Jonathan Kieran

I had been noticing this one for quite awhile on Amazon Prime (mainly due to the bizarre mask worn by Ethan Hawke in the blunt promo shot) and, for whatever reason, was finally in a mood or some degree of disposition to watch it last night.

It engaged me enough to finish the viewing. That’s saying something. Most films made after 2015 tend to insult my intelligence to the point of repugnance.

Ethan Hawke’s murderer character was creepy. The overall ambience of the movie (set in the 1970s or early 1980s?) was appropriate to the subject matter.

The kid-actors were reasonably compelling. The pace was solid.

Though the premise was fairly simple, the script was uneven and disjointed. It was fragmented and often incoherent, like most films adapted or written at the present time. Non-linear. Plot holes and instances of undercooked writing abounded. The sense of contrivance was eye-rolling in a number of places. (So many movies are rife with little deus ex machina ploys these days; another telltale sign of weak or lazy writing.)

Even so, I vaguely rooted for the kid, Finny, to possibly survive, which kept me intrigued, if not riveted. Watchable, creepy, and occasionally evocative, but it sure as hell ain’t no classic.

That’s all I got. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 5)

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