Director: Sj Hermann
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Trying to get through life, a depressed man hoping to move on from a series of romantic disappointments finally solves it when he meets a mysterious woman, but the more they’re together the more his friends believe that she’s a succubus out to feed on his soul and tries to stop it from continuing.
Review:
Overall, there’s quite a lot to like here. One of the main points for this one is the rather engaging and touching storyline that plays out like a demented romantic drama in structure. The amount of build-up here in the life of the guy who’s as down on his luck as he is with not just the inability to find a girlfriend but his just generally depressed state that everyone in his life comments on and tries to help him through but gets shut down is pretty much fantastic at st=etting this relationship up once she arrives. The slow-burn changes to his behavior and appearance afterward around friends compared to the joy he shares when together with her is also handled incredibly well with just the right interludes of her picking off those she perceives as threats to be capable of providing a wholly investing storyline. Mixing together the right amount of seduction with the type of indie horror confrontations with the winged demon form appearing to level off the killing blow that results in some fine gore. Overall, these all provide some highly likable features here.
There are some minor drawbacks to be had with this one. One of the biggest drawbacks of the film is the way in which it speeds through the seduction to where it feels more forced than anything genuine. Almost immediately after meeting, the relationship extends to sleeping together, exchanging notions of affection that feel like those from decades-old lovers despite meeting the day before, and essentially going through a relationship without any kind of genuine connection. Her philosophical ramblings about what’s going on between them and his stuttering mess trying to keep up and pierce through everything makes the early stages quite awkward with so many red flags about the relationship getting ignored for the sake of moving the story along which leads to the second issue in it’s overlong running time. Since this part is rushed and then backtracked into a normal relationship the pacing is off and it takes a toll on the running time that it tends to plod on, especially with the epilogue dragging this out. These, though, are generally minor and don’t detract from the film too much.
Overview: ***.5/5
A highly enjoyable indie effort with some minor flaws, this one comes off quite nicely overall as the few small issues present do bring it slightly in regards to the positives that are far more prominent. Those that appreciate this type of genre effort or are curious about this type of indie effort will have a lot to like here while those that are turned off by the issues here or the approach should heed caution.
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