Shaman

I watched this so-called horror movie and honestly, it was a huge disappointment. The jump scares were mostly cheap and relied heavily on loud, random sound effects that felt more annoying than scary. The plot was painfully predictable, filled with clichés we've seen a hundred times. Most scenes lacked any real tension or atmosphere, making it more frustrating than frightening. If you're looking for a genuine horror experience, this one's not it.

This had some creepy parts and a few jump scares. It was also quite intense at times as well. It was like a slow burn sort of horror movie and it worked for me! The acting was pretty decent as well. It wasn't perfect but I've definitely seen worse. All in all, I enjoyed it and would watch it over again.

Must confess I was kinda screwed up for YEARS by "The Exorcist". This one has similar vibes, but much milder. Its missionaries in an area that has / had its own Native South American Spirits... and the people very much believe their Medicine Man can cure their ailments with white magic, and animal sacrifices, not unlike "The Believers" (Sangria) then a lesser degree "Serpent and the Rainbow", "Angel Heart" that are MAJOR movies, in a league of their own, quality wise... but similar vibes, although "Shaman", like Exorcist, has more focus on the kid. Lots of actors screaming and audience jump scares, if you are into that, you will enjoy this movie. It MAY even leave a little something in your brain, afterwards... but NOT as much as "The Woman in Black" (1989). That one may kill you.

Firstly, the poor ratings from other user reviews can be well understood as people following a certain faith will feel their god being deemed less powerful.

This movie has an honest take about the old days when missionaries were trying to advertise their gods all around the globe and make claims about uplifting native lives after acceptance of their god.

Although majority would interpret the movie would go along the lines of defining the Shaman as bad person, this movie makes a complete turn and puts the light on what the real evil looks like.

This movie puts the other religious horror to shame, where you just show a cross or some holy artifact and the evil runs away like a scared kid. The best part is, if evil exists in this world then it cannot be undone, and it prevails.

Looking at the synopsis and trailer I was drawn by the setting and variety of characters. Some reviews saying this was different also helped my interest.

But to be honest, other than some beautiful mountain landscapes (not that I find them exotic anyways, since I am from South America) shoot competently, the film was quite mediocre.

Past the initial third of the movie, when the mystery is presented and I could see the setting didn't add anything to a well worn genre of horror, I was very bored.

The loud sound jump scare thing is something that I really find lazy and uninteresting. The more there is of that, the less I like the movie.

The makeup and effects are very boring and cliché. Don't get me wrong, I don't need big budget SFX in a movie, but I DO need originality and creativity, towards a good, interesting atmosphere to find a movie entertaining and interesting.

This one didn't have any of that.

It didn't have good writing neither, in terms of story or characters.

Actually, I found the main three characters quite annoying and I couldn't care less about them. The young indigenous woman also became quite annoying by the second half, with her judgemental attitude and the two face expression performance.

Performances weren't anything particularly good, but the characters didn't have much going on for the actors to explore or exploit. Probably falling into some mediocre directing too.

Overall, I feel like there isn't anything to mention from this movie to make it recommendable.

I'd skip it if I knew better.