Daniel’s review published on Letterboxd:
Pray to the Lord. Satan walks among us. It's a sinister world for the police as the body count increases, with leads to find a culprit running cold. It'll be up to one FBI agent to solve the clues and take down a real nightmare.
We have been blessed. One of the greatest combination of genres to me has always been horror meets crime. It won't come as a surprise then for me to say that the marketing campaign for this had me incredibly hyped.
From the obscure teasers to the posters and so much more. There was so much being done to take this relatively unknown film before into one of the most talked about this year; and that led to the very high expectations.
Safe to say that this blew me away. Just had me hooked from the opening scene to the final moments. They were able to not only perfectly capture this evil, grim atmosphere but keep you invested with a riveting story too.
Oz Perkins, the son of Anthony, has kept the tradition alive of their family scaring audiences around the world; with the introduction of a frightening new killer that will have viewers staying up at night for days or weeks after.
Nic Cage has never scared me more than he does in this. He doesn't even need to speak to send chills down the spine. Just the dead look in his face is so haunting. It feels more like Cage was possessed by the soul of a killer.
Just wish we had more to see from him; he was stealing every scene with his terrifying presence. It might feel a little too over the top for some, but I never felt that, just fit this type of tone and tale perfectly. Simply brilliant.
Not to mention the work of Maika Monroe. She's very impressive in this. It's hard to be called the best when opposite one of Cage's best roles ever, but she gives it her all and cements herself as this decade's top scream queen.
There will always be a soft spot in me for these types of films; inspired by that of Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. It has more than a few moments making me jump, or having my stomach twist and turn from the tension.
Some of the directions taken with the story had me unsure initially; but as time goes on since seeing the film, I have come to genuinely love all they did with this in the end. Not what we expected, but one we just deserved.
No doubt in my mind that this has become one of my favourites for the year to date. It felt perfectly made for me. Not to say it would work for others; it could be a little divisive. But I found they came away with a very special film.
If you'll excuse me now, I need to check dates for birthdays on the 14th.
First Watches 🎞 2024
Cinema Watches 🍿 2024
Nicholas Cage 🎥 Ranked
Neon Horror 👹 Ranked
