Movies In Reverse

I know this movie is considered a cliche for film bros and every angsty teen in the early 2000s had posters of it on their walls, but there’s a reason why this film had such an impact. This movie is completely unique and out of place in the industry. It’s edgy without trying hard, and complex while still being engaging. The complexity often leads to confusion however, and since this is one of the few movies that doesn’t fully explain itself, which sometimes leads viewers to dislike it despite its merit. Something that has always annoyed me in recent films is the fact that everything needs to be explained at the end and wrapped up just to appease the few viewers who can’t bother to analyze or google the movie’s meaning. So even at a young age, I loved that this film made an effort not to give an explanation in order to give the audience a lasting effect. This is also one of the few movies where I would say it has a perfect soundtrack. Another rarity in the industry. Despite my sentiments for this movie, I do understand why some people find it cringey. Though I would argue the only negative of the entire film was Barrymore’s acting (another controversy). Overall, despite the fact that this movie has become a bit of a joke, I still stand by it as an amazing film.

Prisoners is one of the few perfect movies to exist. The writing and acting are phenomenal. I genuinely believe each member of this cast gives some of their best performances together in this film. Besides the acting though, this movie is so well written. It’s layered, it’s confusing, it’s upsetting, it’s conflicting, it’s emotional. This is one of the few movies where I would recommend it to anyone. If you haven’t seen it, I genuinely cannot recommend it enough. Also, if you haven’t seen it, I’m genuinely jealous because I would love to see it for the first time again.

I thought the opening premise of this movie was so good. It was interesting, it was building my anxiety, it was paced well. But by the climax of the movie I was completely checked out. Which is bad for any movie, but especially horror when it’s all supposed to be building to a really intense ending. I loved the idea of the podcast somehow correlating with her experience with her mom, but the baby stuff seemed to kind of come out of no where. I understood how it tied into her relationship with her mom, but the actual supernatural element was supposed to be related to her own pregnancy which didn’t seem to have much weight to Kiri’s storyline. They definitely touched on her being pregnant throughout the movie, but this only happened within conversations she had with others. They didn’t show anything internally or emotionally happening with her related to her pregnancy so I was surprised that the movie went in that direction considering it didn’t frame it as majorly important. I feel like by the last 5 minutes or so, I was just waiting for it to be over. This could’ve been such a cool concept and it could’ve been very interesting if it was more about her and her mom rather than her and this barely mentioned baby, but sadly no. I will say though, I loved the cinematography and direction. The framing of shots, the use of pareidolia on the background, the emphasis on spaces where you expected a jumpscare but it never happened. I thought everything in that aspect was all very well done and it was a tactic for building fear that I haven’t really seen a lot in movies lately. Overall, I thought this film had a super strong opening but any intensity it created in the end just led to a let down. I would love to see more from the director though.

I was so looking forward to seeing this movie and it honestly did not disappoint. I thought it was such an interesting premise, and the acting and writing were so well done. I thought it served as in interesting character study into this type of man who would put up with so much and let this woman hurt herself and others so much without intervening or doing anything to stop it, simply because of his own selfishness. It was unnerving but wasn’t scary in the way most horror movies are. It mostly just made me incredibly upset because you know with every scene that you watch that this woman doesn’t want any of this and isn’t consenting to it. But it’s all the fault of this man who just can’t get over his own wants to help her. I was honestly surprised that a man had written this film simply because it has this huge feminist theme underlying it, but I think the male perspective was what made it so unique. I really genuinely enjoyed it. I thought it was far different from any other movie I’ve seen and I’m so happy that the creator is going to continue making films within the same universe.

Though coming out in 2021, I hadn’t ever heard of this film until this year. Which is surprising both because it’s right up my alley and is widely acclaimed (and for good reason). Taking place mostly in one single room, the majority of the movie follows a conversation between two sets of parents. And though this premise may sound boring, it surprisingly was not. Thanks entirely to the writing and incredible acting. I found myself totally entranced throughout the film despite its lack of overarching plot and minimal direction. It’s surprisingly emotional and gives an interesting character study into the different beliefs and opinions on an incredibly sensitive issue. I definitely recommend this movie. Even if the premise sounds disinteresting, the acting alone should be enough to get anyone to watch.

I was genuinely so excited for this movie. I love McCarthy’s other films (Oddity and Caveat), so naturally I had high expectations for his new film. And thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. One of the things I love most about his movies is the fact that while horror and supernatural is a huge aspect to the film, it’s mostly used as a subplot to an overarching storyline. And those storylines are always so well written and clever, and Hokum was no exception. I will say, I wasn’t as scared during this movie as I was his others, but it was still far more different from any other horror movies being made recently. I did find myself a little disinterested by the end, but I do like that he always concludes his movies with a feeling of resolution. I also thought Scott was an amazing choice for this film. McCarthy has a habit of not having his characters overreact, which makes the horror aspect feel much more real. And Scott did an amazing job of this in the film. I highly recommend watching all of McCarthy’s movies, they’re all unique and well written.

I went into this movie with high expectations simply because I love Dracula adaptions, but I ended up so incredibly disappointed. I’m not exaggerating when I say this was one of the worse movies I have ever seen. I think the first ten minutes and last ten minutes had me cringing and verbally laughing the entire time. I think the issue mostly stems from the directing. For instance, there were multiple scenes where I thought “that was really the best take they had? The director didn’t notice the costume covering half of the actor’s face?” Or “the director really told him to make that expression and decided to go with it?” Etc. Some of the lines also felt like a first draft. Like in his head the writer thought it sounded good, but when said out loud they just didn’t have the intended effect. Additionally, there were these odd scenes that came out of nowhere towards the end of the movie with no context or backstory, which of course just added to the confusion. I thought some of the acting was pretty good however, but I was a little disappointed in the lead. Which is surprising because I love Jones in many of his other roles, but he didn’t seem like the best fit for this particular movie. I did appreciate that the plot took inspiration from several different adaptations and storylines based of the original Dracula, but in the end it just felt like a bad fanfiction that somehow got turned into a movie. You just know it’s bad when you leave a movie thinking “I could do better than that”.

There was so much I loved about this movie and so much I hated. I kept thinking as I watched it that it felt like the first draft of a script that needed to be heavily edited. There were so many components of the story that made no sense, had no connection to the plot, or could have been taken out of the final cut without it changing the story. For instance, having the component of Buckley’s character being possessed by Mary Shelley was interesting but totally unnecessary and confusing. And the dance scene, though incredible, made no sense and had no explanation. That being said though; the acting, lighting, cinematography, and costumes made all of this up for me. I definitely could see why some people may hate this movie. But for me there was too much that I loved about it to write it off completely.