The Sixth Secret

Confined to one room mostly this felt like a filmed theatrical performance, but then the flashbacks are introduced with some interesting cinematic elements, such as the monlogue being synchronized to the flashback images, which seemed rather witty.

There's an LGBT twist which I don't want to disclose but which was quite surprising. Actually there are two twists. Nowadays LGBT subjects are being treated with such forced respect that it was quite refreshing to see some fun poked at this matter. I mean, there are good LGBT people in the world but there are also evil ones, right? I'm an LGBT person and I liked the way this subject was interwoven into the narrative, whereas too often it's just an added element of political correctness that has nothing to do with the story.

I saw the premiere at the festival in Estonia, where this film took the audience by storm and received the Audience Award. It's surely a fun film, reminiscent of vintage horror-comedies of the 1940s, only the horror is more horrifying and the comedy is more sexy. It's a very complicated story of revenge and inheritance and murders and ghosts, but now as I think of it some days later, it also has a very strong message that what you do, just might come back to haunt you.

The Sixth Secret - the horror comedy by Estonian filmmaker Mart Sander - was a rather surprising cinematic experience. Horror movies haven't been that country's strong suit (at least to my knowledge), and that alone makes it worth a watch. It's even more interesting to realize that the film is a parody of old Hollywood films - but not in a negative sense. Rather, it's a nod to a certain type of filmmaking that is no longer in vogue but deserves a comeback. By placing the emphasis on the dialog (which must be followed closely, as it contains several details that play a significant role later on) and keeping the action in the background, it demands audience immersion and assumes that the viewer is familiar with the vintage atmosphere and its associated boundaries. The film offers a pleasantly intriguing and witty narrative, piling on various elements of crime and horror films of yesteryear. The ensemble cast is very international, and it can be difficult to understand their English at times, as one needs to quickly adjust to their accents. Nevertheless, the story is humorous and handsomely filmed.

This film seems to divide people in two groups. Some find it very amusing and witty, a sort of modernist revamping of Agatha Christie clichés. Others fail to enjoy it at all.

True, the movie appears somewhat theatrical and stilted, but that's the artistic choice of the creators, because it's above all a parody of vintage horror genre (there were a lot of seance and clairvoyant themed films in the 1940s). Some people might find the acting irritating because it's rather over the top, but the ensemble forms a coherent whole. There are a lot of accents but I guess that too is something that Old Hollywood had, importing all those European stars.

It's a tad too talkative and eager to explain all the plot twists (and there are many), but at least I didn't walk away thinking 'this was utterly improbable'. Moody camera work and darkly suggestive music help to create the atmosphere. A couple of fun jump scares.

I really wanted to love this movie. It promised all the Agatha Christie like elements I love. Secrets to be revealed. An eclectic group of very flawed characters in a confined setting. Class differences. A spooky mansion. Dark humor even.

But we quickly lurch into blandness and predictable plotting. It does not help that eight of the 12 characters are sent away at around the 20-minute mark after abruptly revealing their not very creative secrets. I had wanted to know more about each of them. After there abrupt departure some crosses and double crosses. And a series of flashbacks, one with very strange CGI, and a few bedroom scenes, one of which might be a bit of a surprise to some viewers.

The acting is community playhouse level. Madame Orlofsky, the psychic, (Triin Lellep) has an especially silly "Russian" accent and with the overacting reminded me of Natasha in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon. The screenplay is full of plot holes, the directing pedestrian at best. There is not much in the way of visual interest in the sets. The characters are bland, not as villainous or "off" as they should have been.

Any positives? I understand that parts of this film may be a homage to the Hammer films of the 1950s and 1960s. Maybe. I've watched most of them, and this really too much of an inside joke for me to get.

The only mystery is why The Sixth Secret called a horror. I note a number of reviewers here use the term, as do some of the synopses on other sites. Odd. It's hardly horror. More mystery, sort of, and lame dark comedy.