Review of Astral

Astral (III) (2018)
6/10
Sadly, Less than the Sum of its Parts.
23 November 2018
There's a lot to like about this film, the premise is excellent and being a fan of the more theological/occultist area of the genre, it was refreshing to come across something possissing origianlity and quality. The script was well written and the film was beautifully shot/directed, despite what I suspect was a small budget, not that it was often evident in the production.

Where I thought things came unstuck was the acting which I found wooden and transparent, pretty much all round, and the casting of far too young protagonsits, This kind of film/script screams 'It's for Grown-Ups!' so having a teenage student ensemble nearly ruined it for me. Although the setting was first rate.. kudos to whoever snagged that beautiful off-term college for your set! A post-graduate/academia centric cast would still have worked in situ, but been more credible somehow.

The pacing was the other thing which I felt could've been greatly improved upon, particularly the second act which dragged on immeasureably longer than its 40 or so minutes and ate into what should've been a longer, richer and more detailed final show-down. Again, I felt the clairvoyant was cast way too young. Someone more suitable could've played a pivotal role in the final act, adding much needed texture, suspense and context.

That said, whist its conceptual strengths might not have been fully realised, overall I was impressed and I willl definately keep an eye out for whatever the brothers' Mul come up with next.

Scoring wise I think it's deserving of at least one star more than it's current 4.5, more like +1.5, for an all-round 6/10.
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