Amulet is the feature film debut of director Romola Garai, who has an acting career going back to the early 2000s. The story centres on the relationship between Tomas, who has left behind his war-torn home country to eke out a living in London, and Magda, a mysterious young woman who lives with her sick, mad mother in a crumbling old house. The mother is locked away upstairs and Tomas is brought in by a kindly nun to help maintain the house and provide some companionship for Magda.
Tomas is traumatised by a crime he committed in the war. Unable to forgive himself, he stays out on the edge of society; he studies philosophy to keep himself sane. Magda seems to be equally trapped, living with a violent, deranged parent in an endless stalemate of co-dependency. Tomas sinks deeper and deeper into the household until he is trapped by more than his own guilt. Something has been tracking him ever since he dug up a small statuette in a forest back home and is now ready to claim him. His existential crisis ends with him becoming Magda's slave as she reveals herself to be the embodiment of the statuette, the Amulet that finds the evil in a man's heart and uses it to fuel its own existence.
Amulet is a film that forces its audience to work a bit too hard to understand it. Almost everything in the story provokes questions and any number of answers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does feel like a film that keeps its audience at arm's length and is ambiguous to the point of frustration.
The direction is consistent and steady, the film is well-constructed, and the cinematography partners the direction well in creating the tone and disquieting atmosphere throughout. The main cast are all good enough to carry the film through its slow pace, Alec Secareanu is especially good as Tomas, a doomed man who finds an even deeper doom waiting for him in Wandsworth, home of demons and fake nuns.
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metaCity12 September 2020
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blackgumball10 August 2020This is definitely for those that like weird and artsy horror films, and good movie lovers. Depends on what you like. I'm an old school horror fan and it builded on me. Movie is shot very well and the 3 actors in it do a fine job....they play such odd characters. Music was great too....the intro music was creepy. So yes....it's slow and creepy....but thats what its going for. Its not an action packed Marvel film. I have no clue why the low reviews say its bad, worst film, or boring, etc. I don't think they love movies, lol. There are hundreds of worse movies out there, maybe they don't watch much. To me, if its shot great, has good acting, keeps me interested, has me going what the hell at times and trying to figure it out, has good music, is creepy and arty, and has me looking up more about it after I watched it, then thats a good movie. It did its job. I give it a 6 or 7. The intro and outro credits even look cool, lol. Very cool new and different movie.
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ryan_sy27 July 2020The title says it all. The acting was good, I think the story could have been more interesting, but the low-energy, life-support pace of this movie had me half asleep by the end.
I appreciate some art-house, slow-burn movies, but this one fell short.
[4/10] -
Extremely slow getting anywhere. Once it does get where it is going, you wish it hadn't. A boring journey. Nonsense made up ideology that goes unexplained completely. Terrible story telling (Direction and writing). Pass on this. You can't say you were not warned.
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muromochi27 July 2020I love Hereditary and Midsommar and Lighthouse, but this is clearly not on same level. It has very bad rhythm, storytelling is way off, cast is completely uninvolving and their accents annoying. Music and sound were great, ending was somewhat rewarding, but it's done completely anticlimactically, and first hour or so were a true bore. Even if you are horror fan, you can safely skip this, unless you are completitionist.
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Xstal29 January 2022Not quite what you might perceive, as this story doth deceive, not a demon vigilante but a trickster who's men anti.
Crawling along at a snail's pace, voids not even the greatest leaps of faith could overcome, but there is an audience for this kind of batty nonsense I'm sure, though they probably have an axe to grind. -
davidkhardman30 January 2022While there are only one or two actual scares in this film, it does a great job of building an increasing atmosphere of dread. There are also some pretty grotesque scenes.
Storywise, this concerns a PTSD-afflicted soldier who had been part of some overseas conflict (apparently Eastern European) and is now in London living with other refugees. After their accommodation gets burned down, a nun finds him free housing with a young woman (also apparently Eastern European) on the condition that he helps repair her dilapidated house. However, from the outset not all seems right. The young girl's mother (unseen) is apparently dying, in pain, in the upstairs room. But why all the secrecy about her? And what is the strange runic symbol that he finds in the ceiling. What is the meaning of the night-time flashbacks that he has to his time as a soldier?
Although I'm not sure that the story entirely holds up in terms of logic, it nonetheless kept me spellbound for the duration.
