A mix of what we've seen before and surprising changes Dani(Hunt, reasonably promising newcomer, not ready to carry something this big, her role gradually forming an identity over the course of this, and sadly not quite compelling enough to get away with having little personality at the start, which is in part due to the script, as Split pulls this off) wakes up in in a creepy hospital, an old classic of a setting that this dusts off, only to not take much advantage of. She is told by Dr. Reyes(Braga, serviceable, as are other cast members, albeit some of whom mangle accents) that she's a mutant, whose powers have just manifested, and finds four others like her staying in the same institution. Soon after, their nightmares come to life and start hurting them(a very welcome deviation from other ghost stories and the like, where too frequently, the apparitions go "boo", and that's it). What is actually going on? And how do they stop it, before it kills them all?
At the risk of being as cliche as the film itself is in its worst moments, I wanted to love this. I do want to be clear that I'm not bitter about the disappointment. And this review will not be warped by that. I'm going to try to cover both the good and the bad, as I hugely disagree(though I do of course respecting their opinion on the matter) with anyone saying that it's entirely one, or, more frequently seen, the other. First off, how wild is it that it took 20 years of the film continuity before we saw the release(note that I did not say "development") of an entry, that uses the X-Gene as a metaphor for puberty(which is part of how it originated in the comics, as those were the target audience), *and* that is so heavily focused on those going through it(instead of so many team members that are adults, for an emphasis on the allegory of minorities, which is extremely important, not that the two are mutually exclusive), and their angst? This is very much a teen movie(with the number of the tropes you'd expect from such) made for them, about them... and whilst it's not *by* them, clearly those behind the camera have a ton of sympathy and empathy for them. If I were to direct anyone to go for taking this in, it would be them. Either way, it's not worth risking Covid for. It seeks to emulate The Breakfast Club, and sometimes that really works. There's a clear passion for it and understanding of the material. However, unlike many other "inspired heavily by someone else's work" pictures(Sam Raimi got a lot of his visual style from the 1963 version of The Haunting, and while not everyone devoted to one of those will feel the same way about the other, I wholeheartedly encourage checking out both), here, I would honestly just say to go catch the original.
Everything this does well, you've seen it done, at least a little bit, better elsewhere. The most you could say is that this is a very unique mix, and that if you're you're really into one or more of these, then this might scratch that itch. Before this, I didn't expect to see John Hughes mixed with Freddy Krueger. I admire that. Yet, I'm not sure I would say that they really gel. And the sense that these are five outcasts suffering detention, where ultimately the authority figure doesn't care that much about paying attention to what they're doing, goes against that we are explicitly told that the people in charge here, are well aware that these kids are potentially dangerous. On more than one occasion, the fact that they aren't always watched carefully(despite the omnipresent cameras...), leads to situations that could have gotten someone injured, badly. There are times where it's more luck than competence that prevents things from going horribly wrong. The scares are never all that effective, nor does this, at any point, even briefly, consistently maintain a sense of terror or suspense. I would personally chalk it up to a lack of experience on the (otherwise clearly talented) director(Josh Boone)'s part, rather than the often dreaded, and with good reason for horror, PG-13 rating. At the same time, this not being an R does take some of the bite out of most of the more potentially impactful material. Yes, by the end of this you have a very strong sense of each of these people you've been following are, still, there are better character studies out there. This suffers from a lack of focus. The lesbian romance is very sweet and I honestly have nothing negative to say about it. Outside of the the average at best climax, there is almost no action or tension in this, and the use of abilities is limited and not memorable. Knowing that this is unlikely to get a sequel(which, to be perfectly fair, it had great reason to expect to get, when it was initially in production) makes the small scale, and distinct setup for future installments, frustrating.
This contains a little bloody and disturbing violence, suggestive material, and moderate to strong language. I recommend this to those who still find the idea appearing after all these criticisms - I mean, I'm not unhappy about my viewing of it. 6/10