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Ethan Hawke. © 2022. Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, and Crooked Highway. Directed by Scott Derrickson. Watched it at AMC Theaters
What if Pennywise was real and broke? After Scott Derrickson left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he directed his small project that became a hit. A hit that Marvel wished they brought Scott back but he ain't coming back. Just like the victims in this film, unfortunately. This film was scary and excellent. A lot of interesting topics and concepts went into the film and the execution was great. This is an interesting creative film with many classic horror elements that scared the crap out of me and this was a bloody good time. Let's dive into his basement. Or don't because if you see a black balloon, you are done. Finney Shaw is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who's being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he soon discovers that he can hear the voices of the murderer's previous victims -- and they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney. Let's start with the goods of this film. The directing. The directing is awesome and there is a lot of creativity in the direction of Scott's film. There are a lot of unique Scott's horror elements and interesting production from Doctor Strange into this film. Plus, some of the visual effects and camera work were translated from his previous film. I liked his directing in this film and this may be his strongest film yet. I'm glad this film went into a serious route and not a modern day-comedy and horror film. This is an interesting route and it worked great for this kind of story. Plus, I didn't know it was based on a short and it worked great as a full screenplay. The screenplay is great and I really enjoyed the many twists and interesting character decisions throughout the film. Plus, the mystery unravels at a normal pace and it gets very intense in the final 20 minutes of the film. There are interesting writing choices that really destroyed my expectations. I was really liking the story and this is one of the strongest screenplays this year. The characters in this film were great. The main character Finney was great in the film. He acts like a normal kid but he's also smart due to the writing of the character. I really enjoyed his performance and the little sister was actually surprisingly great for a child actor. She wasn't annoying and she was smart because of the writing. The writing! This screenplay is better than the sequel for Doctor Strange. The supporting cast was pretty good as well and I didn't know the actor from God of War (2018) was in this film. That's interesting and the kids helping Finney were pretty good as well. The kid actor playing as Robin was my favorite supporting character but the one who stole the film was Ethan Hawke as The Grabber. He is terrifying on screen. Very fucking creepy yet intentionally hilarious. What is really surprising is that he isn't as much in the film as I thought. But he was really great as the villain and while watching the film, I keep forgetting that it was him because of the mask. But even with the mask, you can still see the physical performance and he really did a great job. The production is also great. On an $18 million budget, they spent every little penny to make the story and environment come to life. The cinematography is very slick and creative. A lot of great unique shots and fewer editing cuts to make the scene tenser. I liked the late 70s vibe in a local hometown suburb that you may not want to live in. The colors are bleak but they fit into the film and the horror visual effects are very impressive for a low-budget horror film. As a Blumhouse film, the production overall with the set design, costumes, and VFX, it's amazing. Another win for Jason Blum. This film was a surprising hit for me and I really enjoyed what they put on screen. Not every film is perfect according to some random film critic. The pacing of this film was quite slow during the second act and it got to the point that it was dragging which bothered me. Some of the side characters like the officer weren't that strong or it landed in some of the clichés. The father wasn't that strong as a character even though I enjoyed his performance. There were some predictable moments in the film that needed to move the plot which is fine. Not a lot of problems with the film but I felt like they could've amped more of the bloody horror since it's a Blumhouse film and it's coming from the same director who did Sinister (2012). But still, I really enjoyed what was offered. This film was really surprising. A simple short story turned into a full horror film that has great writing and an interesting direction, I am totally in. I was totally in and I was not disappointed. I really liked this film with great horror elements, great performances, and great directing. This film was strong and this film should be seen in theaters. This is better than Doctor Strange 2 in my opinion, but as a Scott Derrickson film, this is fantastic. Now that's a Scott Derrickson film! Now Playing in Theaters and on VOD. Vizeit Score: "A-" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for your continue support.) Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr.
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