bluerosecrow

I waited until I read the novel before I watched this. I am so glad that I did, because otherwise it would make zero sense. I can understand why it was considered a book that could never translate to film at the time.

It jumps past a lot of scenes in the book, so it more or less just appears that things are happening just because. What you end up with is a fever dream, but an absolutely stunning fever dream.

It is visually beautiful in a way that only existed in the 1980s. Practical sets that were incredibly imperfect but magical in the passions that shows through them. One fever dream set after another, dripping with absolute madness at every angle.

The acting is superb. Brad Dourif as Piter is phenomenal. Sean Young as Chani is stunning, though missing a lot of the character development. The whole family Harkonnen is beyond entertaining. Kyle MacLachlan does well with the role of Paul, though a lot of the character from the book is missing in the movie.

Is it perfect? No. Not at all. Relationships and bonds between characters are pretty much non-existent. The effects used for the shields looks like an abomination. Things happen without reason and the movie jumps ahead at a pace that makes it almost impossible to follow at times. Characters come and go and come back without reason. They omit characters and full-on story lines from the book. It is far from a perfect movie.

Look, this book is almost 900 pages long. There is no way you are fitting that into a movie with a run time that is less than 2.5 hours. So you end up with just a bunch of scenes jammed together like a wild psychotic trip. But even so, watching this movie was so enjoyable. I feel that it truly captures the feel of the book, and it is made with so much passion and love that it bleeds out of every fiber of this movie.

I can't give this higher than a 7 because it really is just over two hours of nonsense without the knowledge of the book. But dang did this movie hold true to the spirit of the novel. I loved every second that I watched this.

When I first started watching this, I didn't know how I felt about it, but it was also noisy in the house with the dish washer and other things running. Everyone was talking in a whispered tone, and it was hard to get a good grasp of what was going on. Though, I wanted to give it a good chance because I was enjoying the set work.

About ten minutes in, I decided to put my Bluetooth headphones on. Let me just say, the sound work of this movie is phenomenal. The static, the uncomfortable tones, the voice of the man in the basement... it all builds to a very unsettling atmosphere.

The movie as a whole is ok. It is very much a slow burn, and the payoff is decent, but this movie is much more of an effective journey than destination. It isn't that the ending is bad, I actually enjoyed it a lot, but it is almost inconsequential compared to the paranoid buildup of the movie in total.

Ultimately, I very much enjoyed this movie, but I would have hated it if I didn't have my headphones on, as the sound work is what really sells every moment of this film. So I suggest watching it with a good sound system, or headphones if you are like me and just have a tv with no special system for sound.

Thank god. When I first searched for this on Prime, a movie from the same year called Blood Harvest also popped up and I had accidentally clicked that. I watched it for 20 minutes wondering what the hell people liked about this before I realized I had clicked on the wrong movie. Then I came to this. The first things I thought when it started was that even if it was bad, at least it was a real movie.

I tell you this to give context to my high rating on this. I am well aware that I am rating this much higher than average, and I am sure many people will disagree with me. But this movie was so much fun to watch.

I put this on my watchlist back in February to watch closer to Halloween. It was the perfect monster movie to watch this time of year. It had some similarities with another monster movie that I love, and have fond memories of watching when I was much younger, so I am sure that added to the fun.

This movie has so much. One of the things I loved the most about it is how self-contained it felt. It all takes place in a small town fully removed from any other town or city with a population that acts unhinged. So when the monster shows up, and you realize that it is a legitimate monster movie and not a "the monster is the secrets of our past" kind of thing, then you are able to fully embrace this wild town in the middle of nowhere practicing this wild ritual for prosperity.

The time period is perfect. It is hard to explain why it being set in the 60's makes it better. It just does. From the weapons used, to the cars and styles, it all just feels right. Plus, the reference to the Misfits was incredibly enjoyable.

The acting was solid and the production value was strong. The only thing that caused a bit of a side eye was a few moments of the monster. It is a risk being so bold with showing the monster. I very much appreciated that they didn't hide it in the shadows the whole time, but fully had it walking out in the open. The only thing is that some scenes look pretty fake. But I would also rather have a few shots that look fake then a monster movie that shows the monster for a total of two minutes.

Overall, if you are looking for a very fun monster movie to watch around Halloween, then this is perfect for you. If you are looking for anything deeper than just a fun monster movie, then you should probably look for a different movie. For me, it was the perfect movie to wash away the experience of watching Blood Harvest from my mind. This will become a yearly watch for October.