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I was initially a bit underwhelmed after hearing my other's experience with the movie, it wasn't quite as scary for me as I hoped it be. It left me more sad than anything. That isn't a bad thing, though! I still adored it and it's become a favorite of this year!

I'm very glad I didn't see it in theatres after hearing other's crappy experiences with people just generally not caring about the film.

I was a bit concerned about how exactly they were going to handle the themes of sexual assault in the movie, but I think it was done fairly well. I definitely don't think the writer/director had it in the forefront of their mind though

I read a very excellently written review from @/bluecenobites on substack. They had phrased it well. Bear has absolutely no personality, that is why he begins to hate what Nikki becomes since she acts as a mirror for him.

It hit me like a freight train though; being someone with a dissociative disorder that essentially forced me into becoming personality-less for survival purposes. It got me thinking a lot about personality, being bland, etc. that I wrote in a journal I probably won't share since it was quite personal. Is it really that horrible to not have a personality?

And the answer is, very much no, it isn't. And I don't think that is ENTIRELY what makes Bear as cruel as he is. It might seem obvious, but it's ultimately how he handles it.

Instead of changing himself, he tries to change Nikki. When Nikki tries to make herself fit into what bear likes, it's near impossible since he himself isn't sure of what he likes. This leads to all the events that we see in the film. Nikki loses what made her, HER, because of bear. And he hates it.

The thing that especially struck me when watching it was the ending. Nikki is left to handle EVERYTHING and hold the weight of bear's consequences. I think it was a very well done depiction of trauma survival.

While I definitely think the writer/director didn't do everything perfectly, there's also a lot of beautifully heartbreaking themes that resonated with a lot of people (myself included).