Michael’s review published on Letterboxd:
"I know you're not afraid of a little dark. Because you are the dark."
That strange guy from Legally Blonde does it again. Director Osgood Perkins is one I'll always be excited to see what he does next. I felt him invoking the works of Jonathan Demme, David Lynch, and David Fincher. All the while still making it feel completely his. It's like this brew of Silence of the Lambs, Twin Peaks, and Zodiac. I loved the atmosphere and tone this had, as it felt like something about the air was different—like there was a constant, unnatural static buzzing. I never felt scared, but I always felt unsettled. And again, the way he frames his shots and uses geometry is spectacular.
I felt the twists were obvious, but it never took me out of the journey or discovery. Once this ended, I was left wanting to know what happened next.
I don't remember what I saw first, It Follows or The Guest, but since then, Maika Monroe is someone whose name is all I need to convince me to watch a movie. I love that she is drawn to these vulnerable or fractured characters and gives them dimension. I loved how she entered every situation with a subtle fear in her face. I felt that was more effective than panic and hysterics. It was cool to see Blair Underwood again, reminding the world how effective an actor he is. I think this is the best Alicia Witt and Kiernan Shipka have been. And lastly, there is the man, myth, and legend Nicholas Cage. As usual, I stayed away from a lot of the marketing for this, so I had little expectations of what to expect from him, but this was absolutely wild, even for him. The full prosthetics he is wearing make him unrecognizable, but that Cage performance wasn't. That voice and squeal will haunt me for quite some time. It was like Michael Jackson meets Deliverance. Even when he wasn't around, I kept expecting to hear "cuckoo." Then the final shot of the movie, I swear that was just him screwing around, and they said, "fuck it," it's in the film. Hail Satan, indeed.
9 out of 10 dolls
