Effigy

This movie was very thought provoking! I love the exploration of good vs evil: positive and negative characteristics that live in all of us with different shades! Compelling storyline that makes you want to keep watching, Questions that play in your head long after the movie is over, and discussions with people about what it all meant, were what makes the movie memorable. Highly recommend it if you enjoy alternative narratives to regular Hollywood movies. The acting was excellent. The mysteriousness of the movie was enhanced by not being able to read the emotions of the characters which felt very much intentional.

Effigy is a complex, layered film about a descent into madness involving a cursed object. I noticed echoes of early horror films (Renfield from Dracula was one I thought about) but with modern well-crafted visuals. Lighting, shadows, angles and effects are all strong points. My interest was drawn in with the elements of Japanese, English(American) and Swedish, but with a setting of modern Tokyo. I enjoyed my second viewing from noticing details of foreshadowing, and after thinking about the film for a week or so. I think it's a good accompaniment/lead-in to the Halloween season (viewed Sep-Oct 2024).

This film lives on the power of its unnerving vibe. Not a jump scare movie. This is a patient horror train, taking you on a volatile journey towards true alienation. So I would say this one requires the right mood to fully appreciate. It is a meticulously crafted micro-budget film. It is without compromise: a Lynchian story, deep diving into a troubled translator's unravelling psyche in a surreal Tokyo as her cruelty turns outwards.. This film will challenge viewers to engage on its terms. There's layers to explore here and ambiguous elements to process. It's one of those films where your mind can fill in the shadow corners in a completely different way with subsequent viewing- this could be interpreted as either a strength or a weakness depending upon who you are- or how you feel. The pace of it is slow and hypnotic.. This allows it to inject its anxious energy in a subliminal way. Staying with it however, revealed a highly original and sadistic story. The ending hits with confident panache. A dark puzzle box of a film that is undoubtedly niche and delivers on the nightmares.

"Effigy" is an great cinematic experience that dove deep into the blurred boundaries between reality, delusion, and the darkest recesses of human desire. This movie was near perfect i felt in blending psychological tension and atmospheric storytelling that left me unable to lose focus from start to finish.

The contrast and interplay between the two characters involved with Catherine are brilliantly portraited for an Indi movie which creates a surreal and unsettling atmosphere that kept me on the edge.

What I felt sets this film in its own light is its ability to seamlessly weave together themes of Catherine's deteriorating mental state that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. The inclusion of grotesque trophies and symbolic elements from her assignments adds a profound layer of depth to the narrative, making every scene rich with meaning.

If you go in expecting a slow burn, something that leans more atmospheric than narrative, I think you'll have a good time. Or, like a disturbing time. Lots of darkness, lots of unsettling soundtrack, and plenty of weird, unsettling affect from the lead - it certainly all combined to give me the heebie-jeebies. For what they were going for, I don't think a standard, dialogue-heavy narrative would have suited the movie - themes of isolation and alienation even when surrounded by people in a huge city. I was in the mood for phantasmagoria tonight, and this fit the bill.

And while I enjoyed it, I hope my review is enough to tell you, dear reader, whether this is a movie you yourself would enjoy. It's not a slasher film, there are no jump scares, and while gross at times, it's more unsettling than anything. And not even really that gory. Just a slowly-ratcheting feeling of unease.

Also, shoutout to Kwaidan, Yuki the Snow Maiden would have loved the spider story in this movie.