Cora

As in Core - but with Cora, because ... well I do not think I have to explain more: so no pun intended. The main actress has her work cut out ... she really has quite a lot to do in the movie. I will not go into details, but you will understand once you watch the movie. It is quite twisted and there is a lot to explore - not just for her ... Science Fiction is a territory that can give a lot of freedoms.

The script is decent - but while it may hold some surprises for casual viewers I do believe that ... well let's go with experienced ones will not be too surprised by the twists this has to offer. I'd say most will be able to tell where this is trying to go. Again no pun intended - humanity is mostly its own enemy ... no matter what happens ... I would say you could make a similar case here ... just try not to double cross ... let's leave it at that.

A standout element of the movie is the adventurous behavior of Cora. She is a character defined by her courage and willingness to confront the unknown head-on. Whether facing daunting obstacles or navigating uncharted territories, Cora's proactive and daring approach to her circumstances is consistently engaging. Her decisions and actions propel the plot, making her a dynamic and inspiring figure whose journey is as much about inner strength as it is about external exploration.

This adventurous spirit is brought to life brilliantly by Felicia Rylander, who delivers a captivating performance as Cora. Rylander imbues the character with a nuanced blend of vulnerability, determination, and raw emotion. Her portrayal makes Cora's trials and triumphs deeply resonant, allowing the audience to fully connect with her experiences. Rylander's ability to convey both the character's internal struggles and her outward resolve is a key factor in the film's immersive quality.

As I stumbled upon the 2024 movie "Cora" here in 2025 by random chance, and given my love of all things horror, of course I opted to check it out. I virtually didn't know what I was in for here, as I sat down to watch the movie from directors Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, so I suppose the directors had every possibility of entertaining me with their movie.

The storyline definitely had potential, but writers Sonny Laguna, David Liljeblad and Tommy Wiklund seemed to not know in what direction to take the narrative. And the end result was a script that proved boring and uneventful. Running at 104 minutes, it is primarily the last half an hour or so that proved to be carrying the movie, but by then it was too little, too late. The rest before that was just boring filler where leading actress Felicia Rylander did nothing but sit around or wander a wasteland shrouded in fog, making it nearly impossible for the viewers to see what was going on.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Michael Paré and Thomas Lennon. I will say that the acting performances in the movie were actually fair enough, taking into consideration the limitations imposed on the actors and actresses from a subpar script.

I have to say that ultimately then "Cora" was a disappointing and boring movie, and not really one that I would recommend you to waste 104 minutes on watching.

My rating of directors Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund's 2024 movie "Cora" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Overall, a pretty interesting concept and twist. All of the effects that aren't just plugins (the mist, the bullet impacts) were good. The blood was very well done, except for when it looks like an old pasta sauce stain 10 seconds after spraying out of a gunshot wound. Fantastic blood spray for a modern movie, I just wish the muzzle flashes and impacts weren't simple After Effects plugins.

The mist is not a well done effect, it just looks like the saturation was knocked down in post and makes the movie hard to see. They really should have spent the money on some fog machines because it is so obvious the fog is an overlay.

The story was interesting enough. Gasmasks and AKs, so it had a nice Stalker vibe overall. Weird that the main actress doesn't show up on the IMDB page though.

If you enjoy the mood and feel of the Stalker games, this is the movie for you.

I have no idea how they spent that much to make a movie that takes place in the woods.

From a science fiction point, it actually have a really good story in the end, but take way to much time just to get to it.

Perhaps, it would be better as a short film ?

You would find better dialogue and acting from any AA computer game, and there is probably big chunks of the story cut out for time, as theer are many story threads, never resolved.

This is what happens when you try to do some world building, without a storyboard or general idea on what message you want the movie to give the audience.

I am all for a movie that we get snippets of information about what really is going on, or with an open ended finish, where you can speculate on what is really going on - but a 500 piece puzzle, and you only get ten middle pieces just builds frustration.

The final twist however, i really liked.

( despite being used so many times it almost is a trope by now. )