Don't Say Its Name

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2021 horror movie "Don't Say Its Name". And I did so without having the slightest clue what the movie was about, aside from it being a horror movie. But it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen was sufficient to make me want to watch it.

Now, I am not by any means familiar with Inuit folklore or myths, so the whole Wheetago thing was new to me. That being said, then I will also say that writers Rueben Martell and Gerald Wexler actually managed to put together an entertaining enough movie.

But while "Don't Say Its Name" wasn't a milestone in horror cinema, not even by a longshot, then it was actually an entertaining enough movie for what it turned out to be. And I do believe that this was my very first Inuit horror movie ever seen.

The acting performances in "Don't Say Its Name" were good. And I wasn't familiar with a single actress or actor that were in the movie, and that is something that I enjoy in movies.

Visually then "Don't Say Its Name" was actually surprisingly good. They definitely managed to put together the visual CGI effects well enough and that certainly added a lot to the movie.

"Don't Say Its Name" was a nice surprise, though hardly a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Nor is it movie that I would recommend horror fans to rush out to get their hands on.

Watchable, although not an outstanding movie. My rating of "Don't Say Its Name" lands on a five out of ten stars.

This film packs in a lot of complex themes into its story without being one sided or overly preachy.

Unfortunately, much of what it explores is hampered by a less than perfect delivery.

Watching this you can't help wishing someone with a stronger vision and more deft touch had been behind the wheel.

Where the movie could have used subtlety to communicate, it relied on dialog and over the top characters.

That had the unfortunate effects of slowing the pace down and giving too much away, too soon.

The mystery and suspense aspects of this film are therefore less successful than the social commentary and supernatural elements.

Still, there is enough in Don't Say Its Name to be worth your time.

You simply need to approach the film when you are feeling patient enough to overlook its flaws, in favor of focusing on its strengths.

I was hesitant at first to watch it afraid of I was gonna waste my time but it was entertaining I won't lie, I was expecting something totally different reading the plot but the actual plot and story was actually really dumb but it was nice I've watched much worse I suggest it if you have nothing better to do.

Poor acting from virtually all the cast denigrates what would otherwise have been an average supernatural "myth" movie.

Quite boring with lots of extended conversations about the meaning of life ie padded script fillers which just seemed like the writer did not have much to say.

The special effects / gore looks like tomato sauce (and not even of HP quality, more your Lidl cheapo watery variety) and the horror is the usual invisible predator to save cash. It is obviously low budget and to be fair I do judge based on many things including the movie budget but this was just badly made - from the absolutely out of place music which really annoyed me at points in the movie where it jarred badly as it was so out of place.

Then we have the rather poor acting from the main female lead - it was as if she was reading off a cue card at times. She was so out of place as a Ripley / Vasquez hard-ass female ex-army vet, it elicited a chuckle on more than one occasion - what was the casting director thinking?

Nope as a horror movie this one is a bit of a plonker!

There is nothing a film can do to irk me more than have bad sound. Nothing. Poor writing and bad acting get to me less. This one really, really ticked me off. It isn't that it's muffled or poorly recorded, it's the mix. My GOD will you PLEASE bring the dialogue up in the mix and take about 30 percent or a little more off the INSANE volume of the music and sound effects? Please. Watching this late at night with everyone else asleep is an absolute nightmare. Can't hear the dialogue so you turn it up then there's music loud enough to wake the dead. Seriously, stop that. Movie wise, it's well made. Derivative, not very original but entertaining enough. Performances are good. Could have been better if I could hear more than half the dialogue over the blaring, bass heavy music.