samilpatel
Joined Aug 2018
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Reviews7
samilpatel's rating
I went into Hereditary with my guard firmly up. It has to be to be one of the most hyped horror films of recent years and when expectations are raised it is almost inevitable that disappointment will follow.
For once the hype is justified. Hereditary is a flat out Masterpiece.
Not since watching The Shining on the big screen many decades ago have I been so mesmerized. Hereditary has been compared to the equally classic The Exorcist but I would go as far as to say it's an even better film than that classic. Not that it's a competition of course! Just an indicator of how good this film is.
The direction and cinematography is superb. Ari Aster has come out of the gates with one of the most impressive debuts imaginable. The sense of dread he creates from the first frame to the last is palpable.
What truly sets this apart from the vast majority of horror films is the level of performance. Every cast member is brilliant but Toni Collete should win every award going. I can't imagine seeing a better performance in 2018 by any actor and will surely be looked back upon as one of the iconic roles of the genre.
If you like proper adult horror that demands your full attention you simply have to watch it. Not only the best horror of the year but the best film of the year.
10/10
For once the hype is justified. Hereditary is a flat out Masterpiece.
Not since watching The Shining on the big screen many decades ago have I been so mesmerized. Hereditary has been compared to the equally classic The Exorcist but I would go as far as to say it's an even better film than that classic. Not that it's a competition of course! Just an indicator of how good this film is.
The direction and cinematography is superb. Ari Aster has come out of the gates with one of the most impressive debuts imaginable. The sense of dread he creates from the first frame to the last is palpable.
What truly sets this apart from the vast majority of horror films is the level of performance. Every cast member is brilliant but Toni Collete should win every award going. I can't imagine seeing a better performance in 2018 by any actor and will surely be looked back upon as one of the iconic roles of the genre.
If you like proper adult horror that demands your full attention you simply have to watch it. Not only the best horror of the year but the best film of the year.
10/10
Even though there is probably no genre I watch more of, I do not expect too much from my low budget horror. Horror is almost a comfort blanket for me. Lots of time it's background ambiance. That might sound a bit sick and twisted but it's rare I sit up and pay attention to a low budget horror that hasn't been heavily publicized beforehand. There is just so much of it that in some ways I have become desensitized. Generally speaking I tune in and zoom out. So did Charismata make me sit up? Almost.
Charismata suffers from many of the usual pitfalls of the genre. This includes cheap and cheesy CGI and uneven acting. Crucially it is always engaging and excels in two important places.
First Sarah Beck Mather. Playing a British detective losing her mind as she investigates a murder, she is nothing short of sensational. I don't know how well known she is in the UK but I hope to see more of her in the US in the future. The other performances are not bad on the whole. Just more in keeping with what you expect from the genre. The lead though is fantastic and it's not hyperbole to say it is one of the best performances I have seen all year. A star is born. Or at least deserves to be.
Second. Apart from a strange misstep this is one of the best written horror films I have seen in some time. The dialogue sings and while there is nothing entirely original here I was still left guessing until the end.
The most important question when assessing a horror film is it scary?
Sadly, not really. There is an interesting lurid tone, a couple of average jump scares but noting made my skin crawl or my heart race. I would hesitate to even call it a horror. It's much closer to a murder mystery or a quirky Cohen brothers drama set in England. It reminded me more of A Barton Fink or Fargo than it did a Conjuring or Hereditary. This is not a bad thing. In fact it can be taken as a compliment. Just don't pretend it's something that it isn't.
6/10 if you are going in wanting a low budget horror fix.
8/10 if you just want an usual and entertaining movie.
Charismata suffers from many of the usual pitfalls of the genre. This includes cheap and cheesy CGI and uneven acting. Crucially it is always engaging and excels in two important places.
First Sarah Beck Mather. Playing a British detective losing her mind as she investigates a murder, she is nothing short of sensational. I don't know how well known she is in the UK but I hope to see more of her in the US in the future. The other performances are not bad on the whole. Just more in keeping with what you expect from the genre. The lead though is fantastic and it's not hyperbole to say it is one of the best performances I have seen all year. A star is born. Or at least deserves to be.
Second. Apart from a strange misstep this is one of the best written horror films I have seen in some time. The dialogue sings and while there is nothing entirely original here I was still left guessing until the end.
The most important question when assessing a horror film is it scary?
Sadly, not really. There is an interesting lurid tone, a couple of average jump scares but noting made my skin crawl or my heart race. I would hesitate to even call it a horror. It's much closer to a murder mystery or a quirky Cohen brothers drama set in England. It reminded me more of A Barton Fink or Fargo than it did a Conjuring or Hereditary. This is not a bad thing. In fact it can be taken as a compliment. Just don't pretend it's something that it isn't.
6/10 if you are going in wanting a low budget horror fix.
8/10 if you just want an usual and entertaining movie.
The Machinist is most famous for Christian Bale's remarkable weight loss. While his disturbingly emaciated frame undeniably acts as a striking visual metaphor for the notion of 'guilt eating the soul', the film is much more than an exercise in extreme method acting. Bale could of played this role 20 pounds over weight and I suspect it still would have had the same haunting power.
Bale is wonderful here. As a horrifically sleep deprived, guilt ridden man slipping into psychosis this may well be his most memorable and complex performance. I can only speculate that Bale wasn't Oscar nominated because this type of genre film making is simply not recognized by the academy.
This is a shame because the Machinist is the rare marriage of a superlative central performance meeting exceptional film making. It is no mean feat to make a film that is thrilling, unsettling and that also packs an emotional wallop but Brad Anderson has somehow managed to pull it off.
Bale is wonderful here. As a horrifically sleep deprived, guilt ridden man slipping into psychosis this may well be his most memorable and complex performance. I can only speculate that Bale wasn't Oscar nominated because this type of genre film making is simply not recognized by the academy.
This is a shame because the Machinist is the rare marriage of a superlative central performance meeting exceptional film making. It is no mean feat to make a film that is thrilling, unsettling and that also packs an emotional wallop but Brad Anderson has somehow managed to pull it off.
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