A plot description for this movie is damn near impossible, but the cliff notes version would be something like...
During the dead of winter, a troubled young woman (Emma Roberts) embarks on a mysterious journey to an isolated prep school where two stranded students (Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton) face a sinister threat from an unseen evil force.
This movie has three separate plots that all play out at the same time. Its a classic "is there supernatural shit involved or is she just crazy" Narrative, but yet it feels entirely unique. a large part of why this movie works so well is the sound design in tandem with the slower pacing. the whole movie feels like someone is stalking you just out of view, and it really keeps you waiting before it pounces on you with the kills. This movie creates a wonderfully tense atmosphere that has no real moments of levity, and i love how long this movie makes you wait for the sword of Damocles to finally drop.
another reason this movie works so well is how much ass Kiernan Shipka kicks in this role. from the second we see her she seems haunted by something, and when she finally becomes fully possessed she feels like a different person entirely. its no wonder she is such a great actor, since her debut role was Sally Draper in the AMC drama series Mad Men. Emma Roberts also gives the strongest performance i have ever seen from her, and she manages to capture the same haunted feeling that Kiernan Shipka nails so effortlessly. and before we move on from this movies awesome actors, James Remar (Dexter's Dad!) and Lauren Holly are equally amazing as the road tripping married couple who pick up Joan. Both actors get powerful monologue's that show just how emotionally effective a single kill can be, and i love a horror movie that shows the impact of all the carnage. and speaking of carnage...
I'm sure there all plenty of gore hounds out there who hate the offscreen kills, but even though the are off screen the first kills in this movie are terrifying. we don't even see the bodies until later on, put that slow pan across the living room gives me goosebumps every time. from here we see the entity first possessing Kathrine, and i love how they show the entity. you never see it in focus, only on the reflections of walls and waiting in dark corners. There is so much ambiguity that you can really fill in the blanks yourself in terms of its motivation, and i love how you never really know if its even there at all.
my only real complaint is how on the nose the ending is, but even with that tiny hang-up this movie is 99.99% masterpiece.
remind me not to pick on any Catholic school girls / POOKA looking demons going forward
100000000000000000000/10
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