ersguterraul Reviews

Orphan: First Kill (2022)

I want to cry

[3/10 · 1 October 2022]

I review this title when it has a score of 6. What a horrific train accident of a movie. The whole story is just so bad, god have mercy on me!

I went to the cinema, was in good hope, but did not expect too much. And there I was, shaking my head... The whole intro of the move is executed okay, nothing special to see here.

You ask yourself: "What is this going to evolve into" But then when things get going there comes the TWIST. I should call it the twist of s**t, its introducing us to the most implausible backstory for the new family. The train then slowly starts derailing.

We get to see a boring and pointless progression which ultimately aims nowhere. There is nothing in this movie, everything I liked about the original was missing, you get a totally different experience. Sometimes it reminded me of Home alone, but in a bad way. Some of the ridiculous scenes had me laughing out in pain, who wrote the script?

This movies only redeeming quality is its production value. Avoid at all costs, keep the original movie in your memory, do not let it be spoiled by letting your eyes witness this abomination.

Scream (I) (2022)

Everything wrong with modern Hollywood cinema

[4/10 · 6 April 2022]

Scream 5, most likely the weakest entry in the scream series.

The movie nearly fails in every aspect.

On the other hand it features some very cruel and effective kills, and I really like the meta meta approach, alltough flawed in its execution with a lot of storytelling potential wasted.

The biggest problem for me was the political storyline, full of modern day clichés. The acting was also subpar and left a lot to be desired. Unlikeable characters get mutilated by an even worse plot.

Honestly I think it would have been better to just let it be. There was no need to drag the scream legacy down even further.

Sad, many such cases...

Swallow (I) (2019)

Unsatisfying

[5/10 · 28 December 2021]

Visually the movie is beautiful.

The protagonist's disorder is very engaging.

What I did not like is families attitude towards the protagonist, it feels unrealistically cruel.

Like other "feminist" movies this movie also is packed with over the top hatred towards the female lead.

This overshadows the experience for me.

The final conclusion left me totaly unsatisfied and while I understand the message and agree on the importance of woman's rights I still think this is a rather shallow conclusion and left me unimpressed.

The Rental (2020)

Very strong genre-hybrid

[8/10 · 14 August 2021]

First off I have rarely seen a movie so underrated.

My review starts spoiler free.

This movie is an absolute gem.

It has very good camera work with a lot of amazing shots.

The filming style really feels progressive, almost futuristic.

The cast is absolutely solid.

We get to see well built characters with a lot of depth and personality, something very rare in modern cinema.

The whole script is nearly flawless.

I could not find a single plot hole in the movie which I have to say is very impressive for a debut of an director.

One of the things I liked the most was its realism. The characters make bad decisions, but unlike most other horror movies, their decisions are relatable and they have to face their bitter consequences.

Warning, minor spoilers ahead...

The movie blends the genres very well.

On the one hand we have a slow burning psycho-thriller, on the other hand we get a almost classic slasher-finale.

Especially the slasher part felt really original whilst being in classic-style.

The great camera work makes the finale very tense and the realsim makes it feel very raw.

After that the audience can cool down with an explanatory epilog.

I don't get the low star ratings, as someone who has seen every horror movie with an imdb over 5 I can't imagine giving this less than 6*.

But I can understand that this intelligent movie might be too much for some people.