The Black String

For some reason the reviews on here are trending negative. This is a paranoia-fuelled nerd ride to hell as the main character is in a dead end job bored to death with his best friend telling him he needs to get laid. One night he gets high and the TV tells him to phone a number to meet some mystery girl. He does. Chaos ensues. Evil abounds. Bad ending for my dude. It's a solid movie. It doesn't try to be huge. It is what it is. I rate it fully. Peace.

You know the deal with Amazon Prime Video, let's say that the quality of the films on offer aren't exactly going to set the world on fire. When I watch something on this platform I often find myself wondering "why the hell am I watching this crap?" But every now and then Amazon Prime throws up a decent movie and The Black String is one of those rare occasions.

The main protagonist is a lonely, sex-starved liquor store clerk. He has little in his life except his drawing and his job. One night, in desperation, he calls a "sexy singles in your area" hotline and, as luck would have it, hits the jackpot by going out on a date with an actual sexy single (and she IS sexy.) His luck continues when he actually gets to have sex with the sexy single, to him it's nigh on miraculous.

His luck runs out however when he wakes up to find her gone, leaving him with a very nasty rash. An STD? That quickly? Believe me when I say, he's going to wish it was an STD before the end of this film.....

The Black String is one of those ambiguous films where the protagonist is either the genuine victim of a conspiracy or simply as mad as a lorry. It doesn't make it easy on the viewer as every event could be interpreted either one way or the other. Even with the very downbeat ending it can be interpreted either way and, incidentally, the ending is very downbeat indeed.

It's actually not a bad film. It kept me entertained, the story was good, the acting decent and it held my attention throughout. There was very little gore, except for right at the end, but it wasn't gratuitous in any way. So, it's well worth a look.

This could have been a real B-dud, but a good script, a capable director and crew with talented, believable actors really pulled it off! With minimal sets, props or special effects, this is a truly suspenseful thriller from beginning to end. Frankie delivers a solid, sympathetic persona as Jonathan, dragging the audience with him as he desperately fights to find solutions to increasingly insurmountable circumstances. We are completely drawn into this story as it unfolds. I had low expectations to start, having been disappointed many times with other "thrillers," but was very pleasantly surprised by this edge-of-your-seat thriller. I really hope we'll see much more of Frankie Munizin future films, because he's really exhibited his award-winning talent here. I was rooting for Jonathan all the way, from beginning to the very end. Not a typical horror movie, thank goodness, although not a good choice for young children. I found it quite entertaining and worth my time. Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy!

There are horror movies where you really have to suspend your disbelief - way more than with others that is. Especially I reckon for fans of Muniz, who know him from something completely different. Sometimes it is quite tough to imagine a certain person as something else.

Also I reckon because of that or generally will not buy into the character he's portraying. But if you can overcome all these obstacles, there is some "fun" to be had. There is enough tension and there is ambiguity and enough horror plus thrill to keep this going til the end ...

Oded Fehr is in this movie, but isn't listed anywhere or on anything! Why? X.

The film itself is an interesting idea, but there are large chunks that could have been cut and it would have made NO difference to the film. Some of the effects were very good, but some were awful. I really enjoyed the imagery of the 'visions/hallucinations' and wanted more from that and the mythos behind it. It can be quite gory in places, so if that's not your thing, this might not be the film for you.

It's an interesting horror movie with elements of different genres, but it isn't going to change the world or cinema any time soon.