Kandisha

I think this one just barley hit the mark above average. I tend to be a little biased towards folk horror as it is my favorite, but also many of the kills/effects along with the monster design pushed it over the edge for me.

Other than that this movie was pretty basic. Simple cause and effect storyline that generally felt like it was geared towards a younger audience. The movie looked nice but was still pretty run of the mill as far as design and shots go for movies in the past 5 years. Acting seemed fine/good across the board (as an English speaker).

There are definitely some cool aspects to this one but it is not reinventing the wheel by any means. 5.5 rounding up to a 6, would recommend.

It's a very generic cookie cutter supernatural teen slasher film. Overused horror tropes. Swap out Christianity demons for Islamic Jinns in a ouija board style film, add a feminist spin on it, you have Kandisha. The girl summons a Jinn by calling its name five times after drawing a pentagram with her blood, not understanding the implications of a Evil Jinn that seeks to kill males. It's never scary, although it does have some decent gore. For a 2020 film, the special effects are pedestrian. I am surprised this was made by the same people as the French original "Inside" which is an amazing film.

A girl abused by her ex-boyfriend summons an ancient demon to exact revenge, but the revenge gets out of control.

Interesting scenario that begins in the multi-ethnic high-rise community of a French city, with plenty of cultural tropes thrown in, from graffiti artistry to inter-racial banter to a variety of American music. Fast dialogue, so the sub-titles are on full duty during the first act.

Unfortunately, this is horror-by-numbers, with zero psychology, as a creepy curse comes out of the past to affect modern urban dwellers. All been done before to better effect, the model being Candyman, which the movie actually references. The demon has some interesting reveals, particularly when the hoofs come out, but a big set piece is spoiled by poor editing at 1:09, in which the poor actors have to REACT! Without any suspense built into the event.

The only thing that could have stirred it up for me is if the final scene had been fast-forwarded into the middle of the second act - now that would have been interesting: set a demon to catch the original demon.

The production quality is good, but with such uninspired material I got the impression everyone involved lost conviction as the inevitable conclusion approached. You may know how to put a movie together, but a good horror needs some soul.

Overall: Starts out energetic, but ends up flat as a jumper's corpse on a pavement.

I love a good demon or creature feature, and seeing demons from different parts of the world and from different cultural legends is always enjoyable. Kandisha isn't particularly scary, or unique. But it's worth a watch. Some of the kills were fun and gory, but a lot was CGI which is a shame.

I especially liked how the demon is perceived by different characters at different moments. A lot of the movie is predictable, but it's not so predictable that it's off-putting. Good ending, but there are some plot holes and unexplained events. Plus some weird editing and transitions that mess with the pacing.

All in all, it's not bad. Similar movies Antlers (2021), The Canal (2014), Pumpkinhead (1988), and His House (2020). But to be honest, all of those movies are better than this one.

Unfortunately, Bustillo and Maury continue their streak to mediocrity with Kandisha. Zero originality, not that great or likable characters and not at all scary. I have to give them points for deaths in last 20 minutes of the movie, but that's about it. Nothing to see here and if they continue this way, I'll have to think that "Inside" was just beginners luck, since all after that ( except Livid, which is a problematic, but interesting movie ) was downhill. Definitely not recommended.