This is a James Wan film, so going in I didn't have high expectations - he's pretty much the king of hack mainstream horror movies. But most of his movies at least have a certain level of professionalism, which meant that I was genuinely unprepared for just how inept this film was. Right from the silly, campy pre-credits sequence, the script was truly atrocious, matched by some sincerely awful acting throughout. Let's not even get started on the ropey special effects.
Of course, rubbish horror films aren't exactly thin on the ground (see pretty much any random Netflix horror film). But what I found puzzling about this one is that it's very hard to tell how far the bad dialogue and performances might be deliberate. Is this meant as a parody or satire of cheesy horror? Did Wan set out to make an intentionally stupid movie? If so, then maybe he is cleverer than I give him credit for - maybe this film is some sort of elaborate, postmodern joke.
Or, perhaps, it is just terrible.
Of course, rubbish horror films aren't exactly thin on the ground (see pretty much any random Netflix horror film). But what I found puzzling about this one is that it's very hard to tell how far the bad dialogue and performances might be deliberate. Is this meant as a parody or satire of cheesy horror? Did Wan set out to make an intentionally stupid movie? If so, then maybe he is cleverer than I give him credit for - maybe this film is some sort of elaborate, postmodern joke.
Or, perhaps, it is just terrible.