IMDb RATING
5.5/10
6.9K
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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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Now this review might sound a bit biased for some, I'm genuinely more scared of atmospheric slow-burn horror movies that tend to creep me out and cause goosebumps every now and then, psychological horror works more for me rather than bombastic and annoying jumpscares without substance, now with that said, therein lies the problem.
Z at first glance ticks the right boxes, it reminded me of Babadook, it started to resemble Hereditary which i was ready to embrace it as, but while those comparisons kept upping the ante as they escalated in both tone and their scare factor, Z on the other hand, does nothing despite having a easy to follow plot with one eerie twist that i wish they did more with, since this isn't a spoiler review i wont bother to give any details on that, but it became a make or break situation.
To summarize Z, it had a promising set up, there were genuinely scary moments that made my hair raise, but the last portions alongside no clear direction completely killed the momentum for me.
Final verdict: 6
Had it not been for the promising start and creep factor in some moments, i would've knocked the score by 2 and left it at 4.
Z at first glance ticks the right boxes, it reminded me of Babadook, it started to resemble Hereditary which i was ready to embrace it as, but while those comparisons kept upping the ante as they escalated in both tone and their scare factor, Z on the other hand, does nothing despite having a easy to follow plot with one eerie twist that i wish they did more with, since this isn't a spoiler review i wont bother to give any details on that, but it became a make or break situation.
To summarize Z, it had a promising set up, there were genuinely scary moments that made my hair raise, but the last portions alongside no clear direction completely killed the momentum for me.
Final verdict: 6
Had it not been for the promising start and creep factor in some moments, i would've knocked the score by 2 and left it at 4.
"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 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.
Good suspence at the beginning
However it faded further into the movie
It could have been better however
I've seen worse
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
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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