Director: Daniel Emery Tayler
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Trying to pass the time together, a group of girls on a sleepover end up annoying one of the girls to the point that she takes one of their games seriously and summons a coven of witches looking to bring about their superior being back into their world, and as they prepare for her arrival she finds herself in their plans.
Review:
This was a pretty solid and highly enjoyable genre effort. One of the strongest elements of this one is the engaging setup that manages to mix together a lot of impressive elements into its storyline. The idea of the bullied teen at the center of everything with their treatment towards her and what sets her up for revenge by pulling the pranks and attitude they do during the sleepover manages to set this into motion. That this is done in conjunction with the connection between the game they play involving the conjuring of the different entities where one of them ends up becoming real is a great start to get this one going.
This is then turned into a rather enjoyable series of indie-style confrontations and encounters with the various members of the coven that come for her friends. From the bizarre antics of the couple who arrive at the bully’s house and taunt her and her boyfriend with their various amorous and barbaric tactics that showcase them to be wildly unhinged, the scene scores incredibly well with the bloodletting and destructive behavior. This is carried over to the abduction that takes place at her house when the couple arrives and begins playing around with her and her father before taking them away in a crazy manner.
The occult ritual that takes place in their compound is just as much fun, carrying on the type of wild craziness that takes place with the group getting ready for their preparations. Featuring the various members getting all the twisted intricacies of the storyline laid out and what they’re trying to do with each other. This is all carried out with the nice twists and turns which are quite impressive and add a nice feel to the storyline as the idea of what’s going on is never really clear and makes for a fun time trying to come to terms with what the group is holding her there for. These really hold the film together overall.
There are some issues involved. The main factor against this one is the wholly confusing and disjointed finale where it seems to end without much that makes sense, focusing on the randomness that emerges without going for any kind of logical or even rational idea of what’s happening, leaving it all very unsatisfying for the most part. Likewise, there’s a weird sense of confusion that emerges over the initial abduction that takes place where it shows some really weak writing trying to make the point clear about the wish to do away with her but never doing so logically, making this section of the film rather off-putting. These here are what hold this one back.
Overview: ***/5
A rather fun and enjoyable effort where it tends to fall apart in small sections that have some minor drawbacks which aren’t that bad for the most part, these factors leave this one a generally enjoyable and fun offering. Give it a look if you’re into these kinds of genre efforts or appreciate the kind of indie style featured here, while most others should heed caution for the most part.
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