The Ballerina

But I did, and I might even change it to a 9, but probably only because I am so tired of big budget movies that try to be horrific or funny or thrilling and fail to deliver, and I am really tired of indie films that have more to do with disposable income than independent vision.

The story blends several tropes into something fresher, and becomes a haunting dystopia that lingers long after the movie is over, due to the engaging characters played by engaging unknowns, a central mystery that moves along quickly and never cheats or manipulates, and direction, photography and editing found in more expensive productions while still managing to feel intimate and atmospheric.

If you can find this film, give it a look, as it deserves attention.

I love slow, building, atmospheric ghost stories. This attempted. This utterly failed. Writer took the easy way out instead of staying consistent...WiFi laptop in a swamp camp where children wake up freezing in worn tents? The main character needed to know something. BOOM handy laptop.

It was boring, uninspired, depressing as hell, and when everything was finally coming together it fell completely flat.

The Ballerina is a directorial debut from newcomer Steve Pullen. Pullen also stars in, co-produced and wrote the screenplay to this film. For a debut done on a low budget, The Ballerina blew me away! I can't wait to see more from Pullen and see how he progresses in the future.

With the horror genre being oversaturated with gore for the sake of gore, lackluster to no plots, and little suspense, The Ballerina breathed new life with its revival of southern gothic horror. It's atmospheric, it's moody, it's melancholy. The tensions between reality and the supernatural are palpable and eventually blend into a delusional realism. But beyond that, is tragedy brought to life. The last 30 minutes is an emotional experience for the viewer. As the story progresses, the viewer begins to realize the actuality of the situation as the layers are exposed piece by piece. It's tragic. It's heartbreaking. But there, there's relief at the end.

This is ultimately a story of regret, forgiveness and redemption. And one done so in an artful and meaningful way.

Yes this is a lower budget movie and yes the repeated chords of music to add emotion to a scene are a bit overdone. Yes there are some plot holes about internet in a forest. However the plot holes are technically explained.

As titled I didn't know where this was going. It appears to be an odd haunting but turns into much more. I feel it was very well done and a new look into possibly done tropes but so much of it was just done so well. The acting was enjoyable and the revelations in the story are great. I feel the last 10 minutes could have been condensed to about 2 and I would have loved this movie much more.

Don't give into wanting the jump scares of horror, watch this and get taken through an emotional story.

For a low budget movie this one definitely was put together well. It kept my attention throughout the movie and the acting was very well done. Definitely worth watching.