Shaman

I think sometimes we get a little bit too spoiled with special effects and we take for granted how less is more. The movie had a good story line, character development was indeed scarce but they made up for it by painting a picture of why these people were in Ecuador. I think that did a really good job grasping the struggle between forced Christianity in parts of the world and also the fact that using things like food and clothing can persuade people to convert. But what happens when the Christian god is quiet and people have to call upon the old ways of their people? That's the question this movie answers and aside from the fact they did a damn good job explaining that, it was shot in Ecuador and completely captured the setting for it. Add to that the fact that the acting was pretty decent and boom we have 6 stars possibly even 7. They used real life situations to execute supernatural possibilities. What more can you ask for in a possession movie? Spinning heads? Contorting bodies? Pea soup? Stop being so spoiled and enjoy a well told horror movie.

Must confess I was kinda screwed up for YEARS by "The Exorcist". This one has similar vibes, but much milder. Its missionaries in an area that has / had its own Native South American Spirits... and the people very much believe their Medicine Man can cure their ailments with white magic, and animal sacrifices, not unlike "The Believers" (Santería), then a lesser degree "Serpent and the Rainbow", "Angel Heart" that are MAJOR movies, in a league of their own, quality wise... but similar vibes, although "Shaman", like Exorcist, has more focus on the kid. Lots of actors screaming and audience jump scares, if you are into that, you will enjoy this movie. It MAY even leave a little something in your brain, afterwards... but NOT as much as "The Woman in Black" (1989). That one may kill you.

Firstly, the poor ratings from other user reviews can be well understood as people following a certain faith will feel their god being deemed less powerful.

This movie has an honest take about the old days when missionaries were trying to advertise their gods all around the globe and make claims about uplifting native lives after acceptance of their god.

Although majority would interpret the movie would go along the lines of defining the Shaman as bad person, this movie makes a complete turn and puts the light on what the real evil looks like.

This movie puts the other religious horror to shame, where you just show a cross or some holy artifact and the evil runs away like a scared kid. The best part is, if evil exists in this world then it cannot be undone, and it prevails.

Looking at the synopsis and trailer I was drawn by the setting and variety of characters. Some reviews saying this was different also helped my interest.

But to be honest, other than some beautiful mountain landscapes (not that I find them exotic anyways, since I am from South America) shoot competently, the film was quite mediocre.

Past the initial third of the movie, when the mystery is presented and I could see the setting didn't add anything to a well worn genre of horror, I was very bored.

The loud sound jump scare thing is something that I really find lazy and uninteresting. The more there is of that, the less I like the movie.

The makeup and effects are very boring and cliché. Don't get me wrong, I don't need big budget SFX in a movie, but I DO need originality and creativity, towards a good, interesting atmosphere to find a movie entertaining and interesting.

This one didn't have any of that.

It didn't have good writing neither, in terms of story or characters.

Actually, I found the main three characters quite annoying and I couldn't care less about them. The young indigenous woman also became quite annoying by the second half, with her judgemental attitude and the two face expression performance.

Performances weren't anything particularly good, but the characters didn't have much going on for the actors to explore or exploit. Probably falling into some mediocre directing too.

Overall, I feel like there isn't anything to mention from this movie to make it recommendable.

I'd skip it if I knew better.

This movie was decently entertaining, but I wouldn't pay much to see it. The main gringa is utterly unlikable at any juncture and I'm not sure if it was deliberate or what, but her Spanish is absolutely awful. I mean, bad to the point where it's almost unintelligible at times. Think valley girl, but in spanish.

It's sort of a possession flick, but its main message seems to be "keep missionaries out of indigenous communities" and I'm all for that.