by Daniel H. Rowe
Tonnes of rising questions to take away from this film.
– Daniel H. Rowe
Cons: It was quite slow, and the dialogue was quite weak.
William Jackson Harper and Will Poulter’s character deaths were rushed, it wasn’t long enough to actually have an effect.
Pros: When you see the grass coming out of Dani’s hand; it was genuinely creative, straying away from your traditional ‘group high’ in most films. And the acting from Florence Pugh was freaky – the most realistic emotionally painful crying I’ve seen in film. It hit a lot harder, the way the crying fitted with the cinematography.
The film felt like one massive panic attack, which worked to its advantage. When she was sad, the scene would darken, or it would dull. When she was happy, the colors were a lot more vibrant, and the weather would be sunny.
The film accelerated with a creepy, unsettling movement. The realistic effects; when I saw the heads smashed in with a hammer, i was disgusted (which is rarely), that was how realistic and brutal the effects were.
There were so many elemental and meteorological themes; starting off with snow-covered landscapes of winter, ending in the burning of the sacrifices in Summer – signifying Dani’s life, cold, bleak winter to a warm, bright summer. She had struggles with decisions throughout the film, but when finally deciding to leave Christian (to die), she smiles in comfort, as though she had achieved something.
A turn from traditional ‘jump-scare’ horror, going towards an uncomfortable psychotic, brutal horror; and that was amazing. I was thoroughly entertained and was loving the cinematography and themes in the film.
The Infinite Informer 