So Close yet so Far Away
Read Time:3 Minute, 31 Second
MOVIE REVIEW
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Genre: Horror
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Ti West
Writer: Ti West
Cast: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell
Where To Watch: In theaters now
I’ve been excited to see this film from the first poster I saw months ago. Knowing it was an A24 film, I intentionally avoided as many spoiler-type things as possible—no trailers, no google searches, no IMDb page, etc. The only things I knew for sure were that Jenna Ortega (more on her later) was in it and that it was an homage to some classic slasher films.
I think I was expecting the moon, and anything less would be a letdown. I probably did this to myself as the film generally has favorable reviews across all platforms. My biggest issue was that I don’t think it succeeded in any specific genre. It wasn’t a fantastic slasher; it wasn’t a modern take on horror such as THE VVITCH, MIDSOMMAR, HEREDITARY, etc. It seems like it wasn’t able to be the retro homage to slashers that it wanted to be; it didn’t tackle the exploitation genre head-on either.
While moments blew me away, the overarching lack of originality hurt it more for me than anything. It wasn’t silly enough to be meta; there were explicit references to PSYCHO, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, FRIDAY THE 13TH, etc. It was closer to a Rob Zombie film in terms of the gore than any horror. I’m a fan of Rob Zombie (I’ll pause to let the haters leave now, lol), but then we went into a weird mode for reasons I can’t understand. I feel like that’s my Achilles heel with modern horror films. I feel like too many directors lose track of what they’re trying to accomplish, and they just go overboard because they can. It takes far more effort to tell a compelling and layered story than having a character just start doing weird and “crazy” things for shock value.
I’m probably a little harsher on this than I usually would be, but I think it’s because I wanted to enjoy it. We don’t get enough solid modern-day slashers (if you have any suggestions, please share!) I know it’s not everyone's cup of tea, but Rob Zombie’s HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES is probably one of my favorite films. I like that he’s unapologetic about the genres he loves (although he later apologized and admits he would’ve done it differently.)
I was under the impression that Jenna Ortega, who I knew best from Disney Channels TV series STUCK IN THE MIDDLE, was the film's star. Because I tried to avoid anything that could have ruined the movie, I didn’t realize that most of the film's marketing focused on Mia Goth (SUSPIRA 2018). I thought it was Ortega with prosthetics and makeup. However, Goth does have some scenes where both play a crucial role for her character. Ortega is becoming this generation's new scream queen all in a manner of months. She had been a Disney Channel staple for years, but over the last year-plus, she’s had roles in THE BABYSITTER: KILLER QUEEN, SCREAM 2022, STUDIO 666, and now this. She’s also going to be the lead role in the new Netflix series WEDNESDAY.
Now I patiently wait and see if A24’s next film (next week!) EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE comes locally! Fingers crossed that I’ll be reviewing it next week.
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I love campy horror films like this. I was very disturbed by the one scene. My nachos almost went flying. 🤢🤢🤢
I am a sucker for the 70s grunge feel of a horror movie. Cop cars with the bubble lights. Ahh… BUT this movie was just luke warm for me. It was an interesting story. But for it being a horror movie it really lacked so many key parts. The kills were lack luster, no jump scares, no explanations, ect.. The list goes on. The only real horror movie feeling I got from this was the showcase of sex. I just wasn’t jumping off the couch for this one…
I love Ti West and I loved this movie. I though it was a stacked cast and had just the right amount of nudity and violenve