Director: Mark Meir
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Summoned to a remote estate in the wilderness, a couple attending a self-help retreat find that they've been subjected to a series of supernatural hauntings intended to return a debt brought forth by their ancestors generations ago and must find a way to settle it before they become victims.
Review:
This was a decent enough if somewhat misguided effort. When this one works nicely is the highly understated relationship on display that showcases how effective the pact is. Getting a rather immediate start on the material prospects between the couples by seeing their careers and overall wealth at the moment we meet them at the house where we realize the completely out-of-his-element setup established. The mega-wealthy aspects here in terms of their overall appearance and general means of going about the world, the vapidness of their interactions towards each other once they realize he's not involved in their society only gets enhanced once the treatment sessions begin. That becomes more apparent once the twist comes about in the later stages here featuring the reveal about the past inhabitants of the retreat that ties into their own visit but the actual reveal of the hosts' malicious nature towards him which is quite chilling once it's all spelled out. These factors are enough to keep this one intriguing enough for the most part.
There are numerous issues to be had with this one. The biggest issue here is the utterly uninteresting and barely worthwhile group of influencers that we're following for the majority of the film. It's incredibly obvious how out-of-place he is amongst the group not just because he's nowhere near as wealthy with his grounded approach but also because the more likable personality he has is in total contrast to their vast wealth and superficiality. That he would even be in the situation of dating her is never explained and he never seems to really fit into the situation in any sense so these scenes come off rather clunky and somewhat boring to sit through when we're spending time before the twist occurs that doesn't redeem them but merely makes it understandable why they're who they are. That ends up making the twist itself seem far less impactful with an abundance of over-explanations to try to make it seem like these events are taking place in accordance with the deal set up which is incredibly convoluted and feels like contrivance more than anything. These are what hold this one back overall.
Overview: **.5/5
An enjoyable enough if somewhat problematic effort, there's enough to like here even though this one does have some pretty big issues involved here. Those who are intrigued by the setup present or are curious about what's going on here might have more of an interest in this one but most others will be turned off here and should heed caution.
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