Charismata

Actually wanted to like 'Charismata', and yes there was the intention to judge the film for myself after watching it and even more intention to judge it fairly. Both have always been the case with me when it comes to reviewing a film. The idea was attention-grabbing, psychological horror has worked brilliantly numerous times on film and it didn't look too bad, so there was potential.

Potential that could have been lived up to far more. 'Charismata' was not a waste of time but it is a long way from a must watch from personal opinion. Didn't regret watching it and didn't find that my intelligence was insulted, something that cannot be said for some other films seen recently, it just doesn't come together as much as it could have done.

Lets start with the good things. 'Charismata' is very promising in its early stages, it does draw one right in, sets things up promisingly and has an eerie vibe. It's a decent looking film, with the setting giving off the right amount of unease and the photography has atmosphere, the bleakness suiting the tone of the film well. The music is haunting and not too obvious or intrusive.

Generally the acting was better than average and even quite good from some, few over-compensate and nobody looks uncomfortable or robotic. Sarah Beck Mather carries the film beautifully. There are some welcome moments of levity, some creepy unsettling atmosphere and the questioning of Faraway's sanity moments were intriguing and suspenseful.

However, while the characters don't annoy mostly there could have been much more development to them. Jamie Satterthwaite's character came over as a caricature and it grated at times like when we first meet him. The script is an overload of awkwardness and the direction is at best lethargic. The low budget does frequently show, especially in the less than polished though thankfully not overused visual effects. 'Charismata's' biggest issue is the story. There is not enough tension, suspense or dread, with the scares infrequent and more often than not are rather routine and obvious.

'Charismata' is dull too often despite starting off so well, with less prolonged pauses that just stalled everything and some scenes that could have been shorter or even trimmed. The psychological element does intrigue to begin with but lacks surprises and there are moments where it's vague and silly. The writers should have come up with an better ending than the pointless cop-out not-knowing-how-to-end-the-film-like one in the film and the build-up to it was silly.

In conclusion, has good things but doesn't come together. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Charismata is billed as a psychological horror from co directors Tor mian and Andy Collier. As with all independent productions you're never sure what to expect but I have to say that with Charismata I was pleasantly surprised. Even after the first few scenes the quality of cinematography, colour grading and acting performances assured me that I was about to experience a polished offering.

The storyline revolves around Rebecca Faraway (Sarah Beck Mather) a homicide detective working with her partner Eli Smith (Adonis Anthony) on a series of gruesome sacrificial murders. As the investigation progresses she begins to experience an increasing amount of disturbing visions and hallucinations leading her to question her own sanity. After being asked to take a back seat on the case she independently digs deeper to try to find a link between her visions and the prime suspect, property magnet Michael Sweet leading to a cat and mouse chase with an occultist mad man where the line between reality and insanity becomes more and more unclear. With good to great cast performances and an unobtrusive but excellent score Charismata in not without its faults but they are far outweighed by its positives.

A rookie female detective cracks under the pressure of dealing with a constant stream of misogyny from her douchey colleagues while hunting an occultist serial killer who turns his supernatural(?) powers against her. I enjoyed this.

The good

Like the other Brit film Kill List from a few years ago, there is a weird, gritty-yet-off-kilter vibe running all the way through this. Like David Lynch directed an episode of Cops, but in England. I liked.

Sarah Beck Mather is just superb as the lead. One of the best female horror leads in a while. In the first scenes she looked as bitchy as the men, but you soon see that this is a shield she puts up and she's already close to cracking.

The bad

Pacing problem. The first part was very slow and the gloriously fun last part seemed rushed. If they took 10 minutes from the start and added 10 to the end then the movie might have been outstandingly good.

The ugly

After using some really effective practical effects for most of the run time, the last minute was full of schlocky low budget horror CGI.

Overall. Not quite as good as Kill List, but still pretty good and well worth your time.

Even if you never had to learn police work like the rest of us plebs, anybody with a TV knows that it takes three bodies to make a serial killer. You know what I'm saying, you're just being pedantic.

Take the brilliant movie "Se7en" and replace the two inspectors Somerset and Mills with a duo that can't get along and where one of them is female, then you get something similar as "Charismata". Only it's far from brilliant in terms of acting and the narrative. And even though Mills was a bit cocky and a wiseass in "Se7en," there was also mutual respect. That doesn't really apply to Rebecca (Sarah Beck Mather) and Eli (Andonis Anthony). Eli is an arrogant and obnoxious guy who always sees an opportunity to belittle his partner.

But honestly, most people in this film are blessed with an ugly personality. The two inspectors, who assist in the investigation, constantly spit sexist statements and never take Rebecca seriously. She's the daughter of the commissioner. So remarks about her job being dropped in her lap, are commonplace. Even the pharmacists are terribly unfriendly and snippy. I'm starting to believe the U.K. is inhabited with bad-tempered and unfriendly people. But believe me, the constantly unfriendly atmosphere started to annoy me.

Also in "Charismata", they have to deal with an insane serial killer. The victims follow each other rapidly. The one murder even more horrifying than the other. Unfortunately, the first one shown, is the only one that's off the same level as those in "Se7en". A dark room in a dilapidated building where the rats have feasted on a half-decayed corpse. This looked fairly realistic and horrifying. The satanic images and carved numbers in the wall make it mysterious. Unfortunately, the design of the following victims wasn't so successful. They were just stand-ins covered with lots of fake blood. Probably the budget for special effects was already exhausted after the first corpse.

What are the most successful aspects of "Charismata"? First, there's Jamie Satterthwaite, who plays the snobbish Michael Sweet. A yuppie and partner of a company trading in real estates. And their estates are mostly the location where a victim is discovered. Michael Sweet is for me the most sublime appearance in this movie. His charisma and mysterious smile. He's as innocent as a lamb and laughs off every accusation. A character who could easily play the role of Bateman in "American Psycho".

The next positive point in this movie is the way in which Rebecca's mental instability is portrayed. The reason why she has a psychological problem is solidly substantiated. A messy divorce. A brutal ex. Selling her apartment goes awry. Unfriendly colleagues who treat her disrespectfully. And then also a stressful case with a serial killer with nauseating crime scenes as a result. Then there's the fact that she takes antidepressant medication with a lot of alcohol. So it's no surprise she's having hallucinations. And those hallucinations are worked out magnificently. No exaggerated effects and some adequately executed scare moments. Or aren't these hallucinations?

Is "Charismata" a decent film you should definitely watch? Looking at the plus and the negative points, you'd say that it's well balanced. Such that it can be called an average film. Indeed. Even though the acting is sometimes of a "Coronation Street" level and the story is rather superficial, you can't say it's extremely bad. But that feeling is completely undermined by the terrible, meaningless ending. It's flat n'inane beyond belief. The run-up to this wasn't bad. It even became gross at a certain moment. But the denouement creates some forehead-frowning, after which you wonder why on earth you've watched it. It seemed as if the makers realized they needed an end and there was no creative inspiration left. Too bad, because the film surely had potential.

Direction /acting/ scenes so so. cinematography so so. sound and soundtrack close to nothing. cant watch it all. the end seemed ok, too bad I wasn't following what before. check out The Steindhal Syndrome for a much better experience.