jerrywright15

She owns the performance and saves the movie from being just okay. The horror genre is still criminally under appreciated when it comes to recognizing the talent involved. Scott brilliantly showcases a pop star on a terrible mental decline with such force and skill that you get lost in her world. You can't help but feel for this woman who was already dealing with a stressful celebrity life, now under the insane pressure of dealing with a demon no one else can see. She so courageously lets go of herself to give into the scared, vulnerable, snotty victim that is Skye. Scott was clearly meant to be a musical pop star in another life and this was a glance into that reality with a horrific supernatural twist.

Outside of Scott, the writer/director does a great job of changing up the temperature of this film from the first. This one is gorier and almost has an action undertone in its pacing. With sequels you're always looking to add something to the lore, up the intensity and give the audience something unexpected. Parker Finn does 2 of these things very well. The tension is higher as you lose track of what is real and what is a demonic hallucination. The spirit gives Skye NO BREAKS, taking the comfort of having family, friends, even strangers around you and making it ideal conditions for her to lose more grip on reality. She gets its worse than the original protagonist in that it seems like the demon makes it clearer earlier on that it is in control. The environment of a pop star world, though not as scary as a therapist circumstances, leads to fun environments and creative demonic expressions like the dance from hell in a nice NY apartment. The only drawback to this film is that there is no real additional lore. The smile demon is still the demon passed on by witnessing terrible suicides and haunts through hallucinations. No new lore, rhyme or reason. The only addition is a potential new way to kill the spirit, but knowing the mental omnipotence of the Smile creature makes it hard to believe there's hope for our troubled Skye.

It's highly unlikely you'll hate this movie. It's a fun run. A few nice twists. Surprisingly, some good laughs to be found. Ends on an interesting note and again Scott is an incredible actress to watch at her craft. This movie deserves its smile.

This is one of those films that remind you of the power of cinema. A methodically paced film that never fills slow or rushed but perfectly timed to fill every moment with a sense of curiosity and unease that eventually turns to morbid contemplation. Colin Farrell is an actors actor in every sense. He disappears into his role as an overly confident doctor with an odd bluntness and sort of a "bleh" approach to what initially appears to be a "bleh" suburban life. Barry Keoghan is simply a force. The foundation of the energy that we eventually watch him bring to "Saltburn" is evident in this role of Martin, a matter of fact teenager who seems to suffer from some form of social autism but in a strangely endearing way (can't help but appreciate a person who tells it like it is). The moment Martin reveals the hook of the film you are instantly immersed into the why, how and questioning the validity of what is happening to this family. The film never really ramps up, so much as arriving at the natural conclusion at just the moment that feels right, leaving you mouth agape as you witness the 3rd acts final shot. The tension is in the unraveling of the family and the reveal of who people truly are when faced with their own mortality. As we watch our protagonist father come to grips with the impossibility of the choice he faces, Barry's socially awkward "antagonist" delivers the perfect amount of reinforcement of the dire stakes while covering it as faux moral justice, he even offers a painfully mouth clenching metaphor for us to witness. While a gigantic portion of the how these things are occurring is left unsaid (much better this way as the how becomes irrelevant) i still finished this movie feeling extremely satisfied, horrified and in need of a happy film cleanser. Excellent cast. Excellent story (although prepare for unending feelings of pity, dread and reoccurring thoughts of "what would I do?"). This film is a beautiful watch from beginning to end, with a director who knows what he wants from this story and how to craft the world that will best deliver it honestly.