donnellymatt

I guess a lot of people on here don't understand how to rate films. You'll notice a lot of 1/10 - 5/10 votes from people not liking the "villain" of the film. Ya duh, he's a lunatic. That's kind of the point here. The film itself is a very fun and fascinating, albeit sometimes frustrating watch. It's a well made narrative about a bully playing victim, while abusing and destroying an entire community and something I think a lot of people can relate to in these times. Fascists are crying wolf all over the place, co-opting struggle and oppression as their own. The giddy glee this man takes from hurting his community under the guise of "helping" others is jarring and genuinely frightening.

I have mixed feelings about this one. First, the pros. It looks incredible, cinematography is stunning through the entire picture. I also really enjoyed the tension building throughout. Plot and tone-wise it reminded me a lot of Brimstone and Treacle, or the more obvious Night of the Hunter. The music was well crafted and helps immensely in building the tone of the film. And for the most part I thought all of the performances were great. But...

I wasn't a fan of Mark O'Brien's performance overall. It felt a little forced at times and his glossy eyed bad boy just didn't work for me. There were also issues with the plot, mostly small stuff but I also found the final act to be a little too short on information. Obviously that's intentional but I feel too much was left unsaid about what exactly is happening.

Overall, definitely worth a watch if you're into slow-burn tension filled occult/folk horror. But you may be disappointed with where it all ends up.

In the vein of Piotr Szulkin or Terry Gilliam, this film does a great job of transporting you to another world altogether. One that, though confusing and unquestionably disgusting, is immensely fun to witness. Full of interesting characters, jarring conversations, and some incredible music and sound editing, this film is definitely recommended to those wanting to experience something new.