Reviews

"Os Parecidos" set out to be a thriller and went beyond that. It's a thriller from the start, set very well in 1968. That decade was a promising one in the development of suspense by the Alfred Hitchcock school and it seems that the Director wanted to use those elements of the time in his work "The Similars", which turned out very well.

The soundtrack is reminiscent of the thrillers of the decade in which the film is set (1968). But "Os Parecidos" also has mystery, delirium and a hint of the "fantastic" or supernatural. In short, a very well-produced Mexican movie that keeps the suspense and mystery until the 'supernatural' or fantastic begins.

The 'four' stars (and not five) is because, for me, the mystery of the story, the author of the work, gave it away early in the course of the movie, ending the mystery, but this does not detract from the recommendation for those who like classic suspense in the style of Alfred Hitchcock.

Congratulations on the whole piece!

I found the narrative a bit slow and confusing. But the gore scenes are violent. I expected more, but it should definitely be seen by fans of the genre. I liked the ending, very impactful and mysterious. A lot of things are confused and poorly explained, but for an independent movie with no budget, it's very well done. Turkish cinema leading the way in Body Horror. Once again, my only regret is that they didn't invest more in the story, it seems like the movie was made just to make an impact. The setting is phenomenal, few horror films manage to have such horrific scenery as in this movie. It has some visibly striking moments.

A good movie, but far from being one of the best you'll see.

Best movie of 2018. It's been a while since I've seen a movie that isn't a "ready-made recipe". You have to pick up on the nuances during the film.... There are no facts, only interpretations (Nietzsche). The movie is like a punch in the gut. It's those moments when you stop and think... What am I doing with my only life? .... Seriously. Every scene is worth watching. Even the scenes that are purposely extended and some that should be more refined are too fast. It shows what we go through when time slows down when we don't want it to and when we like it, it goes too fast. I believe that the people who said they didn't like the movie did so precisely because they were expecting a horror or suspense movie or something like that. But the movie is a POST-horror. Because at the end of the movie we are left with the question. What are we doing with our lives?

This movie is an aesthetic experience that is simply unforgettable. There's a rawness and discomfort, a surreal construction of the elements, it's one of those films that fascinates and makes you remember the sensation for a long time. It's disturbing, but it has a depth that few films have achieved. And it's not difficult to understand, I mean, it's not a boring, impenetrable movie, made for pot-bellied experts with bottle glasses, who watch it to comment on something that only matters to them. This movie is visceral. Don't expect to compare this movie to any other. It's a masterpiece. Perfect performances. Nicole's best movie, in my opinion.

A classic of the genre! The Wicker Man is a film that proposes a horror that is completely outside the norm, it is a religious and spiritual horror that is sustained by its bizarreness and the mystery surrounding that island.

It's a film that marked Christopher Lee's career, a film that starts unpretentious and follows a religious police officer who searches for a missing girl, the problem is that he constantly notices that everyone in the city obstructs information which makes his work difficult, there he meets also a strange man who is practically worshiped on that island, Lord Summerisle. It's a very atmospheric film, so the viewer is left in the middle of a mystery, after all, what happened to the girl? This questioning is developed in an incredible way by the script that uses the residents, and the confusing clues that the police officer finds to maintain the great doubt until its climax. These mysterious residents dance and celebrate all the time, it is something very confusing (on purpose) that feeds the sense of strangeness not only on the part of the police officer but also on the part of the spectator.

Also note that the film's music helps to unravel what is happening, it is well guarded but it does have posts about the whereabouts of this island. Above all, it is a religious horror that focuses on questions about faith and religion, the extent to which a religion influences your actions and also addresses the theme of differences between beliefs and different religions around the world. The cast is incredible with an inspired Edward Woodward who has his faith tested by spending time on the island and the mysterious and thought-provoking Christopher Lee who gives a great performance in this film.

A different horror, which focuses on its symbolism and atmosphere coupled with a mystery, The Wicker Man is a film that brings a very important message. It is a film about beliefs and cultural differences and brings a horror of the unknown, of what contradicts our customs. It has great direction, script and cast and to this day serves as a model for other films like Mindsommar.

If you're looking for an interesting suspense movie that escapes the conventional, you've found it.

The movie is a very interesting piece of work and I'm amazed at the comments from people who say they didn't understand anything. Don't get carried away by these people when choosing a movie. It's those people who are used to obvious, happy endings and are opposed to anything different.

The Tall Man features incredible performances. Jessica Biel is simply impeccable in her portrayal of Julia. The movie is so involving, but so involving, that at a certain point you find yourself in a state of ecstasy trying to understand what is really going on.

Great movie, psychological horror! !! I don't understand the negative reviews.

I honestly didn't give anything for the movie, it was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed it A good psychological horror, there aren't many scares here, but a lot of mystery and sublime terror. Perfect performances. Suspense from start to finish. Good scenes, good filming, great soundtracks.

