The Painted - Abbild der Dunkelheit

I had never heard about this 2024 horror movie titled "The Painted" from writer and director Sasha Sibley prior to stumbling upon it by sheer chance here in 2025. And given my love of all things horror, and with this being a horror movie that I had never seen, of course I opted to check it out.

And I will say that the movie's synopsis certainly sounded interesting enough. Writer Sasha Sibley put together an entertaining and enjoyable enough script and storyline. I have to say that I really did like the concept idea with the paintings.

While I was not familiar with the majority of the actors and actresses on the cast list, then I will say that the acting performances were good. I do enjoy watching unfamiliar and new talents on the screen whenever I watch a movie. I do believe that the only familiar face on the screen for me was actor Sean Bridgers.

The special effects in the movie were good and helped further the movie's narrative nicely.

"The Painted" is a watchable horror movie, no doubt about that. But it was hardly an outstanding foray into the horror genre, and the movie just doesn't warrants more than a single viewing. But maybe newcomers to the horror genre will enjoy the movie way more than I did, as a seasoned horror veteran.

My rating of writer and director Sasha Sibley's 2024 movie "The Painted" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I wasn't expecting much from The Painted and was surprised at how many points it got right. Well shot, with some excellent special effects, some good suspense and genuinely creepy at times, it showed real effort if at times not exactly succeeding. The acting was kind of all over the place, but it was the casting that really failed. It seems the 5 leads, all playing a family, did not seem related in any way at all. The actor playing the son looked way too old and the actress playing his teenage sister was excellent but neither she or the young girl seemed related to him at all. It was almost as if they chose 5 random actors with no thought that this was suppose to be a believable family. The effort to recreate the 1960s also was a big fail. Still I enjoyed this and it even had one scene, bordering on funny but extremely realistic that I loved. Worth a one time watch.

I appreciate the challenges that come with a low-budget production, and I made an effort to manage my expectations while watching. The horror concept is fresh and intriguing but lacks support from the cast's performances and script. The lead actress's expressions could have been more nuanced, though the older daughter demonstrated stronger acting skills.

I appreciate the seamless movement of the paintings, particularly when one is reflected in the mirror. This aspect of the movie truly stands out to me and enhances my overall enjoyment. If a more talented cast were assembled or if this concept were integrated into the Conjuring franchise, it could enhance the film's overall potential.

What a cool surprise! A fresh take on an old idea. There have been movies that use pictures & mirrors as portholes, but there is alot more going on here.

A woman is contacted & informed that she is the executor of her cusions estate. Her family travels to the house where odd events begin. The house is filled with paintings of the decendants of the original owner and at night the paintings come alive.

An interesting cast that works well together. An amazing house and overall set design. The lighting was great, erie st times. What a difference good writing makes! The story keeps moving and is intertesting.

A young guy named Sasha Sibley was the Writer and Director and wow, i cant wait to see what he does next. This film is good, start to finish. Every now and then a good one comes along and this is a good one.

Basically that...

What I did like about it was it's very old fashioned style. None of the OTT flourishes that permeate Horror films these days. No extreme sadism or violence. No annoying overacting.

And, like others here have said, it is a good concept, rather imaginative, and I thought the visuals were done well, especially in the way they blended the 'Real' with the Unreal (I don't want to give too much away...)

Also, with many films like this where a family is going through this kind of stuff, usually the acting is not so hot with a lot of the Drama overdone, etc. In this case, I really did like the way the characters were developed (primarily the parents, the children really didn't have much to do) and their reactions and the way they dealt with each other, particularly in dramatic or uncomfortable scenes, were very well done, realistic, and believable.

Also, like some others have said here too, the ending is probably not as effective as it could be, finishing with a bit of a whimper...

But, if you are not expecting a super modern Horror movie with all kinds of extreme violence and effects and such and can appreciate an older fashioned yet imaginative style, then you might find this one fairly entertaining. I gave it a decent '6'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed enough probably to give it a pass.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )