A true gamble of a horror film
This film really isn’t scary, but it does manage to evoke the unnerving feeling provoked by demonic killings and a new brand of Saw-esque gore. So if you were anticipating a film full of effective jump-scares like its brilliant trailer suggests, you’re in for a disappointment. But the best thing about this film really is the story.
The horror films over the past forty or so years that have aged well and continue to terrify and discomfort audiences are the ones that enjoy the backbone of an intriguing story with characters that are always entertaining in some way. This is true for the most part of this film – while its characters may not have that much depth or expansion, the movie’s ultimate redeemer is within its story. A lot of the events that unfold do at times feel to be a bit ridiculous, but the suspension of belief that filmmakers request in a movie like this is to be expected.
Lucy Hale’s performance, however, is nothing original or intriguing; in fact, her character and her portrayal of that character is almost identical to her performance of Aria on the TV show Pretty Little Liars, and does not lend itself to expanding her career in Hollywood, but it also doesn’t exactly serve as an audition for her to become a new ‘Scream Queen’ either. She was at times very dry and unconvincing, but at other times she was very relatable and seemed to flow naturally with certain scenes compared to others.
The cinematography of this film was an interesting artistic choice that could lead many viewers to compare it to the vintage, 1970s nostalgic camera work of It Follows, a similar horror film that came out less than two years ago. The visuals of this film were very much oriented around the digitalisation of adolescence and the destructive nature of social media. It was shot on the Arri Alexa Mini, the same camera used to shoot the Perth-based horror film Hounds of Love last year, although the two films differ vastly in their stylistic approach to cinematography.
Overall, this film is certainly worth watching alongside A Quiet Place and It Follows and does deserve a seat at the table of decent horror films of the past two years, especially when sitting next to a varied mix of remakes, prequels and sequels. It may not be the most ambitious attempt at originality, but it deserves points for trying!