The Maus

If you remove the scenes that involve walking, the transitions between scenes where the screen is black and the scenes dominated by the backs of heads... You'll have 3 mins of actual content left. The blackout transitions were so long my TV actually went into standby mode a few times.

This movie is billed under horror but is definitely not what most would consider conventional horror. It's more like the story of a couple places in horrific situations. That being said, I have to agree with the other reviews saying that it is largely 90min of watching people walk around. The premise is about a couple who are lost in the Bosnian woods, when they encounter a pair of suspicious men who offer to lead them to safety. The girlfriend comes off as a bobble head with anxiety issues, constantly afraid of everything and everyone and arguing with her boyfriend at each and every decision. Also, how does a 100lb girl survive a landline explosion with only a flesh wound? There's an unseen entity that seems to follow them around while they traverse land mines (wtf were they doing in the woods to begin with?) The whole thing felt like a bad European nightmare version of Deliverance, only without any decent actors.

And this is one of them.

I kinda got what the director was trying to say and it does work in certain aspects but the film is too dark , depressing and slow.

It is quite visceral and while there isn't a lot of gore and much is left to the imagination, it is in the vein of torture porn akin to movies like Hostel.

It started off quite well and seemed an original setting in Bosnia but the pace is turgid and the lack of subtitles does have a slightly negative effect on the viewer and I speak Slovak and Czech and could understand some of what was being said, it still was annoying and confusing to not know exactly what is being said at times and I know the director was using this for effect but it did not work in my opinion!

Its definitely not a 1 or 2 out of 10 as many of the other reviewers have said but then you cannot legislate for the crash, bang, wallop expectations of the pea brained reviewers who cannot seem to delve into the deeper elements of the subject and story the director was trying to put forth! The acting also was not bad , particularly from the female lead; i though she was excellent contrary once again to all the other reviewers who gave it a poor 1 out of 10 which means its the worst movie you have ever seen which it definitely is not; we have movies like "THE BAD BATCH" for that!

This movie is certainly a lot of the following:

• waiting for something to happen
• back of heads
• veeery blurry background with important scenes
• black screens
• scenes with spinning camera
• mines

All in all 90 minutes of wasted time if you ask me.

I see a lot of disappointed reviewers here that gave this film 1 or 2 stars. While it isn't a masterpiece I think the film does not deserve such a low rating.

I believe this may have to do with expectations: The Maus is listed under "horror" so people may expect either jump scares or cathartic violence and this film doesn't really offer either. It does offer a very personal nightmare ride that is rooted in the genocide of Bosnian Muslims perpetrated during the Yugoslavian civil war in the 1990s. If that is not something you know or care about then this may not be a movie for you. In particular, since it expects you to have a basic understanding of the conflict and does not do much explaining. Sadly, this probably is a factor that limits the film's audience to mainly Europeans.

The film is also not very verbose in spelling out everything that happens or explaining everything you see or hear. Even though gory visuals may arguably have been appropriate for the subject matter this film goes for subtlety and uses sound over visuals - leaving a lot to imagination. To me this was a good thing but it is also a potential limiting factor.

Contrary to other reviewers, I actually thought the writing of plot and characters was pretty plausible and relatable. It carries across very well the notion that the main character has endured things that her "innocent" foreign boyfriend cannot begin to comprehend and this is why she relates differently to the events in the story.

Overall, I found The Maus is not horror in the conventional sense but still a grim and unsettling experience. It is not without flaws and a few unnecessary, drawn out sequences but definitely a film worth giving a chance and, moreover, one that will make you think.