Director: Jennifer Kent
Year: 2014
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Troubled by her son's bizarre behavior, a single mother tired by his constant mentions of a strange monster coming after him turns out to be true when she soon encounters the vicious figure coming after him in the house and tries to save him before the creature can get to him.
Review:
This one ended up being an incredibly problematic effort. A lot of the film's issues come from the fact that there's nothing about the son worth celebrating about the son here. This is one of the most irritating, utterly insufferable brat that ever lived the way he's portrayed here with his screaming for attention, the need for household protection measures that are far more destructive than helpful, and a general air of total disobedience that borders on psychological intervention the way he goes on throughout this one. His screaming and hysterical antics are plain grating, and the out-of-control nature of how he behaves around her and others such as the neighbors or the friends' birthday party just makes it nearly impossible to feel anything less than utter disdain for him.
However, since this behavior is supposed to demonstrate how terrifying the creature is that he's forced the child into that state instead all it does is hammer home how despicable the kid is and that really drains the film of any chance to generate scares or thrills of any kind for most of the overall running time. This manages to really delay any kind of horror scenes here as this just turns the film into a dull, exhaustive drama for most of the running time. The other big issue here is the complete and utter lack of information here about what the titular creature actually is as there's nothing given about the creature's history, what its actual purpose is, or where the rules about it come from as the entire affair is kept completely in the dark and is a total mystery.
This also offers up no connection as to where the book came from or how he became so obsessed with it considering the reaction he has to it the first time she reads it for him which shows he is clearly afraid of the book like it's the first time he's read it which makes no sense if he's heard the story before. These issues are what hold this one down considerably and don't really allow the positives much room to work with. Those positives consist solely of the action found in the final half where the creature is finally let loose and engages in some wild chases around the house which lets this one get quite dark and chilling with the way it all plays out. This gets the film moving along nicely and places a lot of emphasis on the breakneck encounters which makes for quite a rousing finish. Coupled with a creepy look to the main creature, these, though, are all that work for this one.
Overview: */5
A disappointing and utterly banal effort that could've been a lot of fun, this one manages to be downgraded more by an infuriating character than anything else even though there are some more issues at play here. Give this a look if you're intrigued by the concept or don't mind the negatives featured here while most others who are turned off by these features or uninterested in the positives should heed caution with this one.
This review ran as part of our 2023 Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out the rest of our month-long celebrations including various reviews and interviews:
Comments
Post a Comment