ntj-film

I absolutely loved Zach Cregger's debut feature "Barbarian" (the second and third viewing really clinched it for me) so there was no way in hell I was going to miss his sophomore effort, especially given how alluring and mysterious the add campaign for the movie came across.

So did it live up to expectations? Let's inspect.

Oh man, does this movie get off to a rousing start.

The entire first half is among the most effective I can recall seeing, featuring brilliant character development, a fantastic executed establishment of milieu and a riveting atmosphere that just expertly underscores the film's central mystery.

It's as if Cregger took a douse of "Magnolia" mixed in a little "Longlegs" and added a soupçon of mean old school fairy tales, put it in a blender and hit purée.

But unfortunately the movie is at its strongest when the audience is left in the dark.

When it comes time for the writer/director to show his hand and dispense with the vail of uncertainty, the story simply can't sustain all the excitement and anticipation that the first part so effectively build upon.

It's by no means a dealbreaker given that the film is still very engaging and enjoyable throughout but I for one couldn't help but crave a bit more psychological depth and intellectual sustenance when presented with the main antagonist alongside the final few pieces of the movie's puzzle.

But, even with those caveats in mind, this is still one hell of a film, one you should absolutely go see if you have even an incline of interest in some original cinematic horror.

So, after a particularly intense viewing experience, I decided I was going to kick back and try to relax with a little bit of that ol' found-footage nonsense, apparently featuring killers in clown masks waving chainsaws around.

Well, I guess I have no one to blame for this miserable waste of 70 minutes but myself, so I'll just make this short n' sweet.

There's absolutely no reason for this movie to be found-footage, other then the obvious, which is to keep the budget low.

The story is basically nonexistent, it's as if someone saw "The Strangers" and thought "let make something like that, with the change I found in my couch".

The movie also features, what can only be described in the most generous of terms, as something resembling a score, because off course it does!

Lastly, it's simply bereft of tension, scares or any elements that would justified it having been made in the first place.

I'm all for people picking up a camera and attempt their hand at moviemaking, but try striving toward expressing an original thought or at the very least have a semblance of an idea, before calling Action.

This little slow-burn thriller represents an exercise in minimalist "down to the bone" filmmaking.

In essence it's a chamber piece featuring featuring two men and a mysterious conflict that exists between them, which seemingly plays out in a very basic and straightforward manner.

It imperative that a movie as deceptively threadbare as this one has the capacity to deliver a decent twist that can remedy the rather slow moving proceedings that went before it and offer the audience a sense of catharsis. Luckily this one does, and it's a whopper, making the whole experience that much more gratifying.

I don't wanna elaborate on the specifics of the ending, only saying that while it is incredibly satisfying, the incident that led to one of the men's predicament was incredibly hard to watch and left me with a mental image that I'd rather have been without. All I'm saying is animal lovers should proceed cautiously.

The movie is a tad long at a hour and a half and could have easily been trimmed by some ten minutes to make it an even tighter experience, but all in all it's still a very efficient film featuring a strong script, great performances and a great twist ending to tie it all together.