This movie deserves the benefit of the doubt, don't count on horror clichés, it's something adult and needs our attention to fully understand the message it conveys.

I'll never forget how cruel children can be! It reminded me of a Nordic movie: "The Innocents"... But here's a satisfying twist...

A movie with a strong cast, including Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, Sebastian Stan, among others. This feature film has the precise time to develop the work, having three nuclei that will intersect at some point, the director has precise timing to develop each of the stories, which have in common a plot rooted in faith and human corruption, for some the plot may appear to be a criticism of religious institutions and Christianity as a whole, but the film does not limit itself or try to.

What the film shows is how faith, often blinded by desperation, can lead people to commit barbarities, such as murdering their son's dog in an attempt to cure his wife of cancer, or murdering their own wife believing she has resurrection powers, or using the power of a religious leader to coerce teenage girls and sexually abuse them.

With convincing and wonderfully crafted performances, especially by Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, and a well-executed direction that matches the pace of life in the countryside, this is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2020.

Impressive performances, captivating narration and well-constructed sets. The movie manages to connect all the stories involved, even though it's long, it ends up delivering a lot and making every second worth watching. Very well constructed criticisms that play on the feelings of those watching. Tragic and, unfortunately, real in showing the multiple faces of evil.

Nadine Labaki's direction is very effective in bringing out the meanings of the images she puts on stage, and the editing is essential in this regard. The shaky, wobbly camera that follows Zain through the streets of Beirut connects us to that unstable, emerging world. The script slips close to its conclusion, delivering an ending that is minimally incompatible with the very precise reality that had been chosen so far. The need to close certain arcs is unnecessary, but it's alleviated by a great idea that may go unnoticed by the distracted eye.

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Zain Al Rafeea (Zain) is a force of nature, and what he does on stage is impressive. He carries the movie with him, giving a lesson in versatility and mastery of his character. Every feeling he expresses is authentic, and it's impossible not to empathize with him and credit him as one of the best child actors on record. The children really stand out, and there's one more that left me incredulous at the amount of work that went into it.

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It's also a work about the cyclical chain surrounding the various "Zain's" that live around the world. It's strong because it points to an experience not far from our own, a real world where there are beings with glimmers of empathy, but not enough to even want to change the reality on our doorsteps. And in this whole narrative we have to reflect on the extent to which we are mere viewers, just like in the movie we've just seen. Precise, urgent and bittersweet... Capernaum.

Excellent!!!!! The movie has several scenes that at first seem confusing, but lead you to understand the story. As with David Lynch's films, those who don't understand the story often say it's bad.

A strong message, the best that cinematic psychological horror can offer us. The protagonist's story is catastrophic...

In The Empty Man, when a group of teenagers from a small town mysteriously start disappearing, the locals believe it's the work of a local urban legend. While a retired policeman investigates the disappearances, he discovers a secret group and their attempts to evoke a supernatural entity, putting everyone's lives in danger.

This intense modern western marks the directorial debut of cult screenwriter Taylor Shiridan, best known for the "mini franchise" Sicario. Wilderness is a sensitive feature, a timely meditation on America and its native peoples, all developed around the central plot, which is essentially an investigative thriller. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are excellent, and the cinematography is also noteworthy.

I loved this movie, very well directed, impeccable performances, not to mention that the story is strong and realistic. Beautiful soundtrack. Wilderness is one of the best movies of 2017. Excellent!

I loved the movie! I can already tell it's going to be one of those "love it or hate it" movies. Tense, very tense, I loved the camera games and movements. It's a movie that doesn't deliver anything chewy, and already makes it clear that it's a movie of mysteries from start to finish, whether it's the beginning with a "margarine commercial" family, in a perfect summer, but which gradually reveals the terror that will set in. It's distressing how silent the film is, as the character himself says, "how noisy the silence is", because it's a film that focuses on the 6 characters confined to the house, with only two other characters who speak: the desperate woman on the road (who speaks Spanish) and the desperate guy in his house ready for the Apocalypse (who doesn't want to talk to or be friends with anyone). In other words, the only other two speaking characters apart from the 6 protagonists don't say anything, there's no communication, with two different types of desperation. And that's what's so distressing: where are the images of the crowds running, desperate, through the city, dazed, fleeing, where are the images of people dying, seeking help, where is the chaos, the terror, where is the TV with the president giving the information, the journalists delivering the images we want, from where, who, when, how, the images showing the rest of the world, in France, Australia, Egypt, Argentina, whether it's only there or not???? None of that: just two isolated families, and nothing more, who are like us: lost, without information, without knowing what to do: their feeling is the same as that of us watching the movie, it's mirrored, it's as if we were in the movie, we were also the characters, because everything they know is what we also know, and that seems unfair! And that's what the movie wants to show: the horrible feeling of confusion, of lack of information, of not knowing what to do, of being incommunicado, without internet, without telephone, without satellites, GPS, uninformed, ungoverned, isolated, alone!

