Director: Caroline LeBreche
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Gathering together at a friend’s house, a group of friends shocked to learn of a friend’s death decide to stay in the house until after the funeral, but the more they stay the more they find themselves drawn into a deadly supernatural reanimation mystery and must uncover the motivation to leave alive.
Review:
Overall, this was a rather fun if problematic effort. One of the better elements here is the solid setup that makes this quite enjoyable. The early setup involving their friend passing away means the group isn’t aware of yet we are as we see the whole thing through the occult ritual she’s performing at the same time is solid enough and their reopening of old wounds and grievances as a result of being there comes off nicely. These subplots move the film along pretty well introducing several brief supernatural bits and potentially intriguing ideas.
This sets up some decent enough genre fare once this gets brought up. The initial start to things comes with the typical sightings of ghostly figures before seeing the revelation turn up a solid slew of supernatural-tinged sightings due to the twist about what happened. The big reveal of the black magic rites that were being conducted and bringing about the dark reveals involving the nature of the house and their connection, how they’re meant to be together and the various rituals that go on all manage to give this some good points.
There are some big issues to be had here. The main drawback on display is an absolutely dull and dreary pace that just drains the life from the film before it has any chance to do anything. The first half of this is filled with random moments of the group partying at the house or exploring the legacy left behind which only highlights how irritating and unlikable they all are since there’s barely anything going on. The lack of supernatural scenes becomes quite obvious as its focus on these increasingly irritating friends keeps interfering with the story.
The other issue with this one is the series of rather inane and stupid decision-making going on here that continues their unlikable qualities as before. Numerous points throughout here should denote the group either left the house or at the worst alerted the authorities, and once the bodies start dropping that should definitely be the case although nothing happens and the group remains at the house. It's quite frustrating, similar to an ending that goes on far too long and could’ve told its story in less time so it limps to a finish. These features are what hold it back.
Overview: **.5/5
Quite fun at points but filled with flaws that hold it down, there’s enough to like here to be worthwhile at best as the issues at play prove to be detrimental overall. Those who appreciate the style or approach will have the most to like while those who are turned off by these factors should heed caution.
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