Reviews

Midthunder was exceptional. Her performance set the right tone for the film throughout.

Sure, there was a lot of obvious CGI, But the Predator looked formidable.

Solid plot, character development and climax.

Simple story and beautifully shot.

Better than all other predator films except the 1987 OG and maybe a close tie to Predator 2.

Deserved a Theatric release for sure!

This film almost entirely keeps Michael Myers' faceless and speechless which keeps his mystique, despite an effective humanization, in tact. -WHICH IS KEY This film toes that line masterfully despite somewhat elongated POV/ tracking shots of MM's initially neighborhood killings. Where Rob Zombie horribly over humanizes MM and the original makes him almost equal to the Devil, this film finds that sweet balance. And in my opinion, that's where this film will either fail or succeed with critics. (It succeeds) The casting choices were spot on. (The young actor who plays the kid being babysitted almost steals the movie) And the updated score is both true to original and masterful form but refreshingly modern.

Best horror film of the century, second ONLY to Hereditary

This film is worth seeing (hence how it got the minimal viewing score, a 6) But if your at least a novice fan of horror films, you will undoubtedly find yourself critiquing the film "scare-by-scare."

Ramirez was great, you can easily perceive how he's one of fastest ascending actors in Hollywood, BUT he was in a no-win situation playing an exorcist, a strange one at that. Think about this... When was the last time you actually felt afraid watching an exorcism on screen? -It wasn't via any self-announced Exorcism film garbage (yes, that includes The Rite), it wasn't even in the Conjuring (which although a terrifying film, the exorcism scene was admittedly lackluster). The point is, outside of maybe The Exorcism of Emily Rose (this director could have taken a cue from one of his earlier films), there HAS NOT been one Horror Film to scares us like the Original did oh so long ago!

Since the trailer was excellent, I thought maybe this film could do it; breathe new fear into the 'Sub-Horror Possession Genre', BUT it didn't. The exorcism(s) were laughable (even with Ramirez's inept performance) due mainly to major inconsistencies involving the possessed (including when they were or weren't), a lack of established motive (by either the possessed or demon), as well as a disappointing origin of the demon.

Maybe it's too hard to make an exorcism scary anymore (ESPECIALLY when you DON'T do what's listed above)!

In Addition: Derrickson, like almost ALL horror filmmakers these days, gives away WAYYY too much for the audience to not only see but to understand (which steals a level of necessary mystique). This film is proof that a Great Cast + a fairly original idea (and supposedly based on a true story) does not = a compelling film without the foundation of sufficient details.