Shelley

A subtle horror film not without its moments of suspense and utter creepiness. We follow Elena (accountant turned housekeeper, for some reason) who gets close to her employers (a couple who live in an isolated house without modern amenities, for some reason). She wants to save money quickly to go back to her son and so agrees to be surrogate mother for their baby.

The film was too slow for some, so if you need quick doses of jumpscares and shock tactics, this isn't one for you. However, I found the departure from mainstream action horror and script to be very refreshing. I was not bored at any point in the movie, because it does an excellent job of building character and relationships in the first half hour. If anything, I was impatient to see where it was all leading, because the story has some unpredictable turn of events.

Not a lot was answered by the open ending, so you need to pay attention to little details throughout the film, and theories will inevitably run amok with plenty of evidence for more than one horror scenarios. Also, it is always a good sign when you can sympathize will ALL of the characters (which are few to be sure, but very well played).

It is the most convincing horror movie to come out in a while, and I recommend it to anyone who can get roped into a horror story without a sense of urgency.

Granted this film is a slow burn but the cinematography, dark atmosphere, acting, and score was top notch. Should watch when you are more relaxed and patient cause when you get there you will found it was worth the wait. I am a huge horror fan and I am sick and tired of the basic 90 min horror films that throw all the things at you in the first frame but with this director you have to have patience to fully understand the movie. There was 3 scenes I had to rewind that I missed the first time of viewing this movie. I agree with the thought of Rosemary's Baby by the way of David Lynch and I think it deserves a view. This is a solid horror film.

Almost everyone compares this movie to Rosemary's baby but I don't think it's right. Imho this movie isn't about demonic children but it's a metaphor for the obsession of motherhood (could be applied to fatherhood too tbh).

There are people who are incredibly determined to have a child in spite of the most adverse conditions: phisical, social and emotional. They just want their baby no matter what, even if this mean force or trap the other parent. Imho this is what the movie is about.

Like watching a Tarantula molt, this film is incredibly fascinating, disturbing and effective. But, man, is it slow! Everything happens at a snails pace, and regardless of how thought provoking the events are, it does not excuse the pace of this supposed "horror" film. I am all for a slow-burn, in fact, I prefer them to teenage jump scares and other sophomoric tactics. But this movie literally made me want to watch it at 2X the speed, just so that people would pick up the f-ing pace. You know how there are movies that would have been effective if the creative teams knew how to just get to the good parts and edit themselves accordingly? This is one of those films. Had they been more overt with the horror elements, and made things flow just a bit faster, this would have been a worthy addition to the "baby horror" sub-genre. As it stands, it plods along, thinking it is being suspenseful, but in reality, it's just not getting there fast enough. Not recommended, as I am unsure that even the most ardent "slow-burn" fan will appreciate the pace of this film. That being said, the acting is superb, and the cinematography is top-notch.

This is the kind of slow-burn horror film that really, truly gets under your skin. the type of horror film that America doesn't make (although the last two years that has been changing, with flicks like The Babadook, It Follows, and The Witch). This won't be for every horror fan, especially those that want more craziness or loud jump scares. Instead, what the film does is establish its characters very well and from then on it lurks and creeps you out until you become more and more terrified by what's happening on screen. It's exactly the type of film that really lingers on the mind and I really hope more people seek it out.