A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
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"Z" is a not half bad little horror flick from Canada.
The best way I can describe it is a "Drop Dead Fred" 1991 "Boogeyman" 2005 mash up. Or put another way, the imaginary friend from hell.
Much of what takes place, at first feels psychological but that notion is soon dismissed, as things take a very real turn for the worse.
The atmosphere established in one rooted in family with a child like quality that soon darkens. Family harmony is transformed into violence, menace, terror and a hint of madness. its handled well with solid production values backed by decent acting.
There are at least two scare opportunities, I noted, that could have been developed a little further had extra time been taken to consider what makes horror "tick".
That said, I feel there's a lot more to like here than not. Its creative, subtle and eerily spooky. No small thing in a film world filled with beige knock offs, of knock off's.
7/10 from me.
The best way I can describe it is a "Drop Dead Fred" 1991 "Boogeyman" 2005 mash up. Or put another way, the imaginary friend from hell.
Much of what takes place, at first feels psychological but that notion is soon dismissed, as things take a very real turn for the worse.
The atmosphere established in one rooted in family with a child like quality that soon darkens. Family harmony is transformed into violence, menace, terror and a hint of madness. its handled well with solid production values backed by decent acting.
There are at least two scare opportunities, I noted, that could have been developed a little further had extra time been taken to consider what makes horror "tick".
That said, I feel there's a lot more to like here than not. Its creative, subtle and eerily spooky. No small thing in a film world filled with beige knock offs, of knock off's.
7/10 from me.
I hadn't even heard about the movie "Z" from writers Brandon Christensen and Colin Minihan before I happened to stumble upon it by random luck. I picked it up, and the movie definitely had a horror sensation to the cover, so of course I needed no persuasion to sit down awn watch this 2019 movie.
While the storyline definitely had good moments, the movie was flawed. It was flawed to the point where it ultimately failed to raise above mediocrity. I mean, the concept of an imaginary friend being real has been used many times before, for sure. But the atmosphere in the movie was so foreboding and brooding that director Brandon Christensen had me expecting something grand when the imaginary friend, Z, was finally revealed...
In came a most atrocious CGI rendering of an abstract humanoid creature. Uhm, okay, what just went wrong there? The CGI was so bad that the movie almost lost me entirely in the curve. It was so atrocious to bear witness to, and the entire atmosphere and dread that was built up, vanishes like darkness before the rising sun.
The acting in the movie was good, just a shame that the movie was sort of restrictive in what they had to work with. I mentioned the storyline being good. And well, it was. But it just felt like the movie didn't really reach its fullest potential. And the ending of the movie was just a bit forced - predictable even. And for a horror movie, then "Z" was frightfully devoid of scary parts. I think the most scary part about the entire movie was actually the massive drawing that the child made on the wall - it was actually downright impressive.
All in all, not a bad movie, but hardly a memorable one either. I am rating "Z" a mediocre five out of ten stars - as the atrocious CGI killed it for me. I sat through the entire movie, as was adequately entertained, but this is hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.
While the storyline definitely had good moments, the movie was flawed. It was flawed to the point where it ultimately failed to raise above mediocrity. I mean, the concept of an imaginary friend being real has been used many times before, for sure. But the atmosphere in the movie was so foreboding and brooding that director Brandon Christensen had me expecting something grand when the imaginary friend, Z, was finally revealed...
In came a most atrocious CGI rendering of an abstract humanoid creature. Uhm, okay, what just went wrong there? The CGI was so bad that the movie almost lost me entirely in the curve. It was so atrocious to bear witness to, and the entire atmosphere and dread that was built up, vanishes like darkness before the rising sun.
The acting in the movie was good, just a shame that the movie was sort of restrictive in what they had to work with. I mentioned the storyline being good. And well, it was. But it just felt like the movie didn't really reach its fullest potential. And the ending of the movie was just a bit forced - predictable even. And for a horror movie, then "Z" was frightfully devoid of scary parts. I think the most scary part about the entire movie was actually the massive drawing that the child made on the wall - it was actually downright impressive.
All in all, not a bad movie, but hardly a memorable one either. I am rating "Z" a mediocre five out of ten stars - as the atrocious CGI killed it for me. I sat through the entire movie, as was adequately entertained, but this is hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.
I will watch pretty much any horror movie that looks halfway decent, and I have to say, this one did scare me a few times. Yes, there were some silly jump scares, but there were also some Really effective ones, and some parts literally freaking me out, and that very rarely happens. Honestly I can't remember the last time I even got a little bit scared at horror movie, so that's gotta say something right?! Some of the scares were really affective, others not as much, but I thought this one was really pretty damn entertaining. The actors are really good too, especially the mother. I'm not saying it's anything super original, but if you're watching this in one alone in the dark around midnight, you're bound to get a more than a little freaked out in parts, which is what you want in a horror movie right? I guess my point is that I was pleasantly surprised considering the amount of crap that gets put out these days, especially in the Horror genre. This year in particular they have been consistently pretty terrible, so when you find a decent one it makes you want to praise it for actually having some sort of affect on you. It may not be one that will Leave a lasting impression, but I doubt you will be disappointed. For a unheard of movie, with no PR, or word of mouth, it was nice to find it amongst the recent barrage of trash that passes for horror movies these days. Just sit back and enjoy it.
I watched this movie last night and thought it was pretty good! Keegan Connor Tracy is just such a phenomenal actress and she shines in this film. it's not "scary" per se but the film does have a sense of dread/creepiness throughout much of it. there are a couple of shocking moments in the film that thankfully didn't feel like "jump scares" (i can't stand lame/cheap jump scares). one scene in particular made me gasp and yell out "HOLY CRAP!". lol. it's definitely a good drama/horror movie with very good acting from the entire cast.
I didn't expect this movie to be great, but it quickly got my attention and I thought it was going to surprise me. It did, but not in a good way.
I appreciate the fact that this is another "imaginary friend isn't imaginary" tale yet managed to be original. Unfortunately it was a little too odd and there were too many things that just didn't make sense or weren't plausible. I was so disappointed by the end.
I appreciate the fact that this is another "imaginary friend isn't imaginary" tale yet managed to be original. Unfortunately it was a little too odd and there were too many things that just didn't make sense or weren't plausible. I was so disappointed by the end.
Did you know
- TriviaDeborah Ferguson's debut.
- GoofsEarly in the film, Beth drops Josh off at Vincent Massey School, which happens to be a real school in Calgary, Alberta. Later, however, at about 12m, Josh's Red Cards (discipline notices) say "Coleman's Elementary School."
- Quotes
[last lines]
Joshua Parsons: Goodnight Mom, Goodnight Dad, Goodnight Aunt Jenna, Goodnight Mossy
[after a long pause]
Joshua Parsons: Goodnight... Z!
- Crazy creditsThere's a special message from the director towards the end of the credits that reads "Brandon Christensen would like to thank his wife Alissa for her inspiration for Z. She has had a hard few years to say the least, but her strength and has [sic] kept our family running smoothly. He would also like to thank his parents Rod and Brenda for once again letting him live with them while he makes another film."
- ConnectionsReferences Les Démons du maïs (1984)
- How long is Z?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- 鬼友
- Filming locations
- Alberta, Canada(Western Canadian Province)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $788,597
- Runtime
- 1h 23m(83 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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