Kristy

PROS: A good part about the movie was the idea as a whole. The way the scenes were set up allowed for a great amount of fear and horror. The script also allowed for the main character to be resilient, not just for the sake of the movie, but just in general. There was nothing that happened that couldn't actually happen. Although this made the movie very readable, it didn't take away from the fear that it naturally would instill. A movie with a strong, independent, female lead will always be a fun watch!

CONS: The most aggravating part of the movie was the ending. There was so much more that could have been developed, but it just got cut short. I got quite frustrated at this fact because the movie lacked a lot of substance during the actual process, therefore I relayed heavily on the ending to give me that extra umph to propel the film. Another part that could have been improved was the acting. For some reason all the actors felt very stagnant. The main female character had pretty much two factions to her acting, 1. CONFUSION, and 2. BADA** MODE. Which are two good characteristics, but not the only things you need to be the star of a film. The final things that got me really angry was the fact that the main villains always found a way to find the main girl. It is an entire freaking college, and somehow they always found a way to find the girl. This gave the film a rather unbelievable factor.

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Plot: An intelligent college woman find herself alone at her campus over a holiday and chance encounter with strangers leads her to overcome almost insurmountable odds to survive a murderous cult in this survival horror movie.

Technical analysis: This movie has pleasant understated acting. Good atmospheric soundtrack that don't try to make up for a lack of suspense as you find in so many other scary movies. Although bordering on the realm of horror i would classify this more as a survival thriller. Thus you wont find any gore splatter or high body counts here which is refreshing for a thriller/horror that remains suspenseful throughout.

There is a Macguyverish element where the lead must outwit her pursuers and this is captivating in itself. All in all worthy immersion and even suitable for those that otherwisely shun horror movies.

"Kristy" has a young university student, Justine, staying on campus for the Thanksgiving break and forgoing returning home until Christmas. Her rich roommate Nicole, who had originally planned on staying with her, goes to see her family last-minute in Aspen, leaving Justine and the campus security guards alone for the Thanksgiving holiday. After taking a trip to a rural convenience store, Justine runs into a group of young people who seem to want trouble, and upon returning to her empty dorm, finds herself in for one hell of a night.

Maybe it's because I love a good college campus slasher, or maybe it's because I'm a grad student who's about to spend his first Thanksgiving alone (albeit in New York City, not in the backwoods in which this film is situated), but I was completely taken in by this film from the beginning. The premise from the get-go is very straightforward: girl alone on a sprawling rural college campus. What could go wrong?

The film establishes its villains from the beginning in an internet montage which features video and cryptic text from secret message forums, implicating some sort of new age cult committing ritual killings across the country which are then posted on the internet. While this is admittedly disturbing, I honestly found some of the most interesting the scenes to be within the following exposition of the film, in which Justine finds herself at her own wits, entertaining herself and wandering around the empty college campus. The director, Oliver Blackburn, has a stylish way of illustrating her solitude, and there is something relatable and quietly eerie in this first thirty or so minutes of the film; in spite of the fact that nothing ostensibly scary is happening on screen, there is a very ominous and unnerving mood that gets established; this is what really absorbed me most and got me invested.

By the time Justine leaves the campus late in the evening to run to the local convenience store, the audience knows intuitively that her languid Thanksgiving is about to take a wild turn for the absolute worst, and the suspense of it is taut and subtle up to that point. Unfortunately, from there the film begins to temporarily devolve. For having such an understated and ominous exposition, the film is too quick to take the route of a hyperactive thriller, and spends a good thirty minutes devoting itself to flashy cat-and-mouse chase scenes. While some of these are inarguably effective, it is routine and gets old fast. It is not until the last twenty minutes that the film redeems this devolution with an entertaining (albeit also routine) retribution. While all of this is nicely shot and at times startling, I kept thinking to myself how much I missed the subtlety that pervaded the beginning, and in reflection, that was honestly when I was most unnerved.

The acting here is surprisingly above standard, with Haley Bennett as the competent lead. Ashley Greene plays the counterpoint female cultist, with Mathew St. Patrick as the likable security guard and James Ransone making an unexpected minor appearance. The production values are high and I'm honestly surprised this film wound up slipping under the radar as it did. Granted, it's not entirely original (comparisons to "The Strangers" and "Them" are almost unavoidable), but it is a technically well-made film and is far more interesting than any horror film to hit theaters this past fall.

Overall, "Kristy" is a solid film. I especially commend it for building such a stylish and taut exposition—I honestly can say that the first thirty minutes of the film were among the most inexplicably unnerving I've seen in a long time; quietly creepy even though nothing creepy is happening. As I pointed out, the film does take the cat-and-mouse action a bit too far in my opinion and perhaps is too fast to launch into it, but the final act is satisfying and I was able to overlook this because I found the first act so absorbing and enigmatically spooky. 7/10.

I was already skeptical because of the bad ratings, But what a pleasant surprise. I thought it was really good and original. The suspense was great. Overall very enjoyable.

We enjoyed watching it. It's a slasher, some creepy vibes. Little bit like the strangers except on a college campus. Overall good! A good scare and fun time.