40/19
A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that turns into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets, desires, and resentments. Music that includes variations on the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony plays in the background throughout the film. Referenced in Amanda the Jedi Show: NIGHT SWIM is Garbage | Explained (2024). Coppelia: Act I: ValseWritten by Léo DelibesPerformed by Symfonický orchester Slovenského rozhlasu (as the Slovak Radio Orchestra) and Andrew MogreliaCourtesy of Naxos of AmericaIn arrangement with HD Music Now Inc.I really wanted to like this one. It started off OK; I even liked the mechanics they used (which I won’t give away here). As someone said, it seemed like it was going to get pretty interesting pretty quickly. Instead, it got pretty eye-rollingly bad pretty quickly. The thing is, these friends all meet up at this house for a night of fun, okay — but we don’t really know them. And since we don’t know them at all, we’re just not really interested in what happens at the end. Sure, one of the couples is introduced early on, but only through a very specific lens. But everyone else