heterotopic

This is one of those films which you like for the mood, not so much the overall story. It's blue (literally and figuratively), it's always raining, and it reflects the inner turmoil of the main character, Amaia.

There are far too many stories unresolved. I was far more invested in Amaia's backstory than the killings themselves, though the ritual of the killer was fascinating. The story is placed with cultural references - from mythology to food.

But really, why was her mother so angry at her? If she was "demented," as even the doctor who treated young Amaia insisted, then why was she the only target and not her other sisters as well? Why is Flora so angry at Amaia, accusing her of abandoning their mother? Why is Ros silent? Did they not know what happened to her? Where were they in the shots where the mother was mistreating Amaia? And why couldn't the father step up and take her away from the mother, since he seemed to know she was being maltreated? I mean, the haircut alone should've alerted everyone who saw her, right?

To me, this felt a bit like Pan's Labyrinth, but on a more realistic scale, if you can call it that. It had the same feel. I did enjoy this, despite the lack of resolution on the part of the protagonist's story, which I felt was the real story in this film.

The acting was just horrible. The end always has a twist like Black Mirror (and other horror shows similar to that), but it was also quite horrible. I think the whole team just didn't think much about the stories, maybe they were just in a rush to create a series that's similar to many others. The least they could have done was come up with decent stories and actors. :(

Some things were sketchy, like the community putting a gate up to keep the people safe. But a character says, or it's to keep the monster inside. That was a nice touch, but it still doesn't add up to the Great Wall. A child goes missing, another goes dead to throw us off the scent. Honestly for me the girl was the most confusing and annoying character here. I get that she's a teenager who's discovered a horrible secret, but going to that extent? Hiding in a neighbor's house (who ought to be scary, btw), chasing after a goon (he owns a bar!) all by herself is just a cross between an eye roll and a wtf. Kudos to the father who's immortal (his friend too), he goes in and operates on patients while he runs around and around, chasing after someone who lives next door. Imagine being married to someone who committed the worst town crime, and then knowing that your new girlfriend was also part of that, and worse. Sigh.

Still, my main problem with this was that they threw in way too much, it became messy and things didn't add up in the end (some parts from the beginning were overlooked in the end). It did keep me watching though, but when I got to the middle it became too much. (I still finished it though.)

Maybe if I were a Westerner, I would've appreciated this more. I like quiet, thoughtful films, especially those featuring new cultures. But there is a thin line between portrayal and exoticism. Though the film hits the right notes when it comes to family, attitudes on death, and grief, I feel a lot of the supposed tension between the East and West was a little lost here, pandering instead to the Western taste of the exotic East, thus giving a rather shallow treatment to the whole thing. I adored Zhou Shuzhen in this film; I feel that she was the only one who exceptionally shined here, taking her character to the next level. I don't agree with those who say this is a bad film as I see its merits, but I do also note the fact that it banked more on the diversity (sometimes just a ten dollar word for exotic) rather than an actual good, solid storyline.

Slow? This movie was not slow. If the critics thought it was, then they didn't really get the point of creating the characters and giving them depth. That's why we have 2-dimensional characters nowadays because people only look for fast-paced stories. They don't know how to sit back and empathize with the characters, which is the whole point of telling (and hearing) a story.

That said, I find this a bit lacking as I wanted more of the relationships between Bernadette and Bee, as well as with her husband, who wasn't quite fully redeemed in the end (I still was annoyed at him). Grabted, not showing headlines of her being back and getting awards was brilliant, as it was understated and thus given more weight. But I wish I could've seen her happily working, not just the buildings themselves.

It's hard to portray characters like this, the brilliant, tortured ones that are almost always socially inept, but there have been a lot of attempts lately. Some succeed, some fail. In some, you can clearly see it's the acting itself, or the directing. Here, Cate Blanchett nails it.

Give this film a chance and immerse yourself in the story. You might be surprised how it resonates with you.

One of those "yeah haha conspiracy I got you, you mad dog!" And they want you to root for the main character, but then the director goes NOPE it's actually a twist of the twist! He's insane after all!

Geez stop making these kinds of movies already. This isn't "brilliant" or "mindblowing", it's just a bunch of people lazy to do real scriptwriting and deciding to just toss in another twist, thinking they're brilliant, or can fool people into thinking they are.

I think a lot of people misunderstood the point of this movie, which is sad as it showed a lot of promise, and you can see the thoughtful details that went into creating this. It might be misbranded as a horror film; technically it is, and yet the whole thing is camp-y horror, which makes this film an actual comedy. There were a few moments or lines that were bad, but this movie took the whole campy horror/comedy genre to a whole new level: it deconstructed cliches and added some touching moments to the story. The whole thing's clever, including the storyline, as you see everything explained in the end. Maybe some may have noticed some things left unexplained, but hey, very, very few films have actually been able to deliver. Tight storyline, likeable characters, re-imagining the genre of horror-slash-comedy, and a beautiful set, too. I think this is a largely misunderstood gem of a film, and I hope to see more of this kind on the future.

This movie thought it was redefining a whole genre of typical horror movies involving your Catholuc school, dorms, and our favorite comfort rooms, but it just smacked right into the cliches. Boring, predictable, eerie (where did the title come from? The supposedly suspenseful music that was also cliche?) music that should make you scared, the thunderstorm, the close-ups of saints' statues, the quick shots of ugly monster-like faces. All tricks to make you jump, because actually there's no story behind this. Oh, and adding the journalist? Come on.