The very premise of this movie, if you have been baffled by the trailers, is going to be a spoiler. If you can not figure out what is going on in the first 30 seconds of this movie then you are also stupid enough to believe the trailer's claim that this is the most terrifying movie you are going to see all year. The closest Steven Soderberg has gotten to a horror movie is the thriller 'Unsane". This is obviously a ghost story so it seems like an odd choice for him given the types of movies he normally makes. In some ways, it reminds me of "American Beauty" when it comes to the struggling teen dysfunction, which is almost the real horror of the movie.
Now to talk about what is both the movie's strengths and weaknesses. This is not the first ghost story told from the ghost's perspective. The Other's felt more like a horror movie in how it pulled this off. It feels more like Soderbergh flipped the "Paranormal Activity" franchise formula on its head and made it work thanks to its bigger budget, allowing him to hire better actors and effects that work for what the film is trying to do without going overboard. There is a subplot that lays itself out right before going into the third act. The actors sell out on it and this is a well-made movie for what it is.
The problem with what it is lies in the fact this is a ghost story that is not scary. Making the claims the trailer made feel that much more ridiculous. I enjoyed this movie, I watched it in a day, which is better than what I am going to say about "Wolf Man" when we get around to talking about that. This makes this movie the bar for what movie's need to be scarier than in order to be considered horror this year, it is rides the line, and almost relies on the sub ject matter to belong on this page.
No comments:
Post a Comment