stereosteve-1
Joined May 2004
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Reviews29
stereosteve-1's rating
I can only assume this is getting good reviews because people adore Mia Goth and can't get enough of her playing crazy people, because, as a film, this just does not work. It's not scary, lacks tension, is badly structured and poorly paced, and is in DIRE need of an editor. It feels both too long and too short, like it ends at the end of the second act. It's barely even a film - just a bunch of acting and a thin, half-arsed script, with some pretentious and undeveloped Wizard Of Oz stylings thrown in. Scenes drag on forever, way past the point of terminal boredom, just so that Goth can show off her acting. I've never felt so much impatience and fidgeting in a cinema. The ending is supposed to be disturbing, but it just ends up being comical.
To put this into perspective, I thought 'X' was ok, slightly above -average but nothing special. I thought House Of The Devil was a minor classic, and I thought The Sacrament was quite effective and tense. Mia Goth is a good actor, but she always seems to play the same part. 'Pearl' just feels like an actor's indulgence.
To put this into perspective, I thought 'X' was ok, slightly above -average but nothing special. I thought House Of The Devil was a minor classic, and I thought The Sacrament was quite effective and tense. Mia Goth is a good actor, but she always seems to play the same part. 'Pearl' just feels like an actor's indulgence.
I'm not even sure what kind of film this is supposed to be. I think it see itself as a socially-conscious horror movie, or perhaps a modern 'Repulsion'. It reminded me of something from the eighties, like a tv show for kids or teenagers. Or some kind of retraining film for knuckle-dragging misogynists. It talks down to you like you are an imbecile that needs educating about toxic masculinity and sexism. It bashes you over the head. Every character is a cartoonish cliched cardboard cut-out. Every scene is familiar and predictable. It's so ham-fisted and witless.
It copies lighting schemes from Mario Bava's giallo films, like you're going to be impressed by how clever this is. It's 2023, Edgar, even Grandma knows who Dario Argento is.
Technically, some of the camera work and effects with reflections are clever and impressive. The actors are all talented. But without a decent script or story, it's wasted. It's all flash, no substance.
I enjoyed Edgar Wright's 'Cornetto Trilogy' - basically all the films he did with Simon Pegg- but it seems every film since then gets worse and worse. This is even worse than Baby Driver, which I at least managed to watch till the end.
Unwatchable.
It copies lighting schemes from Mario Bava's giallo films, like you're going to be impressed by how clever this is. It's 2023, Edgar, even Grandma knows who Dario Argento is.
Technically, some of the camera work and effects with reflections are clever and impressive. The actors are all talented. But without a decent script or story, it's wasted. It's all flash, no substance.
I enjoyed Edgar Wright's 'Cornetto Trilogy' - basically all the films he did with Simon Pegg- but it seems every film since then gets worse and worse. This is even worse than Baby Driver, which I at least managed to watch till the end.
Unwatchable.