I must say, some of the comments left here by others are baffling to me. Reading not too far between the lines of some of them, it seems that some people don't seem to appreciate a horror story told from the perspective of a female writer and director, or that the lead characters are not English. Well, so much the worse for those viewers. As for being slow - if this hour-and-a-half of effective horror is a strain on your patience, then I wouldn't bother going to see pretty much anything else that is out right now, many of which stretch their stories over two-and-a-half to three hours (Memoria, anyone?). -
Extremely unengaging. The plot seems to have no thrust to it. You're just watching at best passable actors wander about, occasionally witnessing generic horror tropes.
I'd guess that's a side effect of stretching a 20 minute idea to a 100 minutes but I'm honestly not sure what the 20 minute idea is. I finished the movie, I understand all the events that took place, and I'm still left with a feeling that I didn't get something. It's like they chose to tell a fairly basic story in the most convoluted way possible. I have so many questions about the motivations and inconsistencies of characters and actions.
At one point a plot twist happens. There are flashbacks to previous events and all that jazz. I admit to being confused, but only because I don't understand why that's a plot twist. It could have been presented as it really is and would have changed absolutely nothing. In fact it would make more sense that way!
Imelda Staunton is great in her very short role and for the 3 minutes that the movie goes completely bananas it is entertaining, but for every good thing in this movie there is a scene that makes you laugh unintentionally for either coming out of nowhere or being done poorly. It's not so bad it's good, it's not entertaining. -
mjsreg26 July 2020If you are looking for a gore feast or have the attention span of a flea this movie is not for you.
With suburb acting, story, and production this movies is engaging from start to finish.
This film does require you to actually watch it to get the most out of the subtleties through out that give you a sense of the characters conflicts and personalities.
All in all a superb film -
edlc197025 July 2020This is not a horror movie. Its a boring movie. Nothing happens, and its very confusing to watch. The fact that it is so confusing and so boring, just takes out the enjoyment of watching this crap. Dont waste your time with this. Its a complete waste of time.
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This movie deserves a much higher score but I think it is a movie that people have trouble enjoying for at least 3 reasons.
Firstly, it takes time and focus to actually follow the plot. It's not spoon feeding you. You have to pay attention and remember events and comments from earlier in the movie. It all ties together beautifully at the end but you have to be able to see it.
Second, it takes a huge twist close to the end. If you don't get the plot, you won't like or understand the twist. I like this movie because it's one of those WTF movies that really leaves you thinking about it long after the movie. These are my favorite type of movies so I get why not everyone likes that.
Third, I love horror. This is one of the freakiest horror films I have ever seen and I have seen hundreds. This is up there with Event Horizon in terms of spooky/revolting and unsettling horror. But it only comes in small bits. Most of the movie is psychological but here and there it has really great horror moments. Both "shock/surprised" horror and also that sort of OMG realization horror where you realize how horrific something is slowly and your eyes go wide.
I hope more of you can watch this and enjoy it as much as I did. -
markrs-1079723 October 2022Why all the bad reviews? I thought the acting was good and the plot original and interesting. The ending was really interesting and not at all expected. The only time I thought that Tomaz might be dead is when he was dressed to go out and wore a shirt thst fit perfectly. It seemed to be from a different era as well. Nonetheless. It was a pretty decent indy flick even though I wasn't always able to connect the girl he saved in the woods to the main plot. As well as the scenes with the nun. I'm thinking it was redemption? Otherwise the movie kept my interest and flowed nicely. This movie deserves better than the reviews.
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horrorgasm29 July 2020Guys...stop. Having a bunch of well-shot footage of forests and obnoxious experimental music doesn't make something a high quality horror film on par with things like Hereditary and The Lighthouse. If that surface level stuff is all you think it takes to make a movie intelligent and masterfully crafted, sorry, but you're not as clever as you're trying to make yourselves sound.
There are many things that directors like Aster and Eggers do that make their movies rise far above ones like this, but let me just pick one, and arguably the most important one, THE PERFORMANCES OF THE CHARACTERS. You have to be absolutely kidding me if you're going to sit there trying to tell me that the actors in Amulet were anywhere close to well-directed, maximum effort performances from people like Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette. They aren't just on different floors, they're not even in the same building.
I've seen much, much worse than Amulet, and I wouldn't even go as far as to call it a bad film, but I can't think of a single moment where Tomas or Magda made me think "wow, what a great performance". Hell, I can't even think of one that made me care about either of them. They're dreary characters in a dreary setting acting out dreary motions to fill up time until the entire effects budget is blown in the last 10 minutes, and yes, the director is obviously TRYING to convey something poignant with this unconventional story, but they just aren't selling it.
