The Seance

..if you know what to expect. This is a comedy/dialogue driven drama/horror, like a stage play. Not as brilliant as "Sleuth", not as funny as Polansky's "Carnage", not scary or gory. Nevertheless, it is funny, enjoyable, some fresh ideas and the actors are really good. I wouldn't call it innovative or exciting, but this has a delightful plot, and as i said, if you know what to expect, you'll like it. 6.8/10.

THE SÉANCE is a Gravitas Ventures production. And all that entails.

To ME, it entails two things. Firstly, as the Gravitas Ventures logo slithers off screen, I look for the ridges and troughs of the slug slime it leaves behind and secondly, I have to prepare myself to view a movie that is unconscionably execrable.

So imagine how shocked I was, shocked I say, when THE SÉANCE actually DIDN'T make me reflexively void my bowels. It was, and I gag as I say this, actually... kind of... good? Which in this case means not terrible.

Do remember that it was, after all, a Gravitas Ventures picture, and even though I actually enjoyed it, all of the boilerplate contract terms and conditions of a Gravitas Ventures abomination still apply. That is, bargain-basement production values, color balancing that makes you want to bathe, sound design where the soundtrack drowns out the dialogue, a single location set for the entire picture, and so on. Yep, it's all there.

And yet, though it astonishes me to admit it, the story was somewhat interesting and the acting didn't trigger retching. The two principles who were the only people on screen about 80% of the time, were actually, dare I say it, pretty good. The male lead even managed to be a little charming. He might go on to perform in real movies someday.

THE SÉANCE did go on one scene too long and ended with a clunk, but still, I actually would call it worth watching.

I'm viewing the whole experience as a Christmas miracle. But be careful, Gravitas Ventures putting out a decent picture could be a sign that Armageddon is upon us.

I really wanted to love this movie, I'm a big fan of supernatural themed horror so the story appealed to me. The acting from the two main characters is pretty good, some of the supporting cast not so much, but as they are not in the movie too long it doesn't distract from the enjoyment. Some of the things that did distracted from my enjoyment were this.

During some scenes, the background music (mournful cello of course) is often overwhelming and drowns out the dialogue. The female lead is quite an obnoxious character, and it becomes tiresome listening to her constant attempts at debunking, disbelief and general rudeness. And the ending was a bit of a damp squib.

The movie does have its good points though. The dialogue between the two leads in mostly snappy and they have some good chemistry. The story is interesting, if not overly original, or perfectly executed, but I'm guessing from some of the "special effects" it was not made with a blockbuster budget. Overall I did enjoy it, and it made me wanting to keep watching to the end. And I do like the phrase "Portable Poltergeist Panic Room" for its alliteration.

A sceptic attends a seance, and won't leave the house until she finds the truth.

Some nice ideas in this movie, treating the seance scenario as more than a gimmick in an attempt to dig down into character. The camera work is good, always trying out the interesting angle, and the location is used to the full to shape the story. This is mostly a two-hander, with decent performances as the characters lay out their conflicting beliefs through flashbacks to their pasts. Sometimes the music is interesting, with a mix of piano, strings and synth, although it does get laid on heavy in some talking scenes.

The big drawback is the dialogue, with way too much piled on when we can figure things out for ourselves, and way too much sarcasm even after the opening scene has pitched its sceptical credentials. That scene might have been better if the direction just concentrated on the actors' faces as they reacted to events, instead of having them butt in all the time, which would have made the piano episode really hit home with just a few lines. The Tracey-Hepburn patter between the two main characters is kinda annoying, although they do settle into an interesting antagonism. But even then, the tone gets misjudged, especially in a scene that repeats the lame humour of the phrase "portable poltergeist panic-room," completely deflating the spooky events that preceded it.

The psychology turns out simple in the end, which is disappointing because it seemed to be building on the interesting idea of ghosts as people in wave, rather than particle, form, which could have mapped on to how we deal with each other emotionally. The resolution has the right idea, but goes on too long.

Overall: Plenty to chew on, but the writing watered it down.

Ps. What's with the roccata in the music credits?

I am not a writer by any means and am proudly left-brained, but the guy who did this is a natural for crafting dialogue. Any horror fan knows it's nearly impossible to have a completely unique idea within the genre, so other elements are essential to keeping your interest, and the conversation between the two heroes is witty, fleshed out, and most importantly, realistic (except one part). Even the science behind the happenings sounds reasonable enough to a layman like me. While you will likely get annoyed with the constant naysaying from the gal, it's obviously necessary to the plot so you just have to accept that. The horror elements in particular are REALLY good at points as you build emotional connections with the reason for everything as opposed to the norm of "me demon, me bad." When a person is going towards an area they probably shouldn't, you really feel it and the eerie elements are well executed, especially with the main villain who looks like something to truly fear.

That being said, once the side character supernaturals are revealed, you can sense the low budget nature of it all and it would have served the film better to just NOT show anything, or keep it as out of focus shots, as the "Shakespeare in the Park" vibes you get from the spirits dampers things. Another small offset is when the heroes are immediately resigned to doom and just start joking about it all. While the lighthearted banter is the solid backbone of the story, it needed to keep the stakes high at the appropriate moment.

All in all though the acting was spot on, the dialogue beguiles you, and the horror elements will meet 100% of your daily-recommended allowance. I really hope the writer continues in this field, but to be honest he would knock a rom-com out of the ballpark...just don't cast Jimmy Fallon for that one!

Side note: It's really aggravating there was a teen horror flick with a similar name released in the same year, making this nearly impossible to find via search engine. I hope this gets entered into some festivals and gains noteriety.

(I rate movies based on expectations. You can't put Sharknado on the same scale as Jaws.)