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Reviews4
rileymartin-61990's rating
The movie touched on some cult recruitment practices and attempted to address the why people get sucked into groups with some slightly on the nose dialogue dressed up as academic banter.
Unfortunately I'm familiar having directly experienced a real cult and it's terrifying groupthink. The use of psychedelics is a cult trope but mostly not the case. Maybe the cult this was based on used them but that's a generally held misbeleif. It doesn't take much to suck the unguarded in. We're social animals and crave community and acceptance.
None the less it did expose some cult standards. Being made to feel special. Group acceptance. False dilemmas to instil fear and compliance. A sociopathic cult leader. Etc.
From a movie/narrative perspective the story was a little flat and one dimensional. A splash of colour should have spruced it up visually. Sub plots were thin and the twist foreshadowing tipped its hand.
Eric did a good job as did his co-stars but I had the feeling they weren't buying the dialogue here and there. Still it was watchable and there wasn't that feeling you'd just wasted two hours of your life.
I just wish it had that extra something.
Unfortunately I'm familiar having directly experienced a real cult and it's terrifying groupthink. The use of psychedelics is a cult trope but mostly not the case. Maybe the cult this was based on used them but that's a generally held misbeleif. It doesn't take much to suck the unguarded in. We're social animals and crave community and acceptance.
None the less it did expose some cult standards. Being made to feel special. Group acceptance. False dilemmas to instil fear and compliance. A sociopathic cult leader. Etc.
From a movie/narrative perspective the story was a little flat and one dimensional. A splash of colour should have spruced it up visually. Sub plots were thin and the twist foreshadowing tipped its hand.
Eric did a good job as did his co-stars but I had the feeling they weren't buying the dialogue here and there. Still it was watchable and there wasn't that feeling you'd just wasted two hours of your life.
I just wish it had that extra something.
All the usual tired devices. Baddie escapes from
Car wreck. Pursued make noises and give away locations. Motivation unclear. Character development minimal. Russ wasted on a one note performance. Lead lady does a good job at remaining shrill and anxious which is something.
No real twist in the plot and ultimate scene has hackneyed dialogue. So overall quite good for a couple of hours of wasting your time and not much else. Came away feeling more stupid and now being forced to write a lot more characters necessary than is required to explain a movie you've seen before with a different name. Yawn. Made it.
No real twist in the plot and ultimate scene has hackneyed dialogue. So overall quite good for a couple of hours of wasting your time and not much else. Came away feeling more stupid and now being forced to write a lot more characters necessary than is required to explain a movie you've seen before with a different name. Yawn. Made it.
Well.... The acting is not bad given the dodgy script which is attempting a commentary on an America gone wrong... with a big dash of me-too. Literal ticking clock flick. Death by cliches. Bad guy comes back from dead to die mercilessly in double double cross.. . Nonetheless mildly entertaining no-brainer. (But Why'd they have to cameo Hemsworth? Feels like the script was dreamed up in Byron bay at the Thor compound one lazy weekend )