Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews

I thought that this was going to end up being better than it was... not by a ton, but I was pretty dissatisfied with the way it was all wrapped up. It ended up not feeling like much of a pay off and there was just sooo much left up in the air, leaving it feeling pretty unfulfilling. I'm all for creating an air of confusion and not having to know exactly what is going on at all points or knowing what is real or not... but it comes to a point where it is too much and doesn't feel very finessed, stops being as engaging and ends up being almost lazy from a story building perspective. I thought this had a lot of potential and a solid foundation with some great performances... it just got a little lost in the woods. Would recommend but not urgently, 4.5 rounding up to a 5.

Honestly, I went into this thinking I was going to see a bad movie... and it really ended up just being pretty mid... so I guess that's good? It was generally entertaining enough but certainly nothing special.

The core of the concept was intriguing and a good jumping off point, however the writers felt really noncommittal to what was happening. I understand instilling a sense of confusion and doubt, leaving the watcher questioning what the truth is. However, there was something about the way it was done here that felt like the writers almost didn't know which direction they wanted to take.

Halle Berry's performance wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad by any means and the children did a good job. There was also something visually about most of the scary aspects of this movie that felt oddly a bit silly throughout.

Overall I thought this landed at a "fine" but not something I would strongly recommend and urge someone to run out and see.

As the lights went up in the theater I knew I had enjoyed this movie however almost 48 hours later after letting it settle, I enjoyed it even more than I thought I did.

Aesthetically it was vibrant and captivating with a style of editing we have seen before but here it felt fresh and worked well. The acting all around was pretty superb, constantly teetering the line between subtle/nuanced, down to earth performances and just straight up campy goodness.

The overall message here was poignant but not SO preachy that it was deterring. The first two acts were intriguing and entertaining for sure, but this movie really shined in the third act and that's when I really fell in love.

My biggest complaint with this one is that it really didn't need to be over two hours and I think it would've been more successful if it wasn't. They could've easily shaved a solid 15 to 20 minutes off of the first two acts and had a more concise, solid run time. There is also a decent amount of suspension of disbelieve required here. Not because of its absurdity per se, but more so within the story, how the characters interact and the rules within this universe that sometimes don't feel fully fledged.

Overall this was a really refreshing and fun experience. It feels like we haven't gotten something really different and original in a while and this certainly scratched that itch. 7.5 rounding down to a 7, would definitely recommend.