The Painted

The idea of souls trapped in paintings and thus haunting a house wherever the paints go is pretty unique. It's that classic horror of "the paintings move/eyes follow me" that surprisingly is rarely seen in horror films. The story of how the painting became possessed by a demon was also pretty good, although it took a lot of expiation during the final third of the movie to finally catch the audience up. And the character development of the kids was also decent. Usually a movie will just show some basic family drama with little to no resolution, or they just magically get along at the very end. Here tho there is clear animosity from the older teenage daughter towards her much younger sister (cliche sure), but as the movie develops we see them not only start to repair their relationship but by the end actually the older daughter takes on a much more nurturing relationship towards her little sister. So props to the movie having some actual character development. The movie is also set in the 1960s which, while it never really shows this era well beyond a few scenes, it at least removes the problem of having cell phones, internet etc of the modern era.

Where the movie misses marks for me are the parents, aka the actual main characters. For some reason this movie had to follow the modern trope of making the dad a jerk and sex obsessed while making the mom the universal victim despite being the least caring woman on the planet. And the sad thing is the dad actually does a lot to protect his kids while his wife is always gone doing her own thing, yet somehow we are still meant to see him as the bad guy. And to have him randomly just shout during a normal conversation with zero provocation is just unhinged on the writers part. People don't act like that.

If the writers got their heads out of their you know what, this could've been a solid flick.

I appreciate the challenges that come with a low-budget production, and I made an effort to manage my expectations while watching. The horror concept is fresh and intriguing but lacks support from the cast's performances and script. The lead actress's expressions could have been more nuanced, though the older daughter demonstrated stronger acting skills.

I appreciate the seamless movement of the paintings, particularly when one is reflected in the mirror. This aspect of the movie truly stands out to me and enhances my overall enjoyment. If a more talented cast were assembled or if this concept were integrated into the Conjuring franchise, it could enhance the film's overall potential.

This movie is best described as just another generic horror film. The concept is not very original, although the idea involving the paintings was somewhat intriguing at first. Unfortunately, the film fails to build any real tension or establish an atmosphere strong enough for the scares to be effective. The visual effects were also underwhelming and turned what should have been frightening moments into unintentionally laughable attempts to scare the audience.

With a major studio like Blumhouse attached, this could have been more enjoyable and better in quality, even though many of their recent releases have also become quite formulaic. Just imagine if Mike Flanagan had directed it. He could have turned the story into a powerful supernatural horror film. As it stands, the movie is forgettable and lacks anything that sets it apart from the flood of horror content released these days.

The acting is decent, and the overall production quality is fine aside from the effects. However, that alone is not enough to make the movie entertaining. It is certainly not a terrible watch, but it does not offer much to look forward to. Sadly, that makes it pretty forgettable overall, which is one of the worst things a movie can be. [4.9/10]

"The Painted" is one of those films that gets overlooked - at first - but then captures the human imagination and produces a cult classic. A definite watch!

This is a story about a house full of paintings and the couple that inherits it. The paintings are mostly portraits of high quality. I won't spoil the plot by adding more detail here, except to say that the paintings reveal "The Painted".

This is an excellent, rather novel plot that tells itself once conceived. You will experience more than one chill and shiver and I'll wager that you jump several times, too. You can't get that kind of feeling from Hollywood these days, but you can mos def get it from this indy production.

If you want to experience something spine-tingling new, then you should pop some corn, roast a dog, kick back and get ready for a scary ride as you marvel at "The Painted"!

I had never heard about this 2024 horror movie titled "The Painted" from writer and director Sasha Sibley prior to stumbling upon it by sheer chance here in 2025. And given my love of all things horror, and with this being a horror movie that I had never seen, of course I opted to check it out.

And I will say that the movie's synopsis certainly sounded interesting enough. Writer Sasha Sibley put together an entertaining and enjoyable enough script and storyline. I have to say that I really did like the concept idea with the paintings.

While I was not familiar with the majority of the actors and actresses on the cast list, then I will say that the acting performances were good. I do enjoy watching unfamiliar and new talents on the screen whenever I watch a movie. I do believe that the only familiar face on the screen for me was actor Sean Bridgers.

The special effects in the movie were good and helped further the movie's narrative nicely.

"The Painted" is a watchable horror movie, no doubt about that. But it was hardly an outstanding foray into the horror genre, and the movie just doesn't warrants more than a single viewing. But maybe newcomers to the horror genre will enjoy the movie way more than I did, as a seasoned horror veteran.

My rating of writer and director Sasha Sibley's 2024 movie "The Painted" lands on a five out of ten stars.