Cruel Peter

A film that starts of well, with a fairly long period before things start happening, but then it just goes off the rails. It's as if the scriptwriter wanted to be lazy and use all the regular horror tropes, but then tried to make it appear different.

The result is a mish-mash of things, and the ending just makes no sense.

There is too much reliance on characters doing or saying things, that no normal person in the situation would do or say, in order to set up events. This always strikes me as lazy story-telling.

I'm giving it 5 for being reasonably well-acted and for at least trying to make use of the locations and sets.

When I wrote this review the score for Cruel Peter was 4.8 on IMDb. In my opinion that's a bit harsh. It deserves a higher rating. The production is more than decent, with some good cinematography, dark but clear images which gave it a dark ambiance. The acting could have been better from some of the actors but overal it wasn't bad. The story is a possession story so something we've all seen before but still it's entertaining. There are some creepy moments, but nothing terrific. Overal Cruel Peter is worth a watch if you're into that kind of movies.

It's a slow burn but it gets inside your head. Moody settings. Good timing too. Lots of flashbacks and reverse storylines that pops out just when you're about to scratch your head and wonder why or what.

Definitely a slow burn that picks up about an hour in. A possession horror that has sort of a family vibe especially the acting a lot creepier but along the lines of a lifetime movie. But as I said once "Cruel Peter" settles down and that softness dissipates and it really gets kinda creepy. It's sort of by the numbers though albeit a good storyline but heavily stamped with predictability. The special effects are pretty good, not great but between talking and walking rotting corpses, climbing on walls and demons voicing their dismay it should be enough satisfy the hunger for the average horror fan. I should note though that the film also suffers from some iso camera issues too many scenes were a bit too dark to fully enjoy but the effort is widely acceptable. I would recommend this film for mild horror lovers I'm more of a "Hereditary" "Midsommer" or "The Witch" fan so it didn't pierce my fear meter at all but for my mom or a kid under 15 it might be enough to make them reach for the lights.

Cruel Peter: Sicily 1908, Peter is a nasty little git, his rich English mother lets him get away with anything. He slashes a servant girl's face with a razor, tortures animals, buries the dog of tenant boys alive. An incipient serial killer but one of the boys strikes back and buries Peter alive. An Earthquake strikes Messina, thousands are dead, Peter is forgotten about. The present day, a widowed English archaeologist, Norman and his troubled teen daughter Liz arrive in the city. She has interest in occult, has a crystal ball., more like an ouija board and seeks to contact her mother. Norman is excavating a Gothic cemetery when he unearths a box with items belonging to Peter. Liz has visions of Peter, while she sleeps the crystal ball whirls of its own accord. Instead of her mum she summons up cruel peter! We get poltergeist effects, personality changes, hands emerging from a sink, ghosts, local peasant superstitions, a scary caretaker, witchcraft, necromancy. The Gothic cemetery is quite impressive, especially the creepy crypts.and great cinematography, mostly in dark or shadows.A slow paced and moody Gothic tale which doesn't quite achieve everything it apparently sets out to but certainly a passable horror film. 6/10. On Netflix