User reviews

I've been excited to see "Starfish" since I saw the trailer a month or two ago - my expectations were wrong, but not in a bad way.

"Starfish" is a worthy entry in the indie sci-fi genre, it reminded me of the works by Zal Batmanglij & Britt Marling, and also Von Triers "Melancholia". Visually it's quite impressive actually, very simple, but carefully executed. Cinematography is rich and creative, editing's crafty and done with a sure hand, there's a subtle amount of decent cgi & color grading is on point. The visual atmosphere is accompanied by a fitting, raw original score.

The story is narrow, questions won't be answered & that's alright. Be warned and don't come looking for substance and logic in "Starfish". While there's not a lot of action (close to none) & the pacing is slow, even draggy at moments, it's the atmosphere and emotional side of the story that should hold your attention, it did hold mine, to some extent. Feel for the character, watch in silence and you might just get mesmerised by the simplest things - there were a few, short movie magic moments. Personally, I liked the drama part more than the sci-fi part, there are thoughts put in this film, however metaphoric. The main character, by the way, is acted out well, props for that.

A lot of people say that "Starfish" is unique - I disagree, it's been done before, different styles, maybe less style. There's no doubt that this is a style-over-substance kind of movie & I happen to love them. Oh and I would hardly call this a horror movie, it's a sci-fi drama. Who do I recommend this to? Art-house lovers, low-budget indie sci-fi fans & for those who like style-over-substance slow-burners. Those were my honest thoughts on this inside-out-indie avantgarde flick. My rating: 6/10.

Some movies you have to "pause" when you go to the bathroom. This is the kind of movie that you can "start it" go wash your car come back and you would have missed nothing. In a one women show the turtle got voted "best new comer"... seriously though there's nothing here. Productuon values are good. Virginia Gardner the lead and only character in the movie is very good. The writer/director had nothing to say no story to tell. Well he did have a story to tell but seems he chose not to tell it or lost it in editing. Just kidding this movie was not lost in the editing room. Starfish is what you get when you have a kernel of an idea and a slightly smaller kernel of imagination. (6 turtle puns deleted out of respect for the 3 people who will read this review)

The good: the lead is breathtakingly beautiful. Good actress too. The cinematographiy is very clever and eyecatching. The bad: a "thriller" this ain't. It could be bottled and sold as a sleep aid. I literally fell asleep halfway through.

A pretentious load of codswallop, from the mind of pseudo intellectual, I have not seen a worse film EVER.

This movie may have been billed as Drama/Horror but essentially it's neither. Although the premise of the film is a girl battling thru the end of the world in which monsters have come thru from another dimension, its really just all a bunch of metaphorical hooey that the writer/director was using to express his personal grief issues. Thus the only person who truly understands this movie is its creator, the rest of us can only take our best guess as to what it all means. My interpretation is that the star represents the director, coping with some marital and grief issues and the monsters are the occasional terror and anxiety they felt in their isolation. The premise of some magical sound hidden in the various mixtapes feels like a thin veil put on the film so it could be categorized. If you want a monster horror flic, this isnt for you but if you have a personal relationship with grief, loss, or regret, then you may find some understanding in the film, but dont look for any big answers.

Save yourself 1 hour and 40 minutes of your life and dont bother watching. It's not a horror or scifi, more of a dull drama. The film is badly written and was nothing short of depressing, boring, and confusing. So to some up the film for anyone reading this review this is the storyline.

Aubrey grieves, the writer wanted you to feel it and not understand it at the same time. The end.

Many can imagine how it is to lose a loved one, but just who really is in mourning who knows the pain. The film uses science fiction to go through all the stages of grief; Denial - Anger - Bargain - Depression - Acceptance. In which we see Grace herself helping her friend Aubrey overcome her death. The electromagnetic waves, the end of the world and everything else are just allegories, they are the living feelings themselves. In the end where we can see Aubrey finally accepting that the world without her best friend is over, is behind her and she needs to move on. That is, let it be destroyed. Forgive and Forget. A feeling that only those who are really in mourning know the pain.

