The Scary of Sixty-First

Noelle (Madeline Quinn) and Addie (Betsey Brown) rent a spacious Manhattan apartment. The realtor seems suspicious. A girl (Dasha Nekrasova) walks in claiming to be a realtor. She's actually investigating and reveals to Noelle that the apartment was owned by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. This takes place after his suicide while in custody.

The boyfriend sucks. Noelle is not a nice friend. Addie's radar is broken. I don't care much about these people. The only one worth rooting for is the girl and she comes in later. This is an indie horror bordering on experimental. The Epstein saga is traumatic for some and could be compelling for horror material. The second tier actors try to do some spooky acting but it comes off a bit comical. I can appreciate the attempt but the indie filmmaking does not quite achieve true spooky atmosphere.

The movie should have been a cool psychological thriller. It started well but became incoherent. There was no explanation to why things were happening. People just started acting crazy for no reason.

And rather than focusing on the story/legend /conspiracy, they were more focused on meaningless and irritating sexual activity.

"The Scary of Sixty-First" is just a weird movie with a gloomy sense of humour based on conspiracy theories that was nice to watch. Some scenes are provocative so you are warned. It is an easy to follow premise. The storyline of the movie is that the existence of a global elite paedophile network is not that farfetched. If you like conspiracy theories and especially the ones where Epstein is involved in and with the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell now unfolding, this is definitely a movie you have to watch. Did Epstein really commit suicide? Was he indeed the ringleader of a global elite paedophile network and where the British Royals involved etc.? If you prefer a good plot twist and outstanding acting, don´t go, you will be disappointed and it will be a waste of time. Despite all the negative reviews, I kind of liked this movie. If you are just looking for entertainment and a movie where you don´t have to think too much, this is the one! You are looking at 81 minutes movie including the ending credits. It´s not like you will be wasting a big chunk of your life. Just enjoy!

I watched this at Summer Berlinale. It's like a bad student film, or like mocking bad student films. References: yes. Competence: no. At 80 minutes it's way too long. Which doesn't mean there's not enough plot. This would be much better with just btches screaming on and on and on, like an art loop.

While the giallo influence may have been intentional, it didn't land for me. The conspiracy-driven plot combined with ritual horror was more frustrating than eerie. The constant tonal shifts, including the off-putting audio choices, made it feel more awkward than unsettling. I kept wondering if the weirdness was part of the charm for fans of this style, but it just didn't click. If you're into offbeat horror that pushes the boundary of strange, it might be for you, but I found myself distracted by how rough it all felt.

Even with its strange premise, it felt like it was trying too hard to shock rather than build suspense. The Epstein conspiracy angle didn't add depth, and I kept waiting for something to pay off that never did. Overall, it's a miss for me.