I very seldom take in ‘horror’ flick on the big screen over because of the censorship regulations over here. Even with the rating system, the movies are going to get censored in some way. So, in this case, we do get certain words being silenced/muted – which is weird since the occasional f-word is okay, but not too often and shouldn’t be affixed with the ’mother’ variation (you can see the ‘mouth-flaps’); hands are blurred when birds are flipped, and there’s a momentary blip as certain frames go missing (might have been a drug thing).
Let’s not let all that bother with the review. Just saying why I hardly review new horror flicks.
So, simple plot is that six seemingly disparate individuals are brought together to execute the kidnapping of pre-teen ballerina Abigail (Alisha Weir) and hold her for a day in a mysterious and isolated mansion.
Complex twist is given away in the trailer, but its also the USP of the whole movie coming from the directors of Ready of Not (2019), Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023)… and yes, it gets pretty bloody. But does that make it a horror flick?
After all, it’s marketed as a horror flick and at least one of the posters suggests a bloody time.
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So… spoiler warning.
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Leading the cast are Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens as the more prominent members of the kidnappers. It is truly an ensemble with the others bouncing off each other to keep the first half engaging enough, initially sticking to the job at hand before coming apart once the learn the identity of Abigail’s father – supposedly a notorious legend of a bad guy.
Then there’s Alisha Weir as the titular ballerina who owns the role, bringing all the emotions and moods to steal every moment she’s in. She really makes the adults regret kidnapping her once the fangs come out. Yep, turns out the sweet little dance in the first half is hungry chopper in the second half.
I do have a liking for vampire lore, and when that issue comes up, it’s cool that the characters try to break down what might and might not work within their circumstance. There are many rules about vampires that have been established, twisted, or ignored according for the convenience of the story being told. We do have some of the basics that stick here while others are dismissed.
I won’t go into what works and what doesn’t where the lore is concerned here, but they do tackle it well enough to make things work and give us a bloody good time. That is mostly to the credit of a very game cast that didn’t mind getting drenched in the specialised gooey claret.
So props to the designers on that front as well as the production and set designers for giving us an interesting locale, although it really does look bigger than it seems. I’ve never been in these kind of mansions, so perhaps navigating such places is tricky, but it might also be for the convenience of story (just as every cabin in the woods is so much bigger than how it looks from the outside). It doesn’t hamper the movie, and it’s just something that comes to mind after all is said and done. After all, we have lots of horror flick that take place in such manors.
The directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have upped their game from the insanity of Ready or Not, turning the concept around (one girl being hunted to one girl doing the hunting) and still delivering the fun of the hunt. There is a solid workmanship in their delivery, building some of the typical suspense. Can’t say much about the jump-scares moments as their effectiveness depends on your familiarity of the situations.
As a whole, I enjoyed this more than their Scream movies. The small cast and fixed location helps with the narrative as the the minor dabbles in vampire lore. That part works well enough for me not to have aa many gripes as I do for the Twilight saga.
And at least, it’s a fun watch.
Rating: 🧄🧄🧄1/2 /5
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett (a.k.a. Radio Silence)
Written by Stephen Shields, Guy Busick
From a story by Stephen Shields
Stars Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, William Catlett, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito
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Berning Away 