Despite its relative success at the American box office, Você É o Próximo (You're Next) was released directly on DVD here in Brazil, meaning it runs a serious risk of being forgotten or not even reaching its target audience, those like me who love slasher horror films with lots of blood and violence. Newcomer Wingard doesn't bring anything new to the genre; on the contrary, he recycles yet another home invasion that places a group of people (here an entire family) inside a claustrophobic space, in this case their own home, which enhances the horror, since this should be our safest place, and then begins the massacre. If there's anything new, it's the way it works fear. In the first 30 minutes, you have no idea why it's happening, which helps to raise the tension to stratospheric levels, without sparing the audience from the excessive violence and blood. Halfway through the movie, he makes a brave move by giving away the identity of the killers, but don't be fooled, that's when the story takes an unexpected turn and everything gets back on track.

Paul (Moran) and Aubrey (Crampton, the muse of Stuart Gordon's 80s horror films like From Beyond and Re-Animator) are celebrating their wedding anniversary and have invited all their children with their wives, husbands and boyfriends to a dinner party. There's a strange, nervous atmosphere in the air, the brothers don't seem to understand each other and exchange barbs with each other right at the table. But something worse is to come. An arrow goes through the window and hits one of the family members in the head. The house is then invaded by a group of vicious killers who wear animal masks to cover their faces and begin a slaughter. It's the beginning of horror and a desperate struggle for survival. To say any more would be to spoil the surprise, especially for unconditional fans of the genre (non-fans should really steer clear of this movie!), as the eighties atmosphere permeates the entire work and is reminiscent of the nostalgic teen sessions of that decade. Oh... and to make up for it, a (beautiful) heroine is born into the genre. Want more? Jason, Leatherface and Myers beware!

The heavy energy that builds up throughout the movie is surreal, and from start to finish, you're gripped, anxious... curious... WORTHY OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR MOVIE!

Rebecca Hall delivers an Oscar-worthy performance. The soundtrack and sound effects are well developed and make the movie 10x better. Highly recommended, but only for those who can understand what the movie is trying to convey and the plot twist at the end. If you think you're incapable of understanding movies that are not just about "leisure", don't watch it, and then don't come back and say something negative because you're not smart enough to understand.

Nowadays it's hard to find a horror/suspense movie that doesn't make you regret having spent your time watching it, but this one doesn't have any of that, it grips you from start to finish, strong characters, a well-developed story, the plot at the end is very well worked out, in short, no complaints at all, it's also to be expected for the impeccable cast that is saving the horror genre these days, score 100000.

The focus is increasingly on international cinema.

Mia Goth was brilliant... I'm a fan of hers! She represents the horror of our generation.

This is the best horror movie I've ever seen.

It's very good! Great performances, a fantastic atmosphere and a very competent movie. It has all the clichés of a good 90's slasher. It promises to make any fan of this genre love this movie. It's almost a copy of the "Scream" saga, but a genuine and good one. The story is simple and very topical, as it takes place in the middle of a pandemic, in quarantine, showing a reality that we all go through.

Friends spend a night in an isolated luxury cabin. The film gets off to an electrifying start and only gets better. It's interesting to understand the paranoia that motivates this killing spree. It shows that the pandemic and isolation haven't done anyone any good.

I recommend it! I only gave it a 7 because the movie doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but it's a must-see for its very competent directing.

Even for a movie from 2004, this one doesn't live up to expectations. Very forced, a mediocre slasher, a horror that horrifies no one. Despite a good performance from the actress and the rest of the cast, I blame the director for giving the viewer something more innovative and surprising. A movie full of old clichés... It's not bad, but it's far from good... The movie leaves a lot of loose ends, a lot of things don't make sense... It would be good to understand and get to know the creature that lives in that subway station, how it got there, what motivates it to kill so much... Why, out of the blue, does it start killing the homeless people in the tunnel, given that they've frequented the same place for years... Anyway... I felt like I was watching something very unreasonable and pointless. The movie was only worth it for its acting and the good dark and dull environments.

A different proposal when it comes to horror movies.

How does a person's "physical state" alter their perception of life and the things/people around them?

How does a person PERCEIVE the world in an (almost) unconscious state?

"Skinamarink - Lullaby" is a MASTERPIECE, but only for some... For example, it didn't reach me, even though I understood the message and didn't think badly of it.

Never before has cinema been able to reproduce in images a "coma", a "nightmare" or a "feverish state".

GREAT CINEMA !!! Although I don't like it... Hence my 5/10... It's in the middle...

NOTE : Watch it carefully; it's definitely the most difficult movie to watch in the history of cinema, not just because of its monotony, but because of the attention and imagination it demands.

