O Ritual Sinistro

The story, sans, musicals, COULD be decent. The problem is it's exceptionally slow to progress because every 5 to 7 minutes there's another way-too-long musical interlude.

They've basically created their own distractions by adding musical to break up any tension, comedy, suspense, etc.

The audio, to me, all sounds like it's a looped 100%. As if there is little no actual live filmed audio and it was all added in post. That would make sense for the musicals (even though I disliked them) but even when characters are merely speaking to each other, it sounds looped.

Meh.. I lost interest QUICKLY due to the musical interludes. Ended up fast forwarding through most of it after roughly 30 minutes and the 4th musical number.

Acting was passable, not bad. And singing was good however misguided the idea was.

But ultimately..... ------- PASS ------

Right, well I didn't know that this was a musical, and had I known, I would most likely not have opted to watch it. Musicals is not really my cup of tea, aside from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Grease". But coming to learn that it was a zombie musical, I must admit that I buckled in and opted to check it out.

But writer Ryan Smith utterly failed to conjure up a script that entertained me. And I have to say that I am very perplexed that his 2023 musical titled "Eldritch USA" has managed to snag an 8.2 rating here on IMDb, as of this very moment while I am reviewing it.

I managed to suffer through a staggering 42 minutes of absolute boredom and pointlessness before tossing the towel in the right. It was painfully obvious by then that the contents of the musical would not improve for the better. And in those 42 minutes there wasn't anything even remotely zombiesque to be found anywhere.

Needless to say that I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in "Eldritch USA", but I was not particularly impressed. Sure, the performances were adequate, but it was nothing memorable or outstanding.

This is not something that I would recommend anyone to waste 99 minutes on watching. And it most certainly is not something I will return to attempt finish watching.

My rating of directors Ryan Smith and Tyler Foreman's 2023 musical "Eldritch USA" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

I was lucky enough to see this movie at Alamo Drafthouse in May 2023. The movie is a mix of genres - part comedy, part horror, part musical.

The cast and direction are all superb. Nobody ever puts a foot wrong, performance-wise. With the exception of a fight scene at the end and some small technical issues that most non-filmmakers will never pick up on, this never feels like a homegrown indie movie. It punches way above its weight. I actually thought the majority of the film's sound had been ADR'd as the sound quality was so good.

The comedy was better than most so-called comedy films. It's genuinely funny and had a few really good laugh-out-loud moments.

The movie is part musical, and all of the songs are superb and you'll find yourself foot-tapping and singing along.

You will enjoy this film if you are looking for something different and fun and you appreciate creative and original ideas in a movie. It really is a breath of fresh air and I hope the filmmakers and cast of this film go onto greater things as they absolutely deserve it!

Highly recommended.

Trying to improve his lot in life, a down-on-his-luck guy and perfectionist brother working at a news station who cover the story of a cult able to bring people back from the dead, and after an accident requires their help to bring him back which soon turns into an unforeseen apocalyptic scenario.

This was a fairly fun if somewhat problematic genre musical. One of the better features of this one comes from the fine setup that allows for a great context of the relationships involved so everything comes across with the proper context. Going in-depth on their relationship with the brother, getting everything handed to him without even trying, being respected and loved at work, and taking everything he wants including what is his more reserved and quiet brother also includes times where it seems to happen just for the sheer thrill of taking something his brother wants. This allows for a great starting point depicting how their lives are played out gives the accidental death and need for resurrection to give him back his shot at a normal life which is enhanced quite nicely with the hilarious songs that come in offering more of a clue into their psyche explaining what's going on. That offers the perfect counterpoint for the interactions that take place once the resurrection occurs and their relationship starts to change. With everything here coming across nicely with the central accident and the ensuing resurrection ceremony taking place in the middle of nowhere to make sure it goes off rather nicely, there's a strong start for the series of interactions that take place here introducing him back into humanity following the process with the station workers, the family members, or those who are in his immediate vicinity that delivers some hilarious confrontations trying to keep the zombie side from getting more prominent in his personality. It all leads into a strong finale offering the full extent of their plans in fine form. Realizing that their undead nature makes for a strong conflict with the more civilized means the rest of the world is trying to impose on them, the two set out to right the wrongs offered against them by the resurrection attempt that sets them off on a different path holding the cult hostage and bringing the friend group back together to stop them. This more mystical-based finale with the spell-casting, occult rituals, and use of cursed objects brings about some intriguing action. However, it does depart from traditional zombie fare that's somewhat expected here. It's more of an expectation issue than anything. Still, beyond that, it's really the main issue here beyond the tolerance for the musical bits interjected here that helps to bring about the comedic tone as well.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Eldritch USA was a really fun to watch! I enjoyed the story, songs and the actors very much. It really is unique in that it's a horror/comedy and a musical and it was honestly hysterical.

I totally expect this film to become a cult classic. It has a very, "Little Shop of Horrors," feel with the gore and the songs, but the story is very different. Two brothers are rivals at work and in life and a deadly accident puts one brother in the position to make a series of bad decisions that winds up changing not only his life, but the small town he lives in as well as many of the towns' people.

Don't want to give too much away though because you need to see this film!