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iariaI liked it and I'm glad I watched it but I had some issues with how it ended.
+ The main problem for me is that it felt like two separate movies meshed together. I liked/am interested in both but the sci-fi last half didn't work for me as the conclusion to the horror first half. Someone in a review said that the movie either should have been a short film (to concentrate on just the horror) or a television series (to expand on everything that's happening) and I agree.
+ The first half hour or however long it was that Stephanie was by herself in the house was excellent. It wasn't terrifying but the scary we got was well done. I liked how tense it was. The confusion over what was happening worked really well to up the tension. Also it had one of the more realistically scary things I've seen in a horror movie with the opening scene in the kitchen: Stephanie climbing up to reach the jar, her walking back and forth over the glass-strewn floor, her putting food from the glass into her smoothie and licking the glass, and her sticking her hand in the stuck blender. I spent the whole scene going 'oh no, don't' and cringing.
The way that Stephanie lived her life alone in that house, her talking to her turtle, and the little rituals she followed was effectively done, and the matter-of-fact way she dealt with being alone with this monster made it all the creepier.
Also great - her little talk to Paul, taking his hand and it closing around hers. Very creepy. When Jane said how brave she was and Stephanie replied that actually she was really scared.
+ The actress playing Stephanie did a really great job.
+ I did like most of the movie after her parents showed up too and thought there was some good tension there with her parents desperately trying to figure out how to deal with her and struggling to cope. I'd figured out pretty soon after they showed up that Stephanie was the monster so that made it more interesting since we were still seeing things through Stephanie's POV.
+ Where the movie lost me was at the very end after Erik took Stephanie to the orchard to poison her but she destroys the thermos instead. Once the entity possessing her came out and took complete control or she lost control of it I felt very meh. As an ending to the story Stephanie torturing and murdering her parents and then walking off to destroy everything around her just didn't fit? I didn't find it interesting in that context and found it disappointing. Oh, she was possessed the entire time by a malevolent entity and now it casually kills her parents and joins all the other 'children' in destroying the world... okay then. It felt too disconnected from the horror first half for me. I wanted the conclusion to be about Stephanie and it wasn't really.
On the other hand, as an alien invasion apocalypse idea I liked it. I'd probably watch that tv show. Though maybe they'd need to be depowered to make it work. Or perhaps some of the children do manage to keep control/calm and fight against them? But I loved her as this tentacle creature.
+ The main problem for me is that it felt like two separate movies meshed together. I liked/am interested in both but the sci-fi last half didn't work for me as the conclusion to the horror first half. Someone in a review said that the movie either should have been a short film (to concentrate on just the horror) or a television series (to expand on everything that's happening) and I agree.
+ The first half hour or however long it was that Stephanie was by herself in the house was excellent. It wasn't terrifying but the scary we got was well done. I liked how tense it was. The confusion over what was happening worked really well to up the tension. Also it had one of the more realistically scary things I've seen in a horror movie with the opening scene in the kitchen: Stephanie climbing up to reach the jar, her walking back and forth over the glass-strewn floor, her putting food from the glass into her smoothie and licking the glass, and her sticking her hand in the stuck blender. I spent the whole scene going 'oh no, don't' and cringing.
The way that Stephanie lived her life alone in that house, her talking to her turtle, and the little rituals she followed was effectively done, and the matter-of-fact way she dealt with being alone with this monster made it all the creepier.
Also great - her little talk to Paul, taking his hand and it closing around hers. Very creepy. When Jane said how brave she was and Stephanie replied that actually she was really scared.
+ The actress playing Stephanie did a really great job.
+ I did like most of the movie after her parents showed up too and thought there was some good tension there with her parents desperately trying to figure out how to deal with her and struggling to cope. I'd figured out pretty soon after they showed up that Stephanie was the monster so that made it more interesting since we were still seeing things through Stephanie's POV.
+ Where the movie lost me was at the very end after Erik took Stephanie to the orchard to poison her but she destroys the thermos instead. Once the entity possessing her came out and took complete control or she lost control of it I felt very meh. As an ending to the story Stephanie torturing and murdering her parents and then walking off to destroy everything around her just didn't fit? I didn't find it interesting in that context and found it disappointing. Oh, she was possessed the entire time by a malevolent entity and now it casually kills her parents and joins all the other 'children' in destroying the world... okay then. It felt too disconnected from the horror first half for me. I wanted the conclusion to be about Stephanie and it wasn't really.
On the other hand, as an alien invasion apocalypse idea I liked it. I'd probably watch that tv show. Though maybe they'd need to be depowered to make it work. Or perhaps some of the children do manage to keep control/calm and fight against them? But I loved her as this tentacle creature.
