After I had seen the trailer I was very much intrigued. It was filled with promise and potential. Or it was at least going to be compelling at least.
Unfortunately I found the whole viewing experience to be completely disappointing. I was expecting a whole lot more darkness and conflict. But instead director Stacie Passon has chosen for the subtle approach. According to wikipedia the film is a true adaptation to the book. Although I am sure that a lot of vital details have been left out that probably were needed to flesh out the characters and events. The acting overall is good and until a certain point I was very invested. But after that I felt that the story wasn't going any where and lost hope that I would be rewarded for my time. When something does happen it is so anti climatic and ludicrously bad that I simply could not believe it that this film had wasted my precious time like this. The conclusion was far from spectacular.
I keep reading in reviews how the film very strongly managed to capture the sense of dread as intended by Shirley Jackson. Excuse me but apart from most of the characters acting strangely and annoyingly nothing in the film was tense, thrilling or creepy. Sure I kept wondering why for example the villagers were so angry or why Merricat was acting the way she did. But even after the reveal at the end it's not clear what she or her sister are about. Or let me rephrase it by saying that I don't give a damn. I felt sympathetic to the sisters and the uncle. But their mostly passive attitude towards the events in the conclusion made me dislike them. Especially since they carry one like nothing has happened. Here I was thinking to be confronted with something hard hitting only to be let down with something generic and pointless.
Even if I was willing to give this film a second chance and assess it more elaborately I don't think there is enough there to warrant this kind of investment. I am aware that this most likely is due to the source material itself. It simply fails to appeal to me. Weirdness and eccentricity doesn't automatically equal darkness or dread. Probably because I am used to it. I have experienced and witnessed far more strange people in my life and believe me they were scarier than anyone in this bloody film.
Overall this film is completely disappointing and doesn't deliver on anything but bewilderment and rage for making you waste precious time. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
1 comment:
Damn straight, was this aggravating. All this time I was expecting some big twist that would shake the Earth's core. But nothing as idiotic like this.
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