User reviews

The idea of souls trapped in paintings and thus haunting a house wherever the paints go is pretty unique. It's that classic horror of "the paintings move/eyes follow me" that surprisingly is rarely seen in horror films. The story of how the painting became possessed by a demon was also pretty good, although it took a lot of expiation during the final third of the movie to finally catch the audience up. And the character development of the kids was also decent. Usually a movie will just show some basic family drama with little to no resolution, or they just magically get along at the very end. Here tho there is clear animosity from the older teenage daughter towards her much younger sister (cliche sure), but as the movie develops we see them not only start to repair their relationship but by the end actually the older daughter takes on a much more nurturing relationship towards her little sister. So props to the movie having some actual character development. The movie is also set in the 1960s which, while it never really shows this era well beyond a few scenes, it at least removes the problem of having cell phones, internet etc of the modern era.

Where the movie misses marks for me are the parents, aka the actual main characters. For some reason this movie had to follow the modern trope of making the dad a jerk and sex obsessed while making the mom the universal victim despite being the least caring woman on the planet. And the sad thing is the dad actually does a lot to protect his kids while his wife is always gone doing her own thing, yet somehow we are still meant to see him as the bad guy. And to have him randomly just shout during a normal conversation with zero provocation is just unhinged on the writers part. People don't act like that.

If the writers got their heads out of their you know what, this could've been a solid flick.

I wasn't expecting much from The Painted and was surprised at how many points it got right. Well shot, with some excellent special effects, some good suspense and genuinely creepy at times, it showed real effort if at times not exactly succeeding. The acting was kind of all over the place, but it was the casting that really failed. It seems the 5 leads, all playing a family, did not seem related in any way at all. The actor playing the son looked way too old and the actress playing his teenage sister was excellent but neither she or the young girl seemed related to him at all. It was almost as if they chose 5 random actors with no thought that this was suppose to be a believable family. The effort to recreate the 1960s also was a big fail. Still I enjoyed this and it even had one scene, bordering on funny but extremely realistic that I loved. Worth a one time watch.

I had never heard about this 2024 horror movie titled "The Painted" from writer and director Sasha Sibley prior to stumbling upon it by sheer chance here in 2025. And given my love of all things horror, and with this being a horror movie that I had never seen, of course I opted to check it out.

And I will say that the movie's synopsis certainly sounded interesting enough. Writer Sasha Sibley put together an entertaining and enjoyable enough script and storyline. I have to say that I really did like the concept idea with the paintings.

While I was not familiar with the majority of the actors and actresses on the cast list, then I will say that the acting performances were good. I do enjoy watching unfamiliar and new talents on the screen whenever I watch a movie. I do believe that the only familiar face on the screen for me was actor Sean Bridgers.

The special effects in the movie were good and helped further the movie's narrative nicely.

"The Painted" is a watchable horror movie, no doubt about that. But it was hardly an outstanding foray into the horror genre, and the movie just doesn't warrants more than a single viewing. But maybe newcomers to the horror genre will enjoy the movie way more than I did, as a seasoned horror veteran.

My rating of writer and director Sasha Sibley's 2024 movie "The Painted" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Basically that...

What I did like about it was it's very old fashioned style. None of the OTT flourishes that permeate Horror films these days. No extreme sadism or violence. No annoying overacting.

And, like others here have said, it is a good concept, rather imaginative, and I thought the visuals were done well, especially in the way they blended the 'Real' with the Unreal (I don't want to give too much away...)

Also, with many films like this where a family is going through this kind of stuff, usually the acting is not so hot with a lot of the Drama overdone, etc. In this case, I really did like the way the characters were developed (primarily the parents, the children really didn't have much to do) and their reactions and the way they dealt with each other, particularly in dramatic or uncomfortable scenes, were very well done, realistic, and believable.

Also, like some others have said here too, the ending is probably not as effective as it could be, finishing with a bit of a whimper...

But, if you are not expecting a super modern Horror movie with all kinds of extreme violence and effects and such and can appreciate an older fashioned yet imaginative style, then you might find this one fairly entertaining. I gave it a decent '6'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed enough probably to give it a pass.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

I appreciate the challenges that come with a low-budget production, and I made an effort to manage my expectations while watching. The horror concept is fresh and intriguing but lacks support from the cast's performances and script. The lead actress's expressions could have been more nuanced, though the older daughter demonstrated stronger acting skills.

I appreciate the seamless movement of the paintings, particularly when one is reflected in the mirror. This aspect of the movie truly stands out to me and enhances my overall enjoyment. If a more talented cast were assembled or if this concept were integrated into the Conjuring franchise, it could enhance the film's overall potential.