I will always love discovering new filmmakers that clearly have the potential to grow throughout future projects. Even if their first outing doesn't quite blow me away, talent is talent, and I believe this exact statement is worthy of mentioning director A.T. White. Directing short films and working in the music industry, those are two very similar fields, in terms of expressing visual style in a short period of time. Starfish is his first official feature film to be given a wide release and although it does feel like an elongated, independent music video, there is also a lot to like here.

Following Aubrey, as she grieves the loss of her best friend, she also wakes up to realize most of the world has ended and she may be the only person living, among a few new creatures that have found a new resting place. The premise of this film alone is what sucked me in and many of the visuals held my interest, but I have to admit that the way this story is told kind of wore thin by the time Starfish reached its third act. I actually almost started disliking it when a certain fourth-wall moment happens, but I forgave it for not lasting too long.

As mentioned earlier, director A.T. White comes from a background of short films and music, which is why this movie felt like a long music video at times. Told through many bizarre visuals and many high-key dramatic scores, quiet is definitely not a term to describe this one. There were times when, even though very good, the score felt incredibly unnecessary, but I admire the desire to place music in certain scenes. Also composed by White, there's a clear vision here and all I can do is commend the effort.

Having worked with White in the past, Cinematographer Alberto Banares is another standout here. The way certain things are framed or manipulated was clearly done in-camera, which is always something I admire in any film. If for nothing else, this is a movie that benefits from a solid score, some superb cinematography, and very coherent direction that is seen through from start to finish. Having a talented star in Virginia Gardner (known most notably for Marvel's Runaways) didn't hurt either.

In the end, Starfish is a film that I loved in concept and enjoyed quite a bit throughout the first two acts, but I could see what it was going for and the revelations didn't work for me throughout the final few minutes. Everything about this movie is admirable, but that's all I really got out of it in retrospect. I can't recommend this movie to average filmgoers, but it may be worth a shot for those wishing to pursue a filmmaking career. There are a lot of impressive techniques throughout this movie.

Oh man this was a terrible movie and I can usually find some good qualities in about anything I watch but not this one. It had so much psychological babel and backwardness that it was too hard to keep up with what was real and what was in the main characters mind. I am left not understanding much of what I just watched. Don't waste your time with this stinker.

Truly boring AF movie even considering it about loss, grief etc. Don't waste your time on this.......

Whatever this was, it was a mess. No real story, no real beginning, no real end. Absolutely pointless waste of time.

It is very pretentious though. This is a one-man live action dream, a nightmare or a trip. It has a single track plot, nauseatingly slow with chaotic details and a few peekaboo scares. It reconnects with reality and speeds up closer to the end. Monsters and vfx here are not to amaze but to add to sophistication. Somber and ethereal music makes for a more enjoyable experience.

1. Why would you take a tortoise outside in the middle of winter? 2. Do jellyfish eat starfish? 3. If you walk around town wearing a wolf-head cape, do you deserve a slap to the face? 4. Why did I watch this?

It's never easy to assign stars and ratings to movies or books. In this case it is particularly difficult and this can be a good thing. Halfway through the movie I found it simply pathetic and pretentious. In the end l had a different opinion, although I do not consider it the masterpiece that many consider. It strives to be an indie film, with indie songs, indie dialogues, indie narrative, indie art direction. For me, this doesn't work very well because it turns out to be partly, a deconstructivist work, which turns out badly in architecture and can't make wonderful films either. However, it is not a film to forget, it is another movie that keeps us waiting for the next ones. Clearly a story that originates in the author's intimate life, so perhaps for this fact it captivates many people.

Boring, bored. A boring movie about being bored. Wasted my free time on this.

Visually very beautiful though a little depressing. Nice sound on scenes and nice songs on mixtapes. Should have better ending.

I doubt you'll be intellectual enough to move with the groove and ride the vibe to dig on this beatnik flick. I wasn't. I wasn't intellectually intellectual or whatever I was supposed to be. Movie made no sense. But to this filmmaker, I guess movies don't have to. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site where bad movies live.

I had such high hopes for this the only redeeming factors that the lead actress is super beautiful otherwise I have no idea what I just watched I wasted an hour and a half of my life and whoever wrote this owes me if I could ever meet the person who put this movie out I would smack them and then kick them in the nuts..and anyone who gave this more than one star you are a horrible person because someone else might get the wrong idea and watch this horrible mess once again the lead actress is very beautiful but that does not make anyone have to watch this movie