"Weird + good cinematography" does not automatically equal a great film.
"Having an artistic vision + good intentions" does not automatically equal a great film.
It's a great effort, but it's not a great film. Wait five years to see if anyone's still talking about it, or even remembers that it existed, if you're still unsure about that. -
kjjames8129 July 2020I had heard great things about this film and last night settled down to watch it. What a disaster, I don't know what it is with horror film directors but why do they have to make their films 'arty.' What has happened to a straight scary horror movie? This could have been such a good film if it was done as a scary film and not like some student trying to impress their tutor. All in all it wasn't scary at all, the a ting was good but just good, there was a good story with it but that was it. Just over an hour and a half of my life I won't get back. Don't believe the hype, if you are going to watch it keep an open mind and don't read any reviews first.
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jabandrade20 September 2020This movie had all the elements to hold attention and fulfill its mission. And to some extent it holds, so much that I went to the end. I don't even know why. Perhaps out of curiosity or because I had some hope of improvement. But unfortunately for some reason it never takes off. It's not entirely bad, but it's never good. It's too slow. No scares. Only a few disgusting scenes, some unnecessary. It bets a lot on the cast, but this one is lazy, with the exception of the dedicated Alec Secareanu. So, this way the film doesn't progress. The script itself is unsustainable. Superficially there is an interesting idea, but poorly executed. Watch at your own risk, but only super fans of the genre will give it high rates.
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fcbeltran23 December 2020Plot completely illogical, never actually scary, dialogue broken, what in gods name was the point of the shell and humanized "amulet"?
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ferguson-623 July 2020Greetings again from the darkness. Horror films tend to serve up relatively simple plot points so that viewers are controlled by emotions rather than deep thinking. The exceptions typically use multiple story lines and atmosphere to build up suspense that often ends with a twist or surprise ending. You might recognize Ramola Garai as an actress from SUFFRAGETTE (2015) or the TV series "The Hour", and this is her first feature film as writer-director. She definitely chose the latter plot path, and the result is likely a film that will be divisive amongst the horror crowd.
Tomaz (Alec Secereanu, GOD'S OWN COUNTRY) is a former soldier with such a horrid case of PTSD that he must bind his own hands when he sleeps. He's now homeless and adrift, merely surviving day-to-day. We see flashbacks to his time as a soldier working a checkpoint deep in the forest. The war is never identified, but one day he decides to help a frantic woman (Angelika Papoulia) rather than shoot her (as we assume his orders dictate). This story and their time together pop up periodically through the movie to the point where we start to believe we have an understanding of Tomaz's background.
While squatting with other homeless folks, the building where they sleep catches fire, and soon after Tomaz is taken in by Sister Claire (Imelda Staunton), a caring nun who gives him a purpose - helping out a woman who is dealing with a sick, elderly mother. Magda (Carla Juri) seems withdrawn and initially not particularly happy that Tomaz is living in her house. And, oh my, that house. Dilapidated is too kind as a description. So in addition to a bed, and Magda's cooking, Tomaz begins repairing the house. And while you may have your own renovation stories to tell, did you ever pull an albino bat out of the toilet? Tomaz has.
Magda does not allow Tomaz to see her mother. He (and we) only hear the confrontations and see the bite marks on Magda's arms. Clearly something is amiss. The flashbacks to Tomaz as a soldier with Miriam make for a stark contrast between the forest and Magda's creepy house. It's in the forest where Tomaz finds the titular amulet buried. If you've always thought of an amulet as a good luck charm, your definition will likely change.
It's interesting to watch the shifts in the relationship between Tomaz and Magda, culminating with a night out dancing, where she reminds us a bit of Elaine Benis at the company party ... although Magda's is a pure emotional release, rather than a comedic effect. As you might expect, the film is at its best when Imelda Staunton is on screen. Unfortunately, these moments are too rare. The "old school" gothic graphics for the opening credits do make for a terrific stage-setter. While Magda's locked-away mother provides some mystery, the tension of the story never really matches the creepy atmosphere of the house. Ms. Garai includes some excellent moments of horror images, but the deliberately slow pace doesn't deliver a satisfying payoff. -
basselgiaplex31 July 2020I am going to keep this short and sweet. It would have been easier to give birth to a bat than to have watched this sorry excuse of a horror movie. .
