User reviews

This was quite an interesting, quirky and original little film. Great concept with decent special effects, cgi and acting.

The main character, while you can tell he is a good actor, at times felt a little bit... too over the top. This could have been the directing or lack there of, who knows. It also got a bit repetitive in the middle which slowed it down a bit. I found the twist interesting and unexpected and it drew very interesting parallels within the concept that I appreciated.

Regardless, it was entertaining and a breath of fresh air as far as the originality of the concept goes. Would recommend.

As an avid Lovecraft fan, I kinda knew what I was in for and that it would have some good twists and cosmic lore. I was pleasantly surprised by the layers, actors and the very dark final twist, that gave it a delicious aftertaste. The movie wasn't perfect, but for a low budget cosmic horror movie, it was pretty great. I would have liked the main character to be written a little more cerebral and cool headed, but that's just me.

I think the part that made me cringe the most was all the touching of the toilet in the restroom. It set a pretty disgusting atmosphere, which turns out to be quite appropriate in the end.

Overall, very unique and entertaining.

The premise alone should let you know if this is for you. Are you the kind of person would be amused by a Lovecraftian monster in a rest stop glory hole? Does that appeal to your sensibility?

While clearly low brow, it doesn't cross the line into gross out territory as much as it could have, and stays as classy as a movie that takes place entirely in a bathroom possibly could. While there's little that's expressly funny or scary, there's an intrigue to the somewhat novel concept, keeping you interested in how it will all play out. I'll admit that a good deal of the novelty comes from an appreciation for J. K. Simmons, that dude rules, and even though he's never on screen, I can picture him delivering the lines, and that makes me smile a bit.

Its feel is reminiscent of a horror short made for a show like Cabinet of Curiosities or Tales From the Crypt, and with it's lean runtime, it's not too far off from one of those. It's eye on the prize simplicity delivers the goods before it wears out it's welcome, giving you just what you came for, nothing more, nothing less.

Originality, good actors, out of the box.

The only thing I can say is: start watching and you won't stop.

No big company would do such a creative movie.

While J. K. Simmons is a fan favorite, not even he could save this from the mediocrity of just MEH, nor could he do anything, apparently, about it dragging on and on and on and on, far past its turning-it-off point.

Tip: Spend your viewing time on something better. You're welcome.

Even though Glorious has a very short runtime of only 79 minutes, it feels a bit dragged out. This is the type of movie that work best as a 30 minute short film.

As other reviewers mentioned, this is an original movie. The concept is interesting, there are surprises and a twist i didn't see it coming. Kwanten's acting is wacky and weird, but this is a weird and insane movie and he did what he was supposed to do a character like "Wes". This is not a comedy-horror movie although there are many funny lines and scenes. I liked the comedy element and, generally, this movie kept my interest.

However, it's flawed. Just because it's original, doesn't mean that it's also brilliant. Or even just clever. There are moments that it was getting too weird/bizarre. I love weird/bizarre movies but, in order for a weird movie to be good, writers and directors should handle the subject very carefully and deftly/skilfully. Or else, their movie will look like a parody of what they imagined and try to achieve. There is a line between originality and creativity and this movie didn't cross it.

Too many movies, too little time. There are better movies to watch. However, if you have plenty of time and you love weird and original movies, you will probably like it. It's not a bad /dumb movie and, mainly, it makes sense. There are many movies today that, unfortunately, don't make much sense.

If you don't like weird movies don't watch Glorious because weird is an understatement. I was actually entertained by it and so was my wife. The whole movie is filmed at one location, in one room and that with basically only one actor. Well there are a couple more actors but their part is short. Sounds like ingredients for a disaster but it wasn't. Ryan Kwanten that I only know from the good show True Blood where he played Jason Stackhouse gave a convincing performance playing his character. J. K. Simmons is never visible, he plays the narrative voice, a voice that is very easily recognizable. The story is mysterious and that's what keeps you interested. As for the horror parts it's bloody and gross but it's well done considering the low budget it has. In short I've seen way worse horror movies than Glorious, a movie that is worth a one-time watch.

J. K. Simmons voice over is maybe the only reason you should watch this movie but seeing that so much else is stacked against that - writing/plot, effects, pacing, etc I don't think I can recommend it in the end.

It just feels like the director was incompetent here and didn't steer the movie in a firm enough direction.

Yes - this is absurd and a tad silly in places. Despite that, entertaining and worth watching. Original, different, and engrossing, I have no idea what the negativity is about. Enjoyable.

It was interesting for a while, it has it's moments but not enough for it's run time.

I could see it working better in a 30-40 min format with a different actor.

Glorious (2022) follows a man who is stuck in the rest stop toilets with a mysterious man talking to him from the adjacent stall. This film had a unique concept, but the execution was somewhat poor and it just didn't capture me attention as much as I was hoping. However there were some elements I liked and the ending really saved it for me!

The effects were fairly poor, but I do understand this was due to a lower budget, the cinematography was actually pretty good though! I liked some of the camerawork and angles and I really liked the bright, vibrant colour palettes!

The sound design was alright in this film, but didn't have anything special about it really. The soundtrack was decent and somewhat comedic at times, and the score was a bit odd and unfitting. Nearer the end, the score improved a lot and I wish it was like this all throughout the duration!

JK Simmons as the Voice was great casting, and he was so instantly recognisable! The acting and line delivery was all around pretty good, especially from Ryan Kwanten playing the lead, Wes. I wasn't keen on how his character was written at first, but did grow to like him a bit!

