Starry Eyes

This movie was a slow burn, with the feel of an 80's throwback. It will not however be for everyone. By no means is it action packed, filled with cgi or littered with sex scenes. It does pay homage to old school nitty gritty horror that did not reply on all of the aforementioned. The vibe is dark and somewhat quirky, but in a good way. I've read other reviews comparing it to movies such as suspiria, and I can't stand behind that opinion. If you grew up on 80's style horror and have a love for the strange, then this one might just be for you. It does have a slow start, but if you stick with it, surely it will prove to be a rewarding experience. I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every minute of it. The ending seemed a bit lackluster in comparison to the rest of the movie, but that can be forgiven as I can't quite picture any other ending personally. I immediately found myself rooting for "Sarah." I wanted to see her acquire her goals, but somewhere in the mix of it all I found myself disliking her. Very nice character progression with her. The actors did what I thought was a very striking performance. All in all, I'd definitely say give this movie a go

Starry Eyes is not for the faint of heart. I've seen many horror movies and this is definitely on the more extreme side so if you have a weak stomach then this isn't for you. However, it's brutally real in telling its story about a girl who wants to be a star and is willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal. It's darkly comedic at times and horrifically gruesome at others. I cringed and winced plenty of times during this movie. And it's not even solely because of the graphic imagery, which is horrifying enough (but thankfully never crosses into torture porn). It's also because Starry Eyes sheds a dark light on Hollywood and on human nature itself by exploring the most vile, revolting aspects of both.

The movie is heavily reliant on atmosphere, and it definitely gives off a David Lynch and Requiem for a Dream vibe throughout. It's watching someone go through a downward spiral, from quitting their job, to abandoning everything and everyone, and the filmmakers don't sugarcoat a thing. It gets genuinely disturbing and hard to watch at times, but what draws you into it in the first place and what really makes you *believe* is the performances. Alex Essoe is absolutely terrifying as Sarah. The supporting cast is surprisingly great too, and it's amazing how quickly we sympathize with Sarah and how we gradually end up sympathizing more for her friends later on. After a while it's like you're not even watching actors - the story comes to life on screen. This is a testament to everything working in harmony: the filmmakers' vision, the actors' devotion to the roles, the eerie retro electronic score, the bleak cinematography. It all comes together to create a powerful, haunting piece of art.

This movie had potential to be truly groundbreaking. As I said it's brilliantly written, acted, and directed. What threw me a bit was the ending. I won't spoil anything but they take an odd turn in the final act and you'll know it when you see it. It's not even that it's bad - the movie still left me in utter shock. I just know it could've been much more effective had they gone the deeper psychological route, which is teased at for the first three quarters of the film. Regardless, the journey itself is disturbing enough that by the time the ending comes you're already speechless and exhausted from the experience. It's just that little step that could've made it a psychological masterpiece as opposed to a highly effective insight into the darkness of human ambition.

Starry Eyes disturbed me. It really did. If you like Lynch-esque movies that make you think but also make you feel unnerved then you'll definitely get some chills and thrills from Starry Eyes. These filmmakers have proved enough to cement themselves on any horror fan's radar; even if you aren't into the extreme side of the genre you can appreciate what the filmmakers set out to achieve here. This is a movie that sticks with you after the credits roll. It is a wild ride for its brief runtime and certainly worth a watch for any fan of dark psychological horror.

I say sort of because the film has an unnerving and tense momentum, with some truly freaky and horrifying (good horrifying) images and scenes. It's kind of obvious where the film is going though, but it has some clever direction and again, disorienting in a good way in some of its pacing and tone. The lead actress is really good, very unnerving. The problem is that the film also has these weak spots here and there, and I wish the last 15 minutes had at least tries to do a bit more than what we regularly get from horror films like this. Still, it's actually quite a nice surprise in some of the things it does. This is actually recommended.

Since it's still on Netflix, everyone who enjoys horror movies should take the time to watch Starry Eyes. It is a deeply unsettling exploration of ambition and just how far down a horrifyingly dark path that ambition takes the protagonist. Of course this is a god awful extreme and wholly impossible example of the dangers of ambition, with a suitably gory and violent climax; it is, after all, a horror movie. It really is a fascinating story though, complete with a cult consisting of Satanic Hollywood producers, the occult, and murder. There is a lovely meta element to the movie, wherein a movie producer talks about how disgusting and pathetic ambition makes people in the filmmaking industry...which serves as a bit of foreshadowing just before everything goes terribly sideways. I noticed that it was still available on Netflix this afternoon and decided that I should recommend it.

Alex Essoe is a really good actress and she was brilliant in this. This move delves into the sometimes morally vague and downright bad things people feel forced to do in order to achieve their dreams of fortune and fame. This movie is better than most "seedy underbelly of Hollywood" type tales. It is better than The Last Tycoon (starring a young Bobby De Niro) and infinitely superior to the superficially pretty but bland and unrewarding Neon Demon. The plot is sort of predictable, but the performances and direction is really excellent, so that doesn't matter. I really liked it. There are lot of unprofessional and immoral demands on actresses that go unsaid and there should be more films like this.