embarking on the honeymoon in Las Vegas showcasing kitschy cityscapes and vintage interiors, notable for their lack of opulence. The terror portion of the film then somewhat abruptly emerges, creating the dramatic tension that functions on an obvious and fairly simplistic level. The stark visuals and skeletal story exude straight up 1960's high end proto-grindhouse authenticity and that's not necessarily a bad thing.