Apparitions

I saw this last year in Melbourne at Cinema Nova. It feels like those old school, pulpy genre films you rented on VHS growing up in the 90s, which I love! It's not a hard horror, more of a thriller/mystery with some great writing, funny moments and really enjoyable characters - particularly the three female leads.

Well, as I sat down in 2022 to watch the 2021 horror movie "Apparitions" from writers Perri Cummings and Paul Anthony Nelson, I had never even heard about the movie. All I knew was that this was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen. So of course I opted to give "Apparitions" a chance.

Boy, oh boy, was this movie a swing and a miss from directors Perri Cummings and Paul Anthony Nelson. The movie's storyline utterly and completely fell short of providing me with any sense of entertainment, and it was a massive drag to sit through this train wreck of a storyline that just snailed its way in a very monotonous pace. And it didn't help much that the dialogue was wooden and the character gallery bland.

Sure, I wasn't familiar with a single performer on the cast list in "Apparitions", and that is usually something that I really enjoy in movies. But here in "Apparitions", not so much. Why? Well, because the actors and actresses virtually were given no running chance to get off of the ground, and they had nothing to work with in terms of script, storyline, characters and dialogue.

And as for "Apparitions" being a horror movie, well... I suppose if you are fresh off of the boat and never seen a horror movie before, then "Apparitions" will prove to be chilling and suspenseful. But if you, like me am a life-long horror aficionado, then "Apparitions" just didn't deliver anything.

My rating of "Apparitions" lands on a two out of ten stars.

Have you ever been pulled into a conversation by someone you really don't like, but you speak to them anyway because you don't want to be rude? Adding on to that, they're REALLY boring and just drone on and on and on without ever getting to the point-THAT'S what this movie is like! The movie has a good storyline, but that's where it ends. The actors aren't much above the talent of high school drama students, the directors allow camera shots to linger so long on the actors faces, etc., that it almost makes you feel awkward and uncomfortable watching. The sound is so bad that I wonder if the boom guy had a hangover. The music reminded me of B movies in the 70's. Unfortunately, I can't even list this as a B movie! Don't waste your time.

I saw this film premiere at the Monster Film Festival in Melbourne. It was the first cinema screening I had been to in a very long time due to the pandemic and it didn't disappoint. As I sat in my seat in the sold out cinema with choc top and popcorn in hand I was excited!

The film is a horror but I did find myself laughing out loud a few times at the scenarios, dialogue and characters, it reminded me of the horrors I was forced to watch as a kid in the 80s by my older siblings, and for me it even had a Freddy Kruegar reference, which was brilliant!

Along with the LOL moments, I did also jump a few times in my seat, have to hide my eyes from being scared and was creeped out by the story. I really enjoyed the vulnerable and quirky character of Marlee played by Kristina Benton and believed the relationship between her and her husband Tom, played by Stefan Dennis and Don Bridges is always a delight to see on the big screen (as always) this time playing the local pub drunk.

Without giving too much away, I liked the twist in the plot, the killer was a simple outcome, but wasn't obvious to me making it believable.

I always enjoy Perri Cummings writing and the banter between characters was a highlight in the film and definitely played to an audience like me who grew up with 80s horror film. Perri also plays the detective and this bad ass bikey chic who has the best one liners in the script is ALWAYS a winner for me! As I was leaving the cinema, a colleague said "That played like a rocket" and he was right, this film had a great set up of characters, relationships, genre and world and then then increased rapidly and suddenly combusted into a climatic finish that was full of gore, emotion and a bit of humorous fun.

Slow plotting weaving two connected perspectives leads to a boring movie. Rather simple story idea has no impact as nothing is surprising or difficult to read. Ho hum.