The Sisterhood of Night

This movie really hits one in the gut! I thought it was so simply and understatedly beautiful. There was no pretense in this film. I just can't tell how it snuck up upon me and brought out this rich story of unconditional and uncompromising love! Wow! I thought this would a be a good late night B movie thriller. To my surprise I was captivated within the first ten minutes and just couldn't walk away. If there were ever a movie to present the dangers of hurting others out of fear, envy, and pride...this one does this trick. Not only does the message ring true as timely, but this story will most assuredly become timeless. What is done in darkness will come to light. Truth will set one free and on and on. I found more than one sell-able moments that would teach young and old the valued meaning of solidarity unwavering! Check this one out if you have teens or young adults in the home. Sometimes these films get it right and this one is bang on! Get your tissue box ready for the feelings to resonate under director Caryn Waechter and this precious cast of actors! No doubt one of the best beautifully filmed stories of humanity and strength of the persevering spirit.

There are many young stars in the making here. This ensemble cast of teens captures the pains of growing up and being heard in a hostile environment known as young adulthood. It has elements of The Crucible, in that the town they live in is on a witch hunt to find the secret belonging to this group of young female outcasts. But the main driver of the story is the pain of growing up and how each of these girls deals with it and its consequences. Great visuals and a pulsing beat captivates you even further. I'm not a teenage girl but I could relate to the world Waechter created. The characters were not black and white. The antagonists had redeeming qualities. The protagonists had flaws. All in all there was complexity here. And there are probably elements in this story - alienation, understanding, prejudice, judgment - we can all relate to, no matter what age we are.

Just saw a film festival showing with the director and writer in attendance for a q&a. This is a difficult film to label, the trailer might suggest a 'mean girls as witches' storyline as in The Craft, but this is not a horror flick, there's no supernatural element. It's about female friendships and being true to oneself, there are familiar high school themes of peer pressure, popularity, a dash of cyber bullying, but thankfully none of these are pressed too hard, so it never devolves to a dreary message movie.

You could say the plot uses The Crucible as a rough template, but best to discover the specifics for yourself. The director has a great visual sense, and Georgie Henley is a real find as the lead character Mary Warren, she has a natural charisma and commands every scene she's in. Maybe there are one or two obligatory plot turns, but overall the narrative unfolds in surprising ways and lands with real emotional punch. The director said it will be available on video on demand in April 2015. Worth seeking out.

This movie is amazing and it a MUST SEE! Young women today are bombarded by so many negative role models and messages and it is refreshing to watch a movie that EMPOWERS young women! This movie tells a story in a wonderful way while showing how important it is for young women to empower each other through the strength and courage of sisterhood! Women of all ages need to see this movie. I'd encourage mothers to see this movie with their teen-aged daughters. There is a lot that can be learned from this movie and it can and has sparked great conversation and unity among young women.

It was an added bonus for me that the movie was filmed and the story takes place in a location that is just 15 minutes from my hometown! It was fun to see various locations that I visit on a regular basis.

Kingston is a vivid, lovely city that certainly created a hometown feel and backdrop which added to the story itself. I know that all of us who shop/bank/live in and around Kingston NY were so grateful to have a movie produced here. There are many shop owners and store employees who had only wonderful things to say about the cast and production staff.

All references to the crucible aside this is not that. It has nothing to do with the theme of the crucible and the pressure of that closed off community. This is the story of a bunch of 15 year olds who destroy a town and everyone in it because they're cold blooded sociopaths. Maybe the feminist narrative is to call that empowered or a story of how teenagers girls relate to each other in a real way but it's not. These are girls who grow up to be serial killers. They are literally the manifestation of pure evil. I really can't understand why anyone who's seen this movie says they can relate to these girls unless they see themselves as sociopaths to too. And who knows maybe they do. I think they should have set the movie in 1975 Cambodia and had the girls join the Khmer Rouge to wage genocide on their schoolmates. Or maybe 1935 Germany where they grow up to be guards at Auschwitz. Either way I'm sure someone will claim it's a feminist epistle.