A hilarious example of everything that can go wrong with modern horror films.
This is a film of two halves, both of which are terrible. Half one is a boring re-heated slice of Hollywood pseudo-horror, commercial slop with no artistic merit or purpose outside of milking money out of horror fans at this time of year. The other half, is one of the most baffling and awkward horror films of the last decade or so.
The first element of this predictable and stale, yet fascinatingly bad and hilarious, mess is the acting. Generic, done a thousand times before, 'creepy' child acting, relying on the same tricks that have been used since 'The Omen'. The only interesting thing about the performance of (as I like to call her) 'creepy little girl 2070' is the hilariously inept screenplay. For example, there is sequence wherein this child stabs her father through the hand with a fork, this is met with her being sent to bed and being mildly chastised and reprimanded. I don't feel I need to comment on how people don't act like this in any way shape or form. This performance particularly bothers me, and is a microcosm for the entire film, being both dull and forgettable and profoundly sloppy and terrible. The rest of the acting is average to mediocre, made worse by a weak script with inhuman dialogue and leaden exposition.
Next are the film's scares, key in all horror films. They are mostly non-existent. Either lame, predictable jump scares or dull and recycled 'creepy' scenes borrowed from the various other exorcism based films of the last decade. Literally the only original scary concept or image in the film, is on the poster and in the trailer,so even that was wasted. The film fails to create an atmosphere because it has no identity, and fails to scare because it has no surprises.
Next is the film's rather odd theme. Jewish folklore. This is a fairly specific and honestly intriguing focus point for the film. Or it would be if it wasn't introduced over an hour into the film. The theme is wasted and does not reflect at all in the previous hour of the film, with not a single explanation for why this specific entity, from this culture, targeted this little girl. In addition to this, the Jewish exorcism is filmed and treated the same as a more recognisable Catholic exorcism (I do not know if the two ceremonies are actually this similar, or if the Jewish faith even has exorcism, however I f they are this similar then why bother with the distinction at all?), sucking all chance for uniqueness are flavour the film could have in one scene. The ending twist, although I will not spoil, suffice to say is another example of an overdone and obvious modern horror film technique.
Overall the film is a travesty. I would call it the horror equivalent to "Crash"(due to its moronic writing, reheated ideas and total lack of punch), however I feel more confused than angry here, unlike with Crash. This film was also not given the acclaim that Crash was, and has rightfully been left to die on the side of the street, with all the other generic horror retreads to have emerged in the last 15 years. This is for the greater good I assure you.
The first element of this predictable and stale, yet fascinatingly bad and hilarious, mess is the acting. Generic, done a thousand times before, 'creepy' child acting, relying on the same tricks that have been used since 'The Omen'. The only interesting thing about the performance of (as I like to call her) 'creepy little girl 2070' is the hilariously inept screenplay. For example, there is sequence wherein this child stabs her father through the hand with a fork, this is met with her being sent to bed and being mildly chastised and reprimanded. I don't feel I need to comment on how people don't act like this in any way shape or form. This performance particularly bothers me, and is a microcosm for the entire film, being both dull and forgettable and profoundly sloppy and terrible. The rest of the acting is average to mediocre, made worse by a weak script with inhuman dialogue and leaden exposition.
Next are the film's scares, key in all horror films. They are mostly non-existent. Either lame, predictable jump scares or dull and recycled 'creepy' scenes borrowed from the various other exorcism based films of the last decade. Literally the only original scary concept or image in the film, is on the poster and in the trailer,so even that was wasted. The film fails to create an atmosphere because it has no identity, and fails to scare because it has no surprises.
Next is the film's rather odd theme. Jewish folklore. This is a fairly specific and honestly intriguing focus point for the film. Or it would be if it wasn't introduced over an hour into the film. The theme is wasted and does not reflect at all in the previous hour of the film, with not a single explanation for why this specific entity, from this culture, targeted this little girl. In addition to this, the Jewish exorcism is filmed and treated the same as a more recognisable Catholic exorcism (I do not know if the two ceremonies are actually this similar, or if the Jewish faith even has exorcism, however I f they are this similar then why bother with the distinction at all?), sucking all chance for uniqueness are flavour the film could have in one scene. The ending twist, although I will not spoil, suffice to say is another example of an overdone and obvious modern horror film technique.
Overall the film is a travesty. I would call it the horror equivalent to "Crash"(due to its moronic writing, reheated ideas and total lack of punch), however I feel more confused than angry here, unlike with Crash. This film was also not given the acclaim that Crash was, and has rightfully been left to die on the side of the street, with all the other generic horror retreads to have emerged in the last 15 years. This is for the greater good I assure you.
Originally posted 3/10/14 on IMDB.com. as part of HALLOWEEN HORROR REVIEWS 2014
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