It Shall Not Be Named

I found this movie on Tubi the other night. It was recommended to me as "People who watched this also watched this movie" and the artwork and the log line looked intriguing enough so I said what the hell and just gave it a try.

I didn't have high expectations as I've never heard of the director or the actors before and we all know how bad most of the extremely low budget indie films are, many of them are totally unwatchable.

But I must admit that this movie actually managed to surprise me. The story line looks like a classic evil roommate situation but goes way deeper than that.

But before I get into all that, I must say that this movie has a really good pacing and definitely isn't one of those low budge horror films where nothing happens in the first 30 minutes.

It starts with a bang and it keeps getting more and more interesting by the minute. It's like I'm watching a horror version of a soap opera. Think of it like a Lifetime movie but with the gore in it.

The acting and the cinematography is nothing to brag about but it's okay enough to keep you entertained. Especially, I liked the acting of the evil roommate. You can tell she really gets into it and I would watch more from her for sure.

On the other hand, I can't say the same for the lead actress. Although she is likeable enough for you to not wish her to die, in some of the horror scenes her performance is extremely stiff.

As for the horror stuff, the scenes weren't long enough to build tension but there are two that almost gave me a heart attack as I wasn't expecting them so those got me good.

Talking about horror, there are some moments in the movie that immerses you with its sound design and I found it very entertaining as an avid horror fan. Jump scares are high quality and the movie successfully manages to create the tension via its sound effects and haunting musical cues.

That being said, there are many beautiful soundtracks in this movie that is really surprising for a low budget indie movie at this caliber.

Especially the intro and the end credit soundtracks are very well made which fits perfectly with the overall tone of the movie.

There are also some slow pop songs that made me look up the performing artists and I must admit they are very talented indie singers that you've never heard of before, making you wondering how are they not famous already. I warn you they are really beautiful romantic love songs that'll pull your heart strings.

And most importantly, if you're one of those people who like their movies end with a twist then this movie will give you what you need as its ending is pretty good and I didn't see it coming to be honest.

It ties up lose ends pretty well and with its 84 minute, It Shall Not Be Named doesn't overstay its welcome. It tells its story without boring you to tears and finishes with a satisfactory ending.

All in all, if you are in the mood for a scary movie with good storytelling and soundtrack and you're in the mood for discovering new singers, then I definitely recommend you to give this film a chance. It's free on Tubi right now so you have nothing to lose.

And I'll call it "trash". Man is this lousy. I'm not sure what annoying filter this is shot through but I'm absolutely sure it would have looked better shot through a potato. The writer had a halfway decent idea but budgetary constraints, amateur acting, and bizarre directoral choices doomed it. Possibly with a bigger budget it could have been decent, but I seriously doubt it. There's a song in the soundtrack that repeats the word tempted a lot, and I certainly was tempted quite a bit - to turn this dreck off. As I have stated many times, it is very possible to make a really enjoyable film on a shoestring budget, too bad these folks couldn't do it.

This movie had a very interesting premise so I decided to give it a shot. I love movies about witchcraft and occultism and having a psycho roommate story element on top as a cherry made me say "Shut up and just take my money."

The storyline itself is creepy enough because of the fact that it could happen to any of us. The thought of having an unwanted person in your home indefinitely, where you're supposed to feel the safest is just terrifying and this movie explores this what if scenario pretty well.

Don't get me wrong though. This movie isn't perfect by any means. The pacing is good, the story and the characters are interesting and there's a lot of mystery stuff going on as well. However, if you're an avid horror fan who is looking for a very disturbing and/or scary movie to have sleepless nights, this isn't your movie.

I'd say this is more in line with Lifetime thriller movies rather than an art film like Hereditary etc. It moves fast, easy to watch, the acting isn't the best and it's mainly a contained horror movie. But the concept is good enough and it has some nice pop music to listen to.

That said, if you're in the mood for a background movie where you won't lose sleep over it or if you're having a girls night and you need something light while catching up with some gossip, I'd say give this one a shot. However, if you want to be scared endless and want to sleep with the lights on for a week, you can pretty much skip this one.

I have absolutely no idea why this movie has such a low rating. Maybe someone in the team has a hater? I'll cut to the chase right away, this is definitely NOT a movie that should have a 2.6 RATING.

Anything below a 3 is considered "it's so bad that it is completely unwatchable" in my book and this movie is nowhere near that. It has an interesting plot, a likable lead character and has some good pacing. It didn't bore me at all, keeping me at the edge of my seat the entire time making me think how it's gonna all tie up in the end.

I was expecting some garbage when I clicked on its thumbnail on Tubi to watch it but surprisingly, I was in complete shock when it ended. Yes, I saw that it had some flaws because of budgetary constraints (which low budget indie doesn't?), the horror scenes could have been executed much better and the acting was stiff at parts but still, I guarantee you it's definitely worthy of a watch. Even if you don't like a movie about witches, you should still give it a try to support low budget indie movies.

Seriously, I don't understand why some people complain that the Hollywood keeps making same rehashed content one after another instead of something original. This is why. If you don't support indie films and let some people bash them with their unreasonable expectations giving all low budget movies one star willy nilly, then we all will be stuck with Spiderman 29 and The Conjuring 19.

Please don't let this happen and try supporting your local indie film community as much as you can. Even just a free watch helps these people get the opportunity to go make a better one.