They Reach

There was some good production values. There is an actual film crew. There are crane shots. Drone shots. Steadicam, handheld, dolly and tracking shots. There is good lighting. This was not shot on cellphones. So kudos to a decent DP.

The set design is very good. Lots of dank spaces like basements and libraries. The effects, as sparse as they are, are not distractingly horrid. The costumes (other than the cop uniforms) are fairly accurate.

The acting is a mixed bag. Some players are better than others. And this isn't Shakespeare. But you can tell that they filled out the cast with crew, friends or amateurs.

The plot is a bit schlocky. At times it is lighthearted and whimsical. Then it ramps up the tension or gets zany. But the story is more about the kids fumbling around the town with a supernatural mystery to keep them busy.

Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty spectacular for a lower-budget film.

It's not great. But it gets points for effort.

I'm convinced every review here saying this movie was decent, is a troll.. Was this some school project, is that why they used stop motion for some effects? Did the children actors write and direct this? At least it was somewhat funny..

I loved the idea and really wanted to like it but the acting was not good. Some really weird scenes made me wonder what were they thinking. It has good ideas and even some Stephen King vibes but I wouldn't recommend it.

Full disclosure: I am from the PNW and my friends and colleagues are part of the cast & crew. I am extremely proud of the work they put into this film. We are not a large market up here. We do not have large (or often any) budgets to work with. So to see a finished product this polished gives me hope for future endeavors.

I can see that great care was taken in terms of set design, cinematography, and definitely score. My kingdom for a soundtrack!

The story is entertaining and certainly kept me engaged. I agree with other reviews that mentioned a Stranger Things vibe. Overall I think the acting was good. There were some things that worked better than others for me, but I think the 3 kids have a bright future in acting if they choose to continue.

Special kudos for the poster on the bedroom wall of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die"! ⭐😁👍🏻

Weird that there are multiple reviews claiming that the negative reviews can't possibly be true because the movie isn't out until October, which is maybe true for the US release, I'm not sure, but...it released on VOD services like Amazon internationally months ago. You were in the movie but you don't know that? Ok, bud.

Notice they're fine with all the blatantly fake 10/10 reviews from the same month though...

This is a Hi-Octane Pictures movie though, so honestly all of this and the low quality of the film itself is to be expected...