It's reminiscent of Knifes Out, only with teenagers. We have a good story to find out who is killing the young people in the house, on a night of partying, and the end is surprising. Fantastic performances, a dark and disturbing atmosphere, everything here has made for a good thriller with horror/comedy elements. A very competent youth horror.

I don't understand why so many people gave it low marks. The movie shows the futility of young people today and their enormous need for acceptance in groups. Image and material goods are above all else in today's society.

I recommend it!!! Warning: it's a kind of light horror, without gore and relaxed.

Shot in just four days, Soft & Quiet is a masterclass in suspense and how to create tension, with an ability to cause such discomfort and still get pleasure from it. Not many filmmakers are capable of such talent, definitively cementing Beth de Araújo as one of the great new directors in independent cinema. A perfect demonstration that genre cinema is in good health, and that there is still room for new creatives who want to establish themselves in the permanent memory of fans of good cinema.

Soft & Quiet doesn't work for those who recognize the absurdity of the reality of Nazism and racism, it can serve to teach those who don't yet know. And in this, Beth de Araújo's approach is extremely functional. It's a simple, straightforward film that should be shown in schools. After all, as the film itself shows, prejudice is not inherent in human beings; it is learned. So tolerance and empathy need to be too.

A quick search for the most extreme horror will find a collection of debaucherous, filthy, exploitative films - a cornucopia of mean-spirited, ultra-low budget labors of love that have squirmed their way into the hearts of loyal extreme horror fans.

But high on many of those lists is Inside (2007), a severely underrated gem from the New French Extremity movement that, if audiences were not so righteous in their judgement against blood and gore, would certainly deserve a fair share of praise for its bold, unflinching look at isolation, desperation, and the effects of trauma on the mind and body. Inside is one of the most horrifying, bloody, unrelenting horror films of the past thirty years. It gives the audience a heroine who is forced out of heartbreaking darkness and into the bowels a new sort of hell. La femme is by far one of the most terrifying villains but is also a sad and almost sympathetic character.

We're more connected than ever, but we've never been so sentimentally distant. This reflection has been the subject of too much discussion over the last few years, so much so that it has become a cliché to use it in the construction of a critique of contemporary technology (which doesn't completely eliminate its relevance, especially in a time of pandemic). It's curious how Pulse, conceived at a time when connectivity through a computer still had clear limitations, already addresses elements of this discussion in its narrative. It even sounds premonitory how Kurosawa articulates here a dramatization of his country's cultural problems to evoke the horror of computerized devices.

First of all, it should be noted that the "analog" spaces in the film already suggest a decadence that resonates in the psychological condition of the characters. Dark spaces, demarcated by sterile architecture and cluttered with objects, with corners of rooms taken over by shadows. The physical environment of the film demarcates human distance, while sounding dangerously inviting to the existential devouring of those who inhabit it. Kurosawa seems to be influenced by a certain architectural notion present in Tarkovsky's films, especially Stalker and Solaris. The Russian director was a master at using this sterility to amplify a general attitude of sentimental decay in the narrative. Kurosawa uses this reference, adapting it to an environment of individualism and incommunicability that is very typical of Japanese society.

The horror arising from the manifestation of the supernatural reaches dramatic heights in the dialectic established right from the start with the suicide scene: an existential monotony that progresses to a depressive state marked by loneliness. What is mystical in the film exists as an element that exacerbates the anguish of an incommunicado society. The concreteness of spaces that are oppressive to any notion of collective life finally seems to come to life as mental deterioration makes room for ethereal abstractions.

This escalation of computerization at the beginning of the millennium seems to be shaping the spaces for the tragedy of incommunicability to take hold. The young student's lack of knowledge about the details of this technological novelty ends up working very well as a driver of fear. The videos appear spontaneously on the monitors and manage to break the limits of the screen through the disturbance caused by their content and textures. Switching off a computer isn't enough to stop the horror caused by these apparitions and, even if it were, there's no escape when the screen is intrinsically hypnotizing to the user.

Initially a supernatural threat and pure phantasmagoria, the fear coming from these videos transfigures as the narrative progresses. In an idea that is even reminiscent of possession, but which retains its strength in a character more typical of the film's state of affairs, the frontality of the apparitions leaves aside the protagonist in horror for the aspect of remembrance that they cause in the depressive condition of their characters. The artificiality of the imagery employed by Kurosawa leads the film into a contemplative state of terror that subtly develops disturbance through its significance for human individuality.

These images and their dialectic between what is supernatural and what exists concretely in the gloomy spaces of the film are propellants of existentialist anguish. They are like triggers that bring out the most fatalistic feelings inside each character, like memories of a timeless human tragedy that finds shelter in the devices of an era.

Every shot in Pulse is a testament to the half-empty glass.