This is an American remake of a Mexican movie. I haven't seen the original, but based on what I'm reading of the original, they're fairly different. I think I like cannibal movies. There aren't a huge number of them, but I have a real appreciation for Ravenous, and I find it an interesting concept in horror, mostly because it's the sort of thing that could be reasonable. Cannibalism out of necessity is very different than cannibalism by choice, but it's still an interesting distinction.
This movie is shot well. It's a dark and gloomy movie, but it's rarely too dark. And the coloring is really nicely done. The town has been dealing with a flood's worth of rainstorms, and the picture communicates that idea very well.
The pacing of the movie is fairly slow, but it's probably more effective if you don't know that the movie deals with cannibalism. I found myself wondering how the movie plays out if you have no idea what to expect.
I'm a little uncertain what I thought of this. I liked the strangeness of the family, which doesn't come across as insane or bloodthirsty. Much of their dialogue suggests that they view this as a religious duty, and they feel obligated to perform it. This approach forces the viewer to keep re-evaluating their impression of them, which does help the pacing feel more natural.
Where the movie takes some missteps is partly technical - most of the father's dialogue is nearly impossible to figure out. Occasionally, he shouts, which can be understood. Most of the time, he mumbles in a deep voice, and it's very hard to tell what he says. Other than that, something about the ending didn't seem right. I don't want to give it away, since I didn't see it coming, but it left me feeling like I must have really misunderstood the messages that a few of the characters were giving.
So I might revisit this movie. Not soon, but probably a few years from now.
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