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Reviews
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Horror live
"Midnight with the Devil," released in 2023, is a unique and captivating horror film styled after the 1970s. The story follows a TV host who, worried about the low ratings of his show and its potential cancellation, decides to create a sensational episode. He invites a psychic and a girl supposedly possessed by a demon, aiming to conduct an interview with the devil himself.
Starting as a documentary about the host, the film quickly escalates into a true horror spectacle. Despite the illusion of safety with the film crew and audience around, viewers soon realize that the devil can strike at any moment, creating a strong sense of tension and unease.
The 1970s style is meticulously recreated, from the square screen format to the period-accurate clothing and filming techniques. This creates an immersive experience, making it easy to believe that this is an actual found footage from the past if one didn't know it was made in 2023.
**Spoilers Ahead:**
The climax of the film involves a dramatic twist with hypnosis, where the main character, the TV host, wakes up in a nightmarish scenario. During the live broadcast, the possessed girl starts exhibiting violent behavior, causing chaos in the studio. The psychic attempts to perform an exorcism, but things go horribly wrong, leading to several deaths among the crew and audience. In a final, shocking twist, the host realizes he is still under the influence of the demon, trapped in a never-ending cycle of horror.
Although the film isn't terrifying in a traditional sense, it successfully creates a chilling atmosphere and a sense of realism. Personally, I appreciated the film's unique approach and meticulous stylization. While the ending could have been slightly improved, it still felt fitting and intriguing. My rating for the film is 7 or 8 out of 10. It wasn't extremely scary, but it managed to evoke a sense of dread and immersion. More scenes focusing on the possession aspect would have been welcome, but this doesn't detract from the overall experience.
Resident Evil (2022)
It could be good
The series is based on the film of the same name, but set in the same universe with a slightly different premise, altering how the whole catastrophe unfolds. A father who works a lot arrives with his two daughters at a special village inhabited only by employees of the Umbrella Corporation. He doesn't spend much time with his daughters, raising many teenage issues as they are dissatisfied and very irritable. To get back at their father, who doesn't pay much attention to them and doesn't spend much time with them, they steal his key and go to his workplace to save the animals they believe are being brutally tortured, according to their teenage judgment. After this, they release a super dangerous virus. We stopped watching the series at this point because, you know, you want some element of logic in every series. In this series, the fact that two girls could access a top-secret facility using their father's voice recorded on a tape recorder, meaning anyone could record him and enter, didn't make sense. I don't understand how there wasn't a single security guard in the building, given this is a massive corporation on the level of Google and Apple, apparently, they couldn't afford to have even one guard on duty at night. And this illogical situation was off-putting, so we turned off the series. We only managed to get through a maximum of two episodes. If someone enjoys series with just special effects and coolness, they might watch it to the end. But those who appreciate logical and consistent character behavior might want to skip this one.
No Way Up (2024)
A Dive into Unconvincing Realms
The movie immerses the viewer in a gripping survival story that sounds familiar but promises a new perspective on the struggle of humans against the elements. In this cinematic work, a group of friends, faced with a disaster, finds themselves deep under the sea after a plane crash, where they must fight for their lives in conditions far removed from civilization and comfort.
However, despite the promise of novelty, the film elicits mixed feelings. On the one hand, the idea seems fresh and promising; on the other, the characters' actions sometimes appear illogical and insubstantial, undermining belief in the realism of the events. The survivors make up the most unexpected company, including an elderly woman, a retired bodyguard, a young girl with indomitable spirit, and a couple of whiners, introducing a certain dissonance to the viewer's expectations of the plot.
Moreover, the script occasionally behaves capriciously, offering illogical twists, such as sharks swimming into the fuselage of the airplane, which goes beyond acceptable fantasy and undermines the sense of immersion in the plot.
The rescue operation, seemingly adding dynamics to the film, also awaits the viewer with shortcomings in logic and execution, making the outcome of the film predictable and depriving it of potential tension and drama.
Ultimately, the movie leaves behind the impression of a missed opportunity to tell a captivating survival story from a new angle. The film certainly has potential and offers the viewer moments of tension and interest, but the overall feeling of incompleteness and missed opportunities remains the main chord of this cinematic work.
Additionally, to the previously mentioned remarks about the film "no way up," it's worth noting another aspect that causes bewilderment and irritation: heart-wrenching dialogues at the most critical moments. Characters, finding themselves in extreme conditions, inexplicably begin to share personal memories and stories from childhood, which are utterly inappropriate in the given situation. These inserts, presumably intended to deeply reveal characters and add emotional coloring, in fact, look artificial and distract from the main action. Instead of uniting the viewer and the characters, these moments break the internal dynamics of the plot and emphasize the lack of logic in the behavior of the heroes, who should have focused all their efforts on survival, not on sharing personal stories.
These moments question the priorities of the scriptwriters and director, making the cinematic work less convincing and reducing its emotional resonance with the audience. Overall, despite the ambitiousness of the project and the strive for innovation in the survival genre, "no way up" leaves the viewer with a feeling of disappointment due to inconsistencies in the plot and the unconvincing nature of the characters.
2 out of 10.
Underground (2023)
Worst film 2023
Underground" (2023) emerges as a film with potential that unfortunately falls short in execution. The narrative centers around characters who, despite the high stakes of their underground world, often react with a lack of common sense. This choice in character development leads to a disconnection between the audience and the protagonists, as their decisions come across as implausibly naive rather than compelling or relatable.
The storyline itself meanders through a labyrinth of clichés and underdeveloped plot points, leaving viewers with more questions than answers. Rather than building suspense or intrigue, the scenario often feels contrived, missing the mark on delivering a coherent and engaging narrative.
Moreover, the casting choices raise concerns not about the talents of the actors themselves but about how well they fit their roles. The film struggles with authenticity, partly due to character appearances that seem out of sync with the gritty, raw setting one might expect from a movie titled "Underground." It's a reminder that casting is as much about believability and fit as it is about acting skill.
Visually, the film doesn't manage to compensate for its narrative and character shortcomings. The aesthetic and production design, which could have been the movie's saving grace, don't quite capture the essence or the urgency of the underground world it aims to portray.
In conclusion, "Underground" (2023) could have been a riveting exploration of its namesake's depths. Instead, it serves as a case study in missed opportunities, from its underwhelming character arcs and storyline to casting and visual execution. The film had the potential to offer a compelling dive into an intriguing world but ultimately leaves the audience wishing for more substance and coherence.
This review focuses on the aspects you found lacking while maintaining respect for the work and effort put into the film's production.
Another Life (2019)
Trash cast
Why did they put TRANS in the cast????! Absolutely no LOGIC in characters' actions. The idea was good, but realization sucked. Dont waste your time, it doesn't worth it.