I wish I could say better things about this. It’s a fairly good story, twisting some otherwise common horror elements into something a little more original than most. But the promise that the movie shows, especially at the beginning, is lost with some muddy direction later.
I’m not complaining about the direction in itself. I’m specifically angry about one thing that I’ve been complaining about for years.
I am sick and tired of seeing movies - horror movies in particular - use incredibly dark environments non-stop. I don’t mind dark environments; but they have to be balanced out by using shots that aren’t a black mass snaking down a black hallway in the dark. If I can’t tell what I’m seeing, I couldn’t care less if it’s supposed to scare me.
This is a bigger issue because I was really impressed with the opening sequence. Everything up to the credits was very nicely done. Stark contrast with the snow, nice, tense photography with the car sliding on the road. Then the movie keeps sliding further and further into an inky mess.
Ignoring this problem, the movie is kind of nice. It’s evocative, and it reminds me a lot of Tim Burton’s stuff. A very fantasy-based look to some of the sets, and the music is very Elfman-like. At least to my ears.
I can’t help but think that this is an example of some kind of overreach. It could have been a much more original, much more pleasing movie with a few hands tempering the production.
No comments:
Post a Comment