The humour was alright and got a couple of laughs out of me, but was a bit too ridiculous sometimes. I found the humour ruined the tension and was used too often, if it was a little more toned down I feel this could've worked better. The film had a few drastic tonal shifts for comedic effect, which somewhat worked.

The pacing for the film was alright, but a tad messy at times. For the most part I was entertained, although there wasn't much tension. The plot twist near the end was phenomenal and caught me off guard big time, it was by far the best part of the film. It had such a dark ending which I appreciated!

The last known good voice acting I heard was the one of HAL 9000 the artificial intelligence aboard the spacecraft Discovery One. Simmons gives an equally powerful performance that should immortalize him. This and his performance in The Ladykillers 2004.

Back to this film. It concerns elements of H. P. Lovecraft's lore coupled with a tense survival drama theme. If you like Clive Barker and Stuart Gordon movies, you'll be at home with this one.

However the film does have it's shortcomings. The special effects are meager. There are a lot of plot holes. The entire film is carried by two actors: Ryan Christian Kwanten plays the physical role while J. K. Simmons does the voice-acting part of the creature.

Christian Kwanten does an exceptional role but his and Simmon's talents are wasted on a pointless script and at times dubious direction. All in all, just about worth one's time.

I would recommend you to also watch Stuart Gordon's excellent movie From Beyond 1986 which has special effects from the acclaimed special effects wizard Mark Shostrom.

I loved the concept, and played the movie for friends at work, and overall thought this movie was pretty good. Depends on your taste and if you're like me, looking for original out of the box unique films who aren't afraid to cross traditional lines. Several of my coworkers called this movie great after I showed it to them. Fun ride if you're not a film snob.

It was funny, it was dark, it had great acting, great cast and like I said, loved the concept. The end makes the whole thing worth it so stick with it. That's all I have to say but imdb requires six hundred characters to leave review, so sorry. 🤷 .

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Even at 1h19m it feels like it drags for 2hrs! Pointless and aimless dialog.

It's just plain bad, who wrote this? Why is J. K Simmons involved in this? That's the only reason I gave it a chance in the first place.

A horror movie centered around a public restroom GLORYHOLE seemed absurd but this movie is surprisingly good! The back and forth dialogue between Ryan Kwanten and the Lovecraftian creature in the bathroom stall is really interesting, creepy and even at times quite funny (dark humor)! There's some blood & gore (not too much) and the creature FX are excellent!

As usual Kwanten's acting is fantastic and having J. K. Simmons as the voice of the creature was pure genius!

For a movie that basically takes place in 1 main setting i wasn't bored for even a second! VERY good movie!

And you thought the bathroom in Saw was bad.

Sookie's brother gets trapped in a disgusting rest stop bathroom with someone, or something, in the stall next to him. Additionally, his past is really gonna haunt him.

I thought this movie was just okay at first, but I stuck with it. And glad I did. It does get progressively better and gorier. There were some impressive shots, though nothing way out of the ordinary. The final decision our "hero" has to make totally adds on top of what he already had to endure. It was even hard on me to see, even after all the disgusting and completely unsanitary bathroom scenes.

It's super short - thank the gods. It knew when to quit and I liked the ending's interpretation. Totes recommended.

***

Final Thoughts: OH! Now I get the title, way after the movie concluded.

The bad; come on, when I wanna see a horror movie, better create a story with actors and with visuals that truly horrify me. But none of that. This is NOT horror at all.

There is one leading actor (unknown to me) who has no charisma whatsoever. That's a real problem, because this dude has gotta carry this movie. But he simply cannot act scared very well. At all.

The story gets more silly towards the end. At the start it wasnt thrilling either, but at the end it is laughably silly and terrible. AND tedious to watch....

This movie is the proof that you don't need to make your movie long and time consuming to make it enjoyable and intriguing. This is super gross and disgusting masterpiece. Why gross and disgusting? You'll understand once you've watched it. The movie is very simple, it only involved a few actors and actresses. The locations weren't much either. Just the road and a rest stop. But the plot is intriguing, a concoction of mystery, horror, comedy, drama and fantasy. Ryan Kwanten is really good at acting, no doubt about that. He's good at comedy, drama and horror. And the plot twist at the end really hits the spot as well. At least for me. That's why I had to rate this movie higher than 5. I wanted to give it a 7, but the grossness of it made me lower it to 6. I gotta warn you, if you're going to watch this, make sure you're not eating. Trust me. I'm doing you a HUGE favor here.

Glorious (2022) is a movie recently added to Shudder. The storyline follows a man who recently has something unfortunate happen between him and his girlfriend and now lives out of his car. He pulls over at a rest stop to get some rest and when he wakes up he uses the bathroom. Once in the bathroom he gets trapped inside and peer pressured into doing things by an intergalactic beast that to the naked eye appears to be a fancy truck stop glory hole...

This movie was directed by Rebekah McKendry (All the Creatures were Stirring) and stars Ryan Kwanten (Dead Silence), J. K. Simmons (Spider-Man), Tordy Clark (Anything's Possible), Sylvia Grace Crim (The Hunt) and André Lamar (First Wives Club).

This movie had a lot going for it. Ryan Kwanten delivers an amazing performance. JK Simmons was also a great choice as the voice of the creature. The settings are very well created. The bathroom reminded me of the cellar in Saw. The CGI horror effects were also good. The storyline itself was creative, unique and well executed. My biggest complaint is that I wanted more from this film. The intensity and horror elements needed to be taken a step further.

Overall, this is a solid addition to the horror genre and worth watching once. I would score this a solid 6/10.