A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.A family finds themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
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Good suspence at the beginning
However it faded further into the movie
It could have been better however
I've seen worse
"Z" is a not half bad little horror flick from Canada.
The best way I can describe it is a "Drop Dead Fred" 1991 "Boogeyman" 2005 mash up. Or put another way, the imaginary friend from hell.
Much of what takes place, at first feels psychological but that notion is soon dismissed, as things take a very real turn for the worse.
The atmosphere established in one rooted in family with a child like quality that soon darkens. Family harmony is transformed into violence, menace, terror and a hint of madness. its handled well with solid production values backed by decent acting.
There are at least two scare opportunities, I noted, that could have been developed a little further had extra time been taken to consider what makes horror "tick".
That said, I feel there's a lot more to like here than not. Its creative, subtle and eerily spooky. No small thing in a film world filled with beige knock offs, of knock off's.
7/10 from me.
The best way I can describe it is a "Drop Dead Fred" 1991 "Boogeyman" 2005 mash up. Or put another way, the imaginary friend from hell.
Much of what takes place, at first feels psychological but that notion is soon dismissed, as things take a very real turn for the worse.
The atmosphere established in one rooted in family with a child like quality that soon darkens. Family harmony is transformed into violence, menace, terror and a hint of madness. its handled well with solid production values backed by decent acting.
There are at least two scare opportunities, I noted, that could have been developed a little further had extra time been taken to consider what makes horror "tick".
That said, I feel there's a lot more to like here than not. Its creative, subtle and eerily spooky. No small thing in a film world filled with beige knock offs, of knock off's.
7/10 from me.
I watched this movie last night and thought it was pretty good! Keegan Connor Tracy is just such a phenomenal actress and she shines in this film. it's not "scary" per se but the film does have a sense of dread/creepiness throughout much of it. there are a couple of shocking moments in the film that thankfully didn't feel like "jump scares" (i can't stand lame/cheap jump scares). one scene in particular made me gasp and yell out "HOLY CRAP!". lol. it's definitely a good drama/horror movie with very good acting from the entire cast.
This concept, at its core, is not the most original, revolutionary thing you have ever seen. However, the way it developed in the third act did feel quite fresh and interesting. Unfortunately I feel as though they cut it off a bit prematurely, just before they could have done something really cool with it.
This movies biggest flaw was its script. It really did the movie as a whole some detrimental disservices. It felt very cliche and underdeveloped and left the actors little to work with. A particularly positive aspect of this movie was its scares. You will likely never see me say this again because I normally hateee this, but the jump scares were quite good in this. They didn't feel cheep and were timed and placed with purpose and finesse.
Although overall this lacked a bit of originality, regardless it still had an interesting twist on a storyline that was maybe a bit familiar... feeling a little similar to Come Play and Babadook. Would recommend.
This movies biggest flaw was its script. It really did the movie as a whole some detrimental disservices. It felt very cliche and underdeveloped and left the actors little to work with. A particularly positive aspect of this movie was its scares. You will likely never see me say this again because I normally hateee this, but the jump scares were quite good in this. They didn't feel cheep and were timed and placed with purpose and finesse.
Although overall this lacked a bit of originality, regardless it still had an interesting twist on a storyline that was maybe a bit familiar... feeling a little similar to Come Play and Babadook. Would recommend.
Now this review might sound a bit biased for some, I'm genuinely more scared of atmospheric slow-burn horror movies that tend to creep me out and cause goosebumps every now and then, psychological horror works more for me rather than bombastic and annoying jumpscares without substance, now with that said, therein lies the problem.
Z at first glance ticks the right boxes, it reminded me of Babadook, it started to resemble Hereditary which i was ready to embrace it as, but while those comparisons kept upping the ante as they escalated in both tone and their scare factor, Z on the other hand, does nothing despite having a easy to follow plot with one eerie twist that i wish they did more with, since this isn't a spoiler review i wont bother to give any details on that, but it became a make or break situation.
To summarize Z, it had a promising set up, there were genuinely scary moments that made my hair raise, but the last portions alongside no clear direction completely killed the momentum for me.
Final verdict: 6
Had it not been for the promising start and creep factor in some moments, i would've knocked the score by 2 and left it at 4.
Z at first glance ticks the right boxes, it reminded me of Babadook, it started to resemble Hereditary which i was ready to embrace it as, but while those comparisons kept upping the ante as they escalated in both tone and their scare factor, Z on the other hand, does nothing despite having a easy to follow plot with one eerie twist that i wish they did more with, since this isn't a spoiler review i wont bother to give any details on that, but it became a make or break situation.
To summarize Z, it had a promising set up, there were genuinely scary moments that made my hair raise, but the last portions alongside no clear direction completely killed the momentum for me.
Final verdict: 6
Had it not been for the promising start and creep factor in some moments, i would've knocked the score by 2 and left it at 4.
Did you know
- TriviaDeborah Ferguson's debut.
- GoofsEarly in the film, Beth drops Josh off at Vincent Massey School, which happens to be a real school in Calgary, Alberta. Later, however, at about 12m, Josh's Red Cards (discipline notices) say "Coleman's Elementary School."
- Quotes
[last lines]
Joshua Parsons: Goodnight Mom, Goodnight Dad, Goodnight Aunt Jenna, Goodnight Mossy
[after a long pause]
Joshua Parsons: Goodnight... Z!
- Crazy creditsThere's a special message from the director towards the end of the credits that reads "Brandon Christensen would like to thank his wife Alissa for her inspiration for Z. She has had a hard few years to say the least, but her strength and has [sic] kept our family running smoothly. He would also like to thank his parents Rod and Brenda for once again letting him live with them while he makes another film."
- ConnectionsReferences Children of the Corn (1984)
- How long is Z?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- 鬼友
- Filming locations
- Alberta, Canada(Western Canadian Province)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $788,597
- Runtime
- 1h 23m(83 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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