Oracle

"Oracle" (2023) doesn't give viewers much to work with. While the premise held promise, and the storyline itself had some interesting elements, the film ultimately falls short. The horror relies on cheap jump scares that lack impact, and much of the suspense feels forced and unearned. The plot takes a while to develop, and until it does, viewers are met with generic horror tropes and tension that feels unnecessary and ineffective.

Occasionally, a poorly executed jump scare or a scream from one of the characters breaks the monotony, but these moments fail to add much value. Lead actress Ryan Destiny delivers a solid. The child actors' performances are uneven, and at times, certain scenes leave you shaking your head at the sheer implausibility.

While it's not a terrible watch, the movie misses the mark on its potential and could have been far more enjoyable. Heather Graham, however, looks absolutely stunning though. [4.8/10]

Heather Graham is the only actress you'll recognize and she is not the main star. The people who make up the cast do a great job. The effects are done well enough to give you a good fright.

The story centers on a girl making a real connection with a place from her dreams. She's hired as a nanny for just one night and that's when everything happens. Camera work is good. This doesn't feel like a B movie. Not sure what the budget was but it was well directed and produced. I watched on a streaming service as part of my subscription and am glad I did. Good little scary movie to watch when you're in that kind of mood.

When I was searching for a horror movie and saw Heather Graham and Universal Pictures had worked on this movie and teamed up, I expected they would create a great movie. This is not a great movie. Maybe if my expectations were very low it would be somewhat enjoyable but I don't think so. This was a weak film and probably why it wasn't released in the movie theaters. I feel the writers were trying to be too socially relevant and not focused enough on making a great movie. "Get Out" was a similar genre but so much better done. In this movie there were no real unexpected twists. There were racists and ghosts and black people treated very wrong who didn't deserve it. That is not enough to carry a film. Maybe if we knew some of the revelations at the end during the film it would have been better.

There was very little character development. I know the main actress liked Civil war history and she couldn't find a job. I knew Heather Graham had a sick mom. But who they were and what they stood for and why was not developed at all and that would have added. There were a lot of nonsensical plot issues that distracted as well. Overall I would say watch it if you don't expect anything. The acting isn't terrible. But if you want to watch a good movie you will likely be disappointed

Maybe it would make more sense in 1864.

So this movie feels like they wanted to make a Jordan Peele movie, just without a decent director, good writing, passable talent, or anything interesting or creative.

Every character is a 2D characture, just there to fill overused and bland role. It's almost a paint by numbers with, first impression of a character on screen and you already know what they're going to be.

From the moment we enter the house, they begin to throw every cheap scare in the book. If you've seen any horror movie you can play a drinking game with how predictable this movie is.

Finally the movie's pacing is just a drag. Half way through and you're still waiting for anything to happen besides the main character brooding.

Oracle is horror movie that addresses some sort of slave-era situation, but in modern day. It's not really clear. Its the sort of movie that you watch on a boring Saturday afternoon, maybe when it's rainy.

You don't watch this movie with any other expectation than to be watching a cookie cutter, grade D formula horror movie with a dark skinned black female lead instead of your usual skinny blond dish. You'll wonder how they got Heather Graham to deliver her handful of lines. You'll wonder what the storyline was all about. You'll wonder why you have nothing better to do than to watch movies like this. And then when you're done, you'll feel better about life.

5/10 - not bad, not good, has its moments, sorta.