Is this premodern horror? This movie has good cinematography, especially in regard to shot diversity. The lighting is a little off for the night scenes and the VFX are really out there, which can ruin the immersion a little bit.
But what really didn't work for me was the horror. The horrific beats didn't work for me in the sense that I couldn't get myself to believe in them. Whether it's the possession, the cries of the baby or the jar, I just didn't get pulled into the tension. The idea of "something evil" inhabiting the place didn't really take hold. It felt more like a succession of pretty boring exposition with some typical horror inserts at nights but we didn't really feel the spirit of the devil during the days.
Weirdly, what worked best was the family dynamics. The relationship between the mother, the husband and the children. It felt more grounded and easier to buy into even though there wasn't much creative focus put into it.
I guess it's still a cute idea for the time, even though in retrospect it's not as original because movies like that have been pretty common. The execution just didn't mesh well and it turned out to be less than the sum of its parts. 5/10.
Is this premodern horror? This movie has good cinematography, especially in regard to shot diversity. The lighting is a little off for the night scenes and the VFX are really out there, which can ruin the immersion a little bit.
But what really didn't work for me was the horror. The horrific beats didn't work for me in the sense that I couldn't get myself to believe in them. Whether it's the possession, the cries of the baby or the jar, I just didn't get pulled into the tension. The idea of "something evil" inhabiting the place didn't really take hold. It felt more like a succession of pretty boring exposition with some typical horror inserts at nights but we didn't really feel the spirit of the devil during the days.
Weirdly, what worked best was the family dynamics. The relationship between the mother, the husband and the children. It felt more grounded and easier to buy into even though there wasn't much creative focus put into it.
I guess it's still a cute idea for the time, even though in retrospect it's not as original because movies like that have been pretty common. The execution just didn't mesh well and it turned out to be less than the sum of its parts. 5/10.
