shelliiaae

Full review, & a short review

The SHORT - Good idea, bad execution...making it half a love story, & a usual 115 pound boss babe fighting huge CGI monsters in a film tone that feels & looks way more like a comic book movie than it does a dark, gritty, action/SCI FI horror film. Could've been REALLY good. Del Toro or Sam Rami could've done amazing things with this... but feels like Joss Weeden made it. HOUR LONG love story really hurt it for me. It was so unnecessary...

The LONG - This was a great idea. Unfortunately it didn't play out great...

You've got the all too common, 115 pound boss babe soldier that is taking on monsters, throwing them around... it never stops feeling ridiculous no matter how many films do this.

You've got CGI monsters that tbh feel as if they were meant to be in Pirates of the Caribbean. Which are not all that unique really... & the CGI is only just passable...

Of course they have to give us nearly an HOUR of a boring love story... the whole idea behind them breaking the contact rules is eye rolling, & boring... I kept hitting skip 10 sec over & over.

A lot of things are way too on the nose. They have to tell the audience how hardcore each of them is, of course ... the 115 pound little girl is the most hardcore. They leave nothing for the audience to figure out.

The story itself was what really took me out... it feels as if this was written to be a dark, very serious world with horror & dread... mixed w/ SCI FI, but the way it's filmed, & the excess of CGI monsters, the tone/coloring, & shots make it feel much more like some sort of comic book film. I get a sense that it was written as well to feel gritty & real... but again... it has the tone & look of a comic book movie. You'll figure out what's going on way before the characters do, & despite actually having a pretty unique premise... it ends up being incredibly cliche, & by the numbers type. Nothing will surprise you, or scare you. Unfortunately, even the weapons don't sound all that great... the same CGI bland gun play as most films.

This could've been a better version of UNDERWATER, only above ground... but feels more like Pirates of the Caribbean.

It's not BAD... it's just sad that such a unique idea somehow managed to end up being so cliche & so much like too much else.

There was absolutely ZERO need for the love story. There are way easier ways they could've had them both end up where they did without forcing an hour long love story onto us...

Idea - 8/10 Story - 5/10 Cinematography - 7/10 Sound - 5/10 Acting - 7/10 CGI - 6.5/10 Rewatch - 3/10.

I'm going to keep this brief. I'll just make a few points!

I liked it a lot. I'm very big on locations, & this was able to bring this old brooding world alive. It felt lived in. It didn't feel filmed on a set.

This is big for ME, others may not care... the sex. I get so tired of sex in horror, especially graphic sex. I am so happy to be able to say, it's implied more than shown. If anyone worries if they can watch with family or whatever due to that awkwardness? I'd say it's pretty safe. Even the topless scene, her hair covers her. I'm very conservative, but I'd be willing to let my 16 yr old nephew watch it. The gore may be another issue though lol

The monster. I'm a sucker for any cool monster design. They did a really good job here! The voice is apparently all natural/real too, and his voice gives off an aura of power, & ancient knowledge. I almost had a feeling of him as some ancient dragon.

I waited about 9 months for this film, & overall I'll say.... I wasn't disappointed. I do think we could've gotten more with Orlock, and I kinda selfishly wish he was like 12 feet tall haha. But...

If you're a horror buff, if you're into monster films, or non-traditional (which oddly, this traditional vampire is no longer the norm) vampires? I think you'll enjoy it.

Lilly Rose Depp was actually AMAZING!!!! I was worried removing Anna Taylor Joy would've been a big mistake ... Lilly killed it!