1BR - Benvenuti nell'incubo

Some reviewers forget the obvious questions most potential viewers have when reading IMDb reviews. Here are my answers to them:

1. If you're looking for suspense versus a bloodbath with jump scares, then 1BR will give you the low-level anxiety fix you're seeking.

2. It doesn't drag. The movie's 90-minute run time passes quickly, and it will competently hold your interest. It's escapist in the best sense of the word.

3. Production values, plot, directing, and acting don't read as cheesy in spite of a modest budget and a lack of big-name talent. It's a great reminder that simplicity often succeeds where CGI and tens of millions of dollars do not.

What some call 'flat' performances read to me as understated -- realistic reactions to depression, shock, and brainwashing. One expects the depressed and those tortured into submission to be subdued, not over the top. That said, the acting is merely good, not great.

Complaining about a movie being predictable is like complaining that the outcome of an election is predictable. There is a limited array of possibilities, so predicting correctly doesn't exactly make you a genius.

Is it too predictable? I foresaw 1BR going two or three possible directions, all of which have been done before in one way or another. It did, indeed, travel one of those paths. That said, in spite of an expected general outcome, the ending does offer an unexpected twist that's fair and supported by the plot.

For those always seeking a higher message, there's one to be had, and this sets 1BR apart from other run-of-the-mill, low-budget thrillers. The filmmakers don't beat the social commentary drum too hard -- it's chancy with a movie like this -- but 1BR does say a little something about the tyrannies of paternalism, forced conformity, and ideology by threat, phenomena we're seeing a little too much of in society these days.

As with any movie, the fun isn't always in the destination. Rather, it's often in the path you take to get there. That's true for most films, and it's true for 1BR. But no one can force you to watch it. At least not yet.

The real horror here is going to open rental inspections in a nice area only to find heaps of others are interested in the flat too. And when you do find a place to live there's noises at night that compound the drudgery of day-to-day life. Very relatable stuff. But then the film deviates to a world of enforced anarcho-communism and some hardcore behaviorism is applied. A refreshing application of "torture porn" here and there, bundled into a movie with a story to tell that may not be a masterpiece, is still enjoyable.

In this film, David Marmor does a great job of dramatizing the way cults work on individuals to get them to join. Of course the seduction of a new member is accelerated and made stomach churning, but it's a movie, Would you really want to watch 12 hours of "classes" or "meetings?" Would you really want to watch the slow draining of bank accounts and inane barking about "suppressive" people by Tom Cruise?

No, you can see that in "Going Clear." This isn't a documentary. This is a cautionary horror movie about how cults work.

First, the cult picks lonely and vulnerable individuals who have a reason to feel left out of the mainstream. $cientology seems to prey on high school and college drop outs with money. AA picks up people who can't stop drinking. NXIVM picks attractive women with body dysmorphia and the men who love them. LulaRich, Amway, Mary Kay and all the multi level marketing scams pick at home mothers who need money and a life away from home. The Trump Cult picks white boomers and straight, single white men who are afraid of becoming the minority and need someone to blame.

In the film, Sarah is a shy LA newcomer who is trying to make it for the first time on her own in a new city. She's lonely and has an issue with her father. The Moonies send members to college campuses to look for "depressed" students.

Second, the cult love bombs the potential new member to take care of the fears and make the person feel accepted. Love bombing is part of the cycle in the normalization of the abuse the cult will heap on the member. The neighbors in the apartment complex love bomb Sarah to catch her off guard, and confuse her as the abuse begins. Every abuse cycle ends with love bombing.

In reality, the "hands on the wall" scene is taken directly from accounts by ex $cientologists about "corrective" abuse they underwent at "Gold Base" in Hemet. Many of the other scenes in the movie are thinly veiled references to confessionals by former members of $cientology and other cults.

Third, the cult isolates the new member from any and all people who aren't members of the cult so the new member has no way to check her own reality. In the film, the cult removes Sarah from her job and her only friend.

Fourth, the cult has a belief system that has all the answers to life's questions. The belief system usually has a sacred text. This is the book the cult forces Sarah to read.

Fifth, the cult forces the member to "confess" past sins to build intimacy, and make the new member more vulnerable. It's why the members ask her about her sex life and her father. It's why AA has a 9th step and $cientology has auditing,

Last, the cult has a charismatic leader. In the movie, the leader is Charles Ellerby, whose words, are repeated by the members again and again, "It's not crazy. It's science." It's why Sarah has to repeat the "four foundations."

The film uses these characteristics of cults to move along the plot and desensitize the audience to the possibility of Sarah (or anyone else) escaping the cult. The plot is helped by the acting of Nicole Brydon Bloom's portrayal of Sarah as an ordinary millennial, who may or may not give in to the horrors of the cult.

The movie is a combination of mediocre Netflix horror, and and extraordinarily well-researched premise about cult thinking.

I've always have more respect with film that has low budget and did the best they could. It's clear that this film has low budget, and manage to make the most of it, that being said it has an unknown cast, average acting and average production. As of the story, the concept is decent. But it's a bit too draggy with little to no plot development. There are also some dull and dumb moment. The horror thriller is good, considering... . The twist is not jaw dropping, but it's pretty good. All and All, it's watchable but don't get too hyped up.

With some genuinely disturbing parts. And just when you think it can't be much harder to watch, it gets harder to watch. It takes around 30 minutes to set up then the last hour a real rollercoaster ride with a fairly high squick factor. Overall a very satisfying horror/thriller.