Tic-Tac: A Maternidade do Mal

Clock is a particularly female-oriented horror film.

So I'm not sure that I am the right person to be reviewing.

As, in the film, we find ourselves following Ella (played by Dianna Agron), who is facing the ticking of her biological clock, and all the anxieties that come with it.

Doctors seem to think she suffers from a syndrome, that instills a deep seeded fear about having children within her.

So it doesn't help that she feels pressured to have children by her family and friends...not to mention, nature, itself.

As a result, she subjects herself to a series of grueling psychological tests, at an institute that is studying women with her condition.

A series of tests that force her to confront the underlying darkness that has prevented her from having children up until this point.

This darkness seems to be a trait inherited from cultural trauma, passed down through the generations.

A trauma relating to her Jewish ancestry, and the experience her family went through during WWII.

With these rigorous psychological tests bringing her underlying anxieties to the surface...in the form of a series of bizarre hallucinations.

Making the whole thing a psychological horror.

As this darkness starts to consume her life.

And affect her relationship with her friends.

Particularly the pregnant ones.

The name of the film comes a grandfather clock her father owns, which is her family's most prized heirloom.

Being the only thing they managed to salvage from the war.

So it, not only, symbolizes the pressure she feels to procreate...but might also harbour a dark supernatural force...which has been preventing her from wanting to bring children into such a broken world.

It all seems to be pretty straight forward, until they throw a bit of a twist in at the end.

Which solidifies her descent into madness.

A result of the manipulation she feels she is being put through.

Agron does an excellent job, portraying a woman spiraling out of control, as a result of the transition from potential motherhood, to being a crone.

Ultimately leading to the film's unexpected conclusion (even when the hints are there).

I see that this film has been garnering some rather harsh reactions - mostly, from male viewers.

But I don't think they are warranted.

Because it is both an entertaining, and engaging, film.

That held my attention throughout.

But don't take my word for it...cause I'm just a dude.

As only middle aged, and post menopausal, women can truly understand.

5.5 out of 10.

This Psychological horror about a woman running out on her biological clock and falling prey to the peer pressure to have a baby. She decides undergo an experimental study where she is promised to overcome her fears and fix her broken biological clock to ensure her pregnancy well by triggering her need to have a baby. The fear she has stems from her family's past and her own mindset where she feels just not ready yet. But is the procedure she signed up for, devoid of negative side effects? How does it impact her and her life forms rest of the story.

This is truly an intriguing concept and there are unsettling scenes. The problem is the pace is rather too slow and despite those key scenes which do work, the film as a whole simply doesn't. The peer pressure to have a kid is understandable but those scenes weren't established properly as Ella's dynamics with her friends wasn't etched well. The same thing happens with the family and much of it is told verbally. The unsettling scenes don't scare. The ending however was indeed good. Needed a much tighter narrative to leave an impact.

I really enjoyed this movie. I found it to be relatable as another woman who doesn't want children. Nowadays I know more women who don't want children than do and I think its great. How many of us repeatedly have been asked when we are going to have children is so obnoxious and its very insulting, but unfortunately that's the world we live in.

I really enjoyed the conversation the protagonist had with the doctor as to why she doesn't want to bring a child into this world. It really resonated with me. Her reasoning is due to her ancestors living through the holocaust and why she wouldn't want to bring a child into this world. I don't want to give anything away, but that scene was very thought provoking.

This movie won't be for everyone, but for those able to look at things objectively I think you will enjoy it. I can see myself rewatching it again in a few years since it's a story that sticks in your mind.

Despite what some of the reviewers say...yes. There are some very insightful things that are addressed in the story. But it doesn't pay off in the end, in my opinion. It's a bit confused, i think...part of it a commentary on child bearing/rearing and part of it a horror story. But i don't feel the two blended well...maybe in two or three rewrites, but it felt like it was still a work in progress and found itself needing an ending which wasn't at all satisfying. Just a 'let's do this and get it over with' type last act...the first two acts were enjoyable, though. And endings are difficult. But important.

A movie where time is the enemy? Why not? And not just biological clock but time itself, where an actual clock is the devil himself A movie rich with symbolism and ideas, at times to many ideas at once which sometimes takes the movie off the rails.

There are many aspects to the story: A satire dressed as horror. A black comedy dressed in blackest of black. Or a psychological thriller. That's the strength of the story, it's multifaceted aspects.

As mentioned the director wants to tell a lot. Above all about pregnancy and why choosing to not wanting children is taboo even today. Is that really what our society is about? Are you really a woman if you choose to not have children?

But it also tells about heritage and legacy. What is a legacy worth if you choose to go without children? But there is also something to say about time itself..

Where the movie ultimately fails is that there is not enough plot to warrant a feature film. The middle of the film basically feels like one giant filler story, only there to transport you to the ending. You can only so much with body horror scenes.

Had it been a short film the themes and execution would have worked much better. But it is not a bad movie at all, at least it will make you think..