The Necromancer

I must admit that I was instantly lured in by the title of the movie, I mean, "The Necromancer", it just doesn't get much more ominous than that. And being an avid horror fan, of course I sat down for watching this 2018 movie from writer and director Stuart Brennan.

While I did manage to sit through the entire ordeal that is "The Necromancer", I can in all honesty say that I wasn't particularly entertained, much less impressed with what transpired on the screen. And why is that?

Well, first of all, the movie is slow paced with very little of any great interest happening throughout the course of the entire movie. This was essentially just watching a group of grown men dressed up in old uniforms and do cosplay in the great forest, accompanied by some questionable camerawork.

Sure, I will say that the props and costumes were quite good, and that really worked in favor of the movie, and the production level was good as well, but this was hardly enough to make up for a total lack of an adequately entertaining storyline and script.

The acting in the movie was dubious, so you shouldn't get your expectations up for experiencing anything grand or Shakespearian here. But then again, the actors and actresses literally had nothing to work with from the script.

As for the characters, well they were flaccid and rather faceless. You don't really form any bond with any of them, and you just watch the torment inflicted upon them, shrug and move on, waiting for the next one to be targeted by the sinister force in the forest.

Then when the necromancer was finally revealed towards the end of the movie, you just stare in disbelief and go 'seriously? They opted for that?'. It was such an anti-climatic reveal that didn't work out well for the movie, which was already struggling with a losing uphill battle.

While the intentions behind "The Necromancer" were good and interesting, the movie just didn't translate well from script to screen, and this is not a movie that I would recommend you spend your time, money or effort on. Some of us did, and suffered through it, so you don't have to.

My rating of "The Necromancer" is a mere three out of ten stars.

Well that's 90 minutes I won't get back. Bad acting and terrible script. I had high hopes for this film but it was ridiculously uneventful.

Just when you thought it was going to be good it descended into ham acting and nonsense. The costumes didn't look right and the locations didn't match the script that well.

This reviewer took it for what it was (low budget and amateurish at times) and didn't mind it. Ambitious in spite of it's flaws. Another soldiers lost in the menacing forest film. Can't speak to the authenticity of the historic events, weapons, or garb (some of the dialogue seemed odd though). The plot makes more sense than The Terror (1963). Entire affair is minimal. Filmed nicely enough. Personally, I enjoy drone shots in the outdoors (every Horror film has one these days). The story is just OK. The acting was fine. Practical effects were passable. I agree with other reviewers about missed opportunities. I kept hoping for the story to move in a unique direction. It really didn't. The plot was the big let down. I can't actually recommend this film unless you are a war/horror film completest. I am...and don't feel any worse off for having watched it.

Finally a movie worse than Jaws The Revenge! At least with that movie I made it to the end credits! I can only assume that some of the glowing 10 star reviews on here are written by members of the cast and crew, production/distribution company or by people who have simply never seen a film before! The Necromancer really was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I forced myself to stay with it for as long as possible but after approximately one hour I gave up and simply walked out of the theatre - thankfully I have a monthly membership with the cinema chain and I didn't pay any money to watch this excuse for a film! The film literally felt like a poorly executed student film - I have been a film/TV student myself so I know what a poor, low budget student film looks like! In fact I have seen amateur high school dramas on YouTube that are better than this! Just about everything was wrong with it! Poor amateurish acting, laughable dialogue, lack of direction, film editing that was so poor it actually caught your attention - I could go on! I have only walked out on a movie twice in over 40 years of being a film fan as It's something I don't generally agree with. In this case I felt compelled!

The premise in itself is interesting. The script, the utterly insipid, simplistic dialogues and the amateurish acting (on a level with that of a not-so-brilliant high school troupe), paired with special effects clearly inspired by Pan's Labyrinth (albeit the version you'd expect elementary school children to make for themselves for Halloween) soon make it hard to keep a straight face.

Add to that a complete disregard for period detail and wigs so visibly artificial that you expect a label sticking out of them saying '100% polyester' and you wouldn't be surprised if one of the characters were to check his messages on an Apple Watch on screen.

Makes you wonder what the jury's standards are at the Bristol Festival. The real horror is thinking about what the other films presented will have been like if this is the winner.