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f_ll_nth_bl_nk30 July 2020The movie tries a little too hard to be smart and artsy, and it ends up plodding along at a slow pace at some points. This isn't your standard horror fare, which is a nice change of pace. The cinematography painted the world as a dark, bleak place. But I ended up not caring for any of the characters, and the director somehow made the horrific elements boring as very little happens even after the horror is revealed. The ending, for me, was confusing although a repeat viewing (which is unlikely to happen) may clarify things.
This isn't for your standard moviegoer, but for those who like the more artsy films, this may be for you. Just go in knowing this is quite the slow-burn. -
paul_haakonsen26 July 2020I must admit that I had hoped for a bit more than what writer and director Romola Garai managed to deliver with this 2020 horror movie titled "Amulet". Seems that proper horror movies are starting to be a rare occurrence these days.
It was the abysmal storyline that made this movie into a stinking pile of... well, you get my drift here. The storyline was just so unfathomably slow paced, and with virtually nothing of anything of noteworthy interest happening, it just felt extraordinarily prolonged. And it felt more like it was a sentence to sit down and watch "Amulet" than it was a movie for entertainment.
I will say that the acting in the movie was adequate, especially taking into consideration that writer Romola Garai had virtually given the actors and actresses nothing to work with. Nothing. And the movie had a relatively small cast ensemble, so they had to up their game and really deliver to carry the movie. This failed to be the case, because they just didn't have the material to work with.
For a horror movie, then "Amulet" was just dreadfully mundane and boring. There was nothing scary in the movie at all. Not even a single, cheaply and easily acquired jump scare. Yeah, so go figure...
I will say that the prosthetics were good, and I did like the design of the bat. And the whole birthing thing was actually interesting enough. But these could just do nothing to salvage the train wreck that is "Amulet".
My rating of "Amulet" is a generous three out of ten stars, mostly because there was a good production value to the movie. I managed to suffer through the entire course of the movie, so you don't have to. And as for the ending of the movie, well while it was just so obvious and you saw it coming a mile away, something could be said for that being a classic way of ending a horror movie.
"Amulet" really isn't worth the time, money or effort, and there are far better choices in the horror genre. -
aeongale25 July 2020An abstract horror mostly. Little more context relating the two story lines would be good but it's visually stunning and gets more messed up right to the end. Some of the imagery will be stuck in my head for a while and it's been a long time since a film has done that. Disturbing stuff.
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Actress Romola Gari's Debut Directorial Effort Brings Baggage of Wokeness to Her Film.
A somewhat Confusing Grim Tale of Supernatural Revenge.
With a Definite European Flavor, it is Coated with a Haze of Darkness. Both Figuratively and Literally.
A Soldier who Committed Rape during a Momentarily Lapse of Reason is Haunted by His Sin. That's just the Beginning of His Torment.
He is Accosted by Forces from Beyond.
Tortured to No End to Fulfill some kind of Karmic Comeuppance by Malevolent Beings who take Great Pleasure in the Revenge.
A Difficult Watch..
It Plays Out its Story Forcing the Audience to Endure Horrific Imagery of Evil as it Doles Out "Justice".
The Art-House Feel of the Film is Sadistic, Sad, and Sombre.
There is an Attic Housing a Feeble but Frightening Old Woman.
She Bites, Strangles, and Moans Constantly in Pain while Dishing it Out to Any who Dare Try and Help Her.
Some of this Makes Little Sense to the Observer. With Scant Explanation.
It might have Benefited the Director who uses Ambiguity to Intrigue.
But the Mystery is Awash in Unpleasantness that Destroys its Determinative Style.
For those with Strong Stomachs and a Taste for the Macabre, Monsters, and Sadism. -
georgio-2649025 August 2020Total dross, boredom levels were only kept at bay by the annoying and utterly terrible soundtrack, sounded like Nordic medieval women chanting for a husband! firstly, IT IS NOT HORROR, its like a bad episode of "inside no9" oh and the film, had no start , middle, or end. acting was cardboard , script was that of an art school pretentious kid! oh its awful, honestly do not waste your time, or at least if you do watch it - give it a rating to show what it is really like , instead of the people trying to be melvyn brag!! IMdB needs a "0" option to rate this kind of drivel!!!!
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davejam-4982124 July 2020The acting is fine but the film in general is unadulterated tosh.