O Poço das Trevas

2023's movie The Well lures viewers with Lauren LaVera (Terrifier 2 & 3) as the protagonist, Lisa, who travels to a small Italian village to restore a medieval painting to its former glory. Little does she know that there's much more to the painting, as it is bound by an evil curse. On her way to the house where she is to meet the woman who hired her and her seemingly stubborn daughter, she also encounters three backpackers. The audience follows their parallel storyline, though not necessarily to flesh out their characters but for different reasons.

Lisa's father, a well-known art restorer, was unable to restore the painting himself, so he sent his daughter. It quickly becomes clear that their relationship is somewhat strained, as Lisa mentions he is a very strict man. The painting must be finished within two weeks because, as the owner says, it will be part of an exclusive auction in London. This sudden deadline catches Lisa off guard and puts pressure on her work, prompting her to start the restoration immediately. However, she quickly becomes distracted by various things, as her character is overly curious. This tendency is slightly annoying to watch because you know it will inevitably get her into trouble.

The movie has a good and creepy atmosphere, and the painting definitely carries a mysterious aura. The film has a nice vintage style and looks visually appealing overall. The acting is mostly fine, with Lauren LaVera particularly standing out as she carries most of the film's weight. True to its title, The Well includes scenes involving a well, but since the primary focus is on the painting, the title feels a bit misleading. Whenever the well is brought into the story, the film shifts toward a tone of torture porn and gore. These scenes, while unsettling and somewhat out of place, weren't entirely unwelcome, as I do enjoy some good gore-and the movie certainly delivers on that front.

In the third act, the different elements of the story come together, revealing the truth about the painting and the people surrounding it. Unfortunately, the ending feels a little rushed and leaves many things unexplained, which was disappointing. The film also includes many predictable elements, but overall, I had a decent time with it. While it's not groundbreaking, I think it's worth a watch for fans of the genre. [5,7/10]

It's been so long since I watched a good italian horror and here it is! Cinematography is quite great with its very interesting, beautiful shots. Every single scene is plenty of suspense, discomfort and tension, both in the manor and in the dungeons. Photography is amazing as well, using lights in different effective ways, by changing shades and colors up to the environment involved. Practical effects are absolutely perfect and they look like the ones from the 80's. What a cool choice! The ugly deaths and the characters are all beautifully pictured and the acting is great. Cruelty, gore, evilness and selfishness are served in cold blood with no escape at all!

When I read the synopsis, I thought:" great, finally a horror that isn't about some group of friends getting killed, or a family moving into a haunted house etc.". Well, sadly it doesn't deliver what it could have been.

The story starts with the main character, a painting restorator, travels to Italy for a (duh!) painting restoration job. Along te way she meets some guys, who are traveling to a different destination but end as prisoners in the same mansion.

Here it already starts to go wrong. The movie immediately descends into torture p0rn the moment those prisoners are shown, which distracts from the supernatural theme and add little to the story. And who is that fat inbred motherf'er walking down below ? Why is he wearing that goofy face paint ? He adds little to the story other than just being the person who carries out some mundane torture scenes.

The so-called well, that the movie is named after, actually plays a little negligible role in the whole scheme of things, and maybe a different title would be appropriate. The ending is a total letdown and anti-climax, with lackluster acting of nearly every character involved except maybe Lauren LaVera, who somewhat manages to carry the whole thing and make the best of it.

It's a shame, because this movie really had potential. Oh well, I'm sure all those low IQ gore hounds that infest the horror fan base will get some enjoyment out of this.

It's like lemonade. Little substance.

Were it not for the annoying sickening gore, it would be something to leave on in the background and occasionally glance up at.

With the gore you can't even do that.

Not once does it make you feel horrified, terrified, or thrilled in any way, and it doesn't grip you with intrigue, characters, or plot. You feel calm and occasionally disgusted. If the genre was called "disgust" instead of "horror" it would make sense. This way however, it's just not well made. If you want to watch gore go look at a slaughterhouse.

The cinematography is basic, the acting ok, the audio between irritating and incomprehensible. At one point a character repeatedly calls out for "tony". And i could have sworn it was "charlie"

It got 4 stars, because while it is nauseating and pointless, it isn't actively evil and damaging, and the plot is actually somewhat interesting.

There is very slow buid up. Plus the suspense they want to create that is also not engaging. I need 4 days to compete it !!

Still completed with skipping. There is only violence. No horror or no paranormal activity. You cannot make movie horrific by only using violence. Story is also boring and strange. Can't grip your audience. The actress did well with acting. What's with the well ??? There is better well in "Ring" movie. Here only cutting body parts makes you scare ! No scare also only feel weird. Expected good story but cannot match with even poster also. Only the tent scene is little scary.