Made biiiiig waves at Sundance the other day. I'm really looking forward to it but I'm choosing not to watch this trailer, I'm gonna try to avoid any trailers/promos the best I can so I can go in totally blind. The article headlines that I've read about it already have me overhyped enough, lots of talk about how it's one of the scariest horror movies to come out in years etc
I’ve still avoided all promotional material for this. I haven’t seen anything other than the trailer thumbnail frame. It made it a bit strange when I’d be at the movies with friends and this trailer would play so I’d either close my eyes and plug my ears or just quickly walk out for a second if it was convenient (:
As soon as I got out of the theater I finally watched the trailer because its been taunting me to watch it for MONTHS
So glad I decided to not watch anything beforehand. It made the experience far better. The trailer does a pretty good job of not revealing a whole lot but there are still major bits in there that I'm really glad I didn't know going in
I have really mixed feelings about it. I mayyyyyy have overhyped myself by not watching the trailer and making it such a big thing for me. I also went in really wanting it to be my favorite so far this year (it wasn't). Overhype is a KILLER!
I feel like maybe if I had never heard of this movie and stumbled upon it at midnight one night and watched it alone then it would be far scarier/better for me. Horror movies are so circumstantial like that I think. Their effect on me totally depends on when I watched it, who I watched it with, how much I know about it, what other horror movies I've seen, how old I was when I saw it, etc. Sorta like our scariest movie thread is revealing
BUT ANYWAY. Poor Peter. And poor STEVE! I was really rooting for those two to just get the FUCK outta that family the whole movie. Just pack up and leave
Toni Collette and the kid playing Peter were really great. I loved Peter. I think the director was a clown for making him call her mommy and for sobbing in a cartoonish way for half the movie but I don't blame the actor really, he was so good outside of those bits. I really felt bad for him
Charlie's death was easily the best scene of the movie. I did not expect that at all. The moment and the direct aftermath with Peter driving home and then the shot of the head in the road were all so well done. The movie really needed it because the whole first half hour I kept thinking it really needs..something more
After that point I thought the movie might be about Charlie haunting the family. Or the grandma haunting the family to punish them for Charlie's death since she was so attached to her. Or the grandma haunting them through the mom. I had no idea where the horror elements were gonna come in exactly. Since I didn't watch the trailer I didn't know there were supernatural elements at all and certainly didn't know it'd be about the occult
One of the scariest things I've ever seen was the witch coven moment in Paranormal Activity 3 (because of how unexpected it was). The last act of this movie was basically that but the entire time. The blink and you miss it shot of the naked people surrounding the outside of the house towards the end was finally when I started to get freaked out. Once the dad was dead, the idea that Peter was now alone in the house and was totally surrounded was really freaky to me. Then the shots of the mom on the wall behind him, the fucking naked grinning man, the old fucks in the attic. All really creepy
My theater was flipping out afterwards. Some were laughing, I heard at least THREE say it was the scariest movie they had ever seen as we were all walking out. I wish I felt that. I think I've just seen a handful of movies that have scares like this but were done better so it just didn't land as well for me. Maybe if I was used to the Truth Or Dare's of the world then this would've terrified me more
Overall it was good. Really well directed/acted but the scares overall were really not there for me which was disappointing. I'm really excited to see what the director does next though