The movie itself looks fine, but me and my partner (within the first 5 minutes) thought the painting in the beginning looked off. The title sequence also had an odd, unusual appearance, somethinf in between 2D and 3D animation. Turns out, as i started looking closer, i could see the mistakes and weird direction. It's certainly generative AI and it's a shame that this movie had to rely on cheap, bad graphics with dubious sources stolen from real artists.

It's truly upsetting that they could not even half ass a commission some paintings from an artist, or go to a thrift store and just buy some. I can't in good faith recommend this movie.

"The Painted" is one of those films that gets overlooked - at first - but then captures the human imagination and produces a cult classic. A definite watch!

This is a story about a house full of paintings and the couple that inherits it. The paintings are mostly portraits of high quality. I won't spoil the plot by adding more detail here, except to say that the paintings reveal "The Painted".

This is an excellent, rather novel plot that tells itself once conceived. You will experience more than one chill and shiver and I'll wager that you jump several times, too. You can't get that kind of feeling from Hollywood these days, but you can mos def get it from this indy production.

If you want to experience something spine-tingling new, then you should pop some corn, roast a dog, kick back and get ready for a scary ride as you marvel at "The Painted"!

This movie is best described as just another generic horror film. The concept is not very original, although the idea involving the paintings was somewhat intriguing at first. Unfortunately, the film fails to build any real tension or establish an atmosphere strong enough for the scares to be effective. The visual effects were also underwhelming and turned what should have been frightening moments into unintentionally laughable attempts to scare the audience.

With a major studio like Blumhouse attached, this could have been more enjoyable and better in quality, even though many of their recent releases have also become quite formulaic. Just imagine if Mike Flanagan had directed it. He could have turned the story into a powerful supernatural horror film. As it stands, the movie is forgettable and lacks anything that sets it apart from the flood of horror content released these days.

The acting is decent, and the overall production quality is fine aside from the effects. However, that alone is not enough to make the movie entertaining. It is certainly not a terrible watch, but it does not offer much to look forward to. Sadly, that makes it pretty forgettable overall, which is one of the worst things a movie can be. [4.9/10]

I was keen to watch it this movie because i saw a video on facebook. But the movie is low budget which makes the watching experience a bit naaah! The story is fine... but the movie being low budget make it a bit boring watch... predictable.

Normal horror movie. If it had a bit more finances may be it would be a box office success The story is pretty good considering the movie today but they have pretty low focus on the main story of the haunting....it looks rushed up... If they had got more prominent actors it could have been nice. Also it doesn't explain the orgin story that well... so it seems like abrupt...

The introduction of the film was well done,I was fooled into thinking it'd be the early couple at the start of the movie. The core of the story is a nice break from jump scares,CGI shortcuts,and actual lighting effects to establish a spooky atmosphere. The acting was fine,I'd say it was "TV movie" accurate. But they all delivered,even with the briefest of screentime. While there is nudity,it's tastefully done,not a distraction at all from the scenes. This could develop into a series,even if it's pushed to streaming. Im hoping for an eventual sequel set in present day,I think with maybe a graffiti twist to the story lore. I'd gladly rewatch this movie and recommend it to friends!

What a cool surprise! A fresh take on an old idea. There have been movies that use pictures & mirrors as portholes, but there is alot more going on here.

A woman is contacted & informed that she is the executor of her cusions estate. Her family travels to the house where odd events begin. The house is filled with paintings of the decendants of the original owner and at night the paintings come alive.

An interesting cast that works well together. An amazing house and overall set design. The lighting was great, erie st times. What a difference good writing makes! The story keeps moving and is intertesting.

A young guy named Sasha Sibley was the Writer and Director and wow, i cant wait to see what he does next. This film is good, start to finish. Every now and then a good one comes along and this is a good one.

The premise of the movie was very interesting. It was very novel and intriguing. But the execuation and the backstory of those paintings were not shown nicely and too many attacks happening at the same time, gave too much for the viewer to soak in and experience the real fear and intrique.

Also, one funny element was how the lead couple exactly knew what was the prized possession of the female ghost, where it was hidden and how to carry out the ritual for a first timer. Also, didn't the couple had any neighbours or friends, or the ploce etc, who could help them or give an extra hand at fighting all those ghosts jumping out of all the paintings.

I was very intrigues by the movie but was left dissatisfied by its flat ending.

Although I am giving it a 6 for its initial buildup in the first half of the movie.