This review may contain spoilers.
In the moment, it felt like this was a thematically rich slow burn that had something to say about school shootings, unresolved communal grief, poisonous and infectious group think, and even addiction. At times, it necessarily and smartly tips its hat to films like The Shining and It, but again, it’s mostly subtle about how it does it, so it leaves the viewer feeling smart.
And then the final 25 minutes happen and the credits roll, and I felt all my good will sort of vanish. The plot is so explained that it loses its shine, and the themes are left so unexplored that, while I see them there, I’m not sure the film makes any observations about them, beyond noting their existence. It feels natural to elevate horror to social commentary; the best horror often is. (Even Night of the Living Dead and Psycho were doing this way back in the day.) But taking on the language of social commentary without actually making a point is just abusing a trend.
Despite that, I had a great time watching this. I even liked the weird structure, which kept me guessing and on my toes. But I wish that some of the evil here was kept a mystery, or that it were resolved in a less fantastical way. (I’d prefer something without a witch; it’s so overdone it’s kind of farcical.)
But the fact this was one of my “least favourite” movies from 2025 — what a banger year!