Nocturne

The second of Amazon's Blumhouse collaborations I watched was "Nocturne", a debut feature from writer/director Zu Quirke which, not unlike "Black Box" eschews conventional horror, this time for more of a psychological thriller.

Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) lives under the shadow of her twin sister Vivian (Madison Iseman). Though both are talented pianists, Juliet's demeanour means that Vivian is graduating to Julliard but she is not. Moira (Ji Eun Hwang), their current schools most gifted student, takes her own life, which means the final concerts solo is vacant. Vivian seems the natural person to claim it, until Juliet finds Moira's notebook, a cryptic and dark series of notes, markings and illustrations. The book has an effect on Juliet, increasing her confidence, but how far is she willing to go to claim that solo.

As with "Black Box" I feel that there's lots to admire with this film, but little to love. It does feel like a budget version of "Black Swan", with its story of pressure are the higher end of artistic achievement. The performances from the two leads, Iselman and Sweeney, are really good. Art direction and cinematherapy are decent, the effects - such as they are - aren't bad - though it does help that they often aren't looking for realism, rather part of a fantastic dream type sequence. I do feel like I'm prepared to give the film a whole point for the final shot (to say anything more is a bit too spoilery).

But plot wise it's a bit too humdrum and predictable. You'll be well in advance of Juliet in terms of what is happening and you'll probably see the ending coming a mile off. There are a couple of minor twists that the film doesn't do a great job of disguising and it's all just a little too flat, and lacking in originality and invention to recommend it as worthwhile.

Negatives ultimately outweighed the positives for me, but at least there were positives.

... but remember, music is a blood sport and Juliet shows us why with a powerfully crimson performance as a teenage girl determined to rise to the challenge. Twins sibling rivalry and a piano provides the foundation but the cornerstones are the pressures placed on adolescence, the price of admission to achieving aspirations, the penalties incurred due to high expectations and the effects on others that take place as a consequence. Imaginatively done, if not all that original, it is the composition created by Sydney Sweeney that deserves the credit and a well earned round of applause.

Very surprised by this film. Not your typical horror but I would say this is way better than most. Solid acting, great use of music, well directed. This is definitely a film that will keep your attention. It is a little slower paced but the mood and setting more than make up for that.

While watching 'Nocturne' it can be really hard not to notice the similarities between this and 'Black Swan'. It's slightly less sexual but the story follows a very similar pattern. To be fair there are far worse films to base yours off. It's just something I noticed. The opening scene of 'Nocturne' sets up some intrigue. It's not a scary or suspenseful scene, but it is strange and leaves you wanting to know why it happened. From there the film sets about telling its story, and does so in a surprisingly compelling way.

I'm not a big music fan (and certainly not classical music) but I didn't find that hindered my enjoyment of the film at all. If that's putting you off seeing the movie I would suggest not to worry about it. The film is a horror, but more in a bizarre way than a suspenseful or gory way. If horror isn't for you, I would say that isn't necessarily a deal-breaker on this one. I could imagine non-horror fans finding a way to enjoy this movie.

Sydney Sweeney was really good in the lead role here. She played a big part in making the film as watchable as it was. She's in every scene so it was very important she got her performance right. I liked 'Nocturne' without ever perhaps loving it. It's worth a look but don't set your expectations too high.

I enjoyed this one, with the creepy faustian deal occuring in the background.

Though why this is so interesting is because they chose to leave things a little vague and open ended. I interpreted this movie in at least 3 different ways, maybe in 4 even.

At the end of the day it is hard to come across well shot movies with good plot beats, audio/music, and solid acting. This one covered the bases very well and has elements of horror woven into it, just enough to keep you on your toes.

The ending was damn creepy as well.

7/10 bravo, good watch.