Can't Take It Back

It's a decent teen horror honestly. Yes there are problems, but also there are some legitimately creepy moments. Honestly I'd probably watch it again.

It's an average teen horror flick. I've seen tons worse. Decent production value, decent acting, what more do you want from a movie with this premise? I'll take it over a lot of Blumhouse theatrical releases. Far from perfect, but you could definitely spend an hour and a half in worse ways.

One reviewer is either terribly confused or trolling by stating that this film is in any way about zombies. Surprise, No Zombies!

This is about high school seniors who find a deceased former classmates social profile and leave some nasty comments on it. Then each of them is haunted by a malicious spirit and discover that their cruel remarks cannot be apologized for nor "taken back".

The storyline seems cliched and unimaginative, even so, it could have been better written. Much of the acting is wooden though it's not the worst of 2017. The finished product is reads as a campy B-flick potpourri inspired by similar themes and it is unforgivably predicable. This one seems like it's the work of a film student/ first-timer and was hurriedly completed on a shoe-string budget. Many great films have been produced under them same constraints, but this isn't one of them. I agree with another reviewer that says this movie would appeal greatest to very bored teen girls.

Was drawn into seeing 'Can't Take It Back' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing if not creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre as said many times. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Can't Take It Back' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better. 'Can't Take It Back' is very weak with a lot of big problems. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.

Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Can't Take it Back' could have looked far worse visually, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me there were moments where it didn't look too bad, having said that a lot of it is crude and rushed-looking.

'Can't Take it Back' has some suspenseful and creepy moments in the first third and it started off on a fun and intriguing note.

Albeit, there is nothing new here, it's all familiar territory and executed in old-hat fashion. The second half also takes itself far too seriously and gets incredibly idiotic, a very completely different film feel here. The creepiness dissipates completely fairly early on, with the horror, suspense and tension being nowhere near enough. Things start not making much sense and gets silly, with one of the most ludicrous and easily foreseeable endings ever. The acting is not amateurish, but it's also fairly unremarkable.

Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppiness can be found in editing and narrative, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script likewise. The concept is not a new one and there is nothing new or illuminating here, it is a harrowing and relevant subject that is being explored and the film underdevelops, overdoes and trivialises it.

Then there is some padding and aimlessness that also gives the film a dragging sensation. The characters are flimsily developed, annoying and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music and sound editing are far too intrusive and obvious. It is not a case of not trying, it is a case of trying too hard and the execution suffers as a result.

In summary, weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Seemed to have a reasonably original storyline (considering I have only heard/seen about 3 or 4 movies with the same motif.) The acting isn't *awful* but some of it could definitely be improved on. The 'demon' or whatever the hell it is relies on special technical effects as the actual makeup isn't very scary on it's own. As a woman in her mid twenties, I am not a fan of Logan Paul but his acting wasn't terrible; it was passable. Nothing special.

The lead's eyebrows did annoy the hell out of me, though. Plus all of the dumb decision making that always seems to be a common theme in any horror movie, but particularly ones that center around teenagers.

The plot started out valuably, with promise, but as the movie started progressing towards it's second and third act, it was lacking in oomf. There were a few creepy bits, one or two good jump scares, but all in all; I would not watch this again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend.