I sat on this for a few days before writing a review to see if I would have anything truly intelligent to say. But I don’t. This is The Shining for people who love the scene when they get drunk and sing in the boat in Jaws.
Actually, this is very much like The Shining in all the best ways. Hear me out:
- There’s a lot of atmosphere. Like The Shining. It was filmed on lenses that are 90 – 100 years old, so that comes with the territory.
- Depending how you look at it, the scares are either the result of spiritual war or alcoholism. This is true of all the best horror movies. Like The Shining. Fight me.
- There’s an axe. Like The Shining. Sorry, if your horror movie doesn’t include an axe, you messed up. See point two.
- The performances are incredible, but outside of their context, they’re like Nicholson in The Shining: kinda nuts character portrayals from scene 1 till the end. I’m certain somebody will want to nominate both actors for Razzies. But they should also get Oscar nods. I have a friend who I know disagrees. He, like you, can fight me on this.
- Ultimately, like every truly great horror movie (except maybe Get Out), this film has nothing to say. But the atmosphere and intensity and stunning visuals will leave you certain its saying something. And that’s how it gets you. Suddenly, it’s been 4 days and you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s got its claws in you. You know, just like The Shining.
I keep comparing it to The Shining, but it’s so obviously going for that. And old horror movies from the 40s. That’s super cool. I dig it.
If the film is about anything, I think it might be about boomers fighting millennials. (This is not like The Shining.) I pitched this theory to my friend who saw it with me. He said I was nuts.
Anyway, the movie is ambiguous and has no meaning. But look, there’s atmosphere, alcohol, and axes, so I don’t know what more you could want from your horror.