The Maus

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!

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.

Firstly, let me start with some positives. I thought the theme of the film was interesting, to do with land mines and the Bosnian War, and presumably atrocities and genocidal acts. I have to say before watching it I did not know much about what I was about to watch. I have to say I was mislead to believe it was Horror, but in actual fact it feels more like a Dark Thriller with themes of Horror and War i.e. there was clearly a Deliverance vibe going on at the start, and aside from the creepy looking Guardian Angel that would be about where the horror side of things ends.

The filming style was fun for the first few minutes, but an hour and a half later of revolving cameras, darkness, and behind the head shots it all seemed a bit ridiculous and you wonder how a supposed 2 million euro budget (according to Wikipedia) was used up on just 4 actors, a forest and a great deal of what I can only describe as pointless videography.

Without trying to slate it too much, I found 'Alex' to be fairly unbearable, as an overly dramatic naive young chap who was an insufferable wannabe man-to-the-rescue but simply lacked any strength both physically and of character; Extremely annoying in every way possible. I think 'Selma' was at least interesting and played her role well though unfortunately this leads me on to my next comment about The Story, which overall I can once again only describe as being fairly 'pointless' or insubstantial. There were some interesting psychological moments where it felt like the dread was closing in, but then once the cat was out of the bag there wasn't much left to say. I knew from the moment I saw the car 'stuck' in the road in the very first scene that this movie was not exactly going to win any Oscars. I really am surprised about the budget here and can only presume the directors paid themselves substantial salaries through some questionable laundering function - But seriously, overall it wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened to me, and certainly illuminating in some regards. I think a 5/10 is generous, I'd say more like a 4.5 but I suppose I've rounded up.

One more comment: I saw that 'Maus' according to Wikipedia is an 80s/early 90s graphic novel about a Holocaust survivor, so I suppose that's what would have inspired the name of this movie.

Thank you for reading.

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.

I'm not sure which was worse, the movie or reading the reviews praising the movie. It was terrible. Great premise made bad by a plot way too slow to develop, confusing plot motivators, and a total WTF? ending.