Director: David Andrew James
Year: 2024
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Trying to care for his dying wife, a husband willing to do whatever he can to care for her finds a controversial method that could potentially save her only to be unaware of the true cost it will take on him to do so, and as he condition unravels he finds the cost eating away at his sanity.
Review:
This was a fairly solid effort overall. One of the better elements present here is the genuinely likable and sympathetic storyline that takes place here which brings everything into play. Getting enough of a backstory on his wife’s condition that has been going on throughout the first half where the outcome of her condition affects both his way of life and their relationship together where the debilitating sickness that has him running his life taking care of her as well as the medical professionals trying to help take care of her makes for a great starting point. The implication of using black magic to try to help out further is thus ably explained and has enough logical implications that it feels introduced quite nicely into this setup as a result.
That setup allows for the more genuinely chilling genre elements to have a solid baseline to work with going forward. After this drama-centric approach. Knowing the truth about what’s going on with the boost in health due to this strange ritual he performed and how it correlates to the strange figure he sees hanging around the two of them, these scenes manage to generate a rather fine air of unease between them. Being unable to tell her what’s happening as the visuals and sudden appearance of the figure freak him out despite knowing the rules of the situation, the way the figure begins taunting and tormenting him to drive him over the edge creates a highly unnerving scenario the more this plays out, managing to provide this one with some fine positive points throughout here.
There are some issues with this one that hold it down. The main drawback present with the film is the excessively overlong running time for this type of story that, despite not appearing egregious in the general sense, is still way too long for the type of story being presented. With far too much of the first half devoted to the relationship issues struggling with the condition she has and the care required to control it, it makes for a somewhat bland time waiting around for something to happen with the specifics of the ritual hidden so that it has a central idea but the general means it works kept away until the end. That also causes the second half to be incredibly redundant and repetitive watching him go through the same thing over and over again knowing full well that the whole thing is supposed to take place in a specific way which he's ignoring. This does tend to undo a lot of the positive points and hold it down overall.
Overview: **.5/5
Decent enough for what it is although undone by several big factors, this one has enough to like about it even if the flaws on display are more than detrimental enough to hold it down overall. Those who are fine with these factors or are intrigued by it will have a lot to like here while most others who are turned off by these factors should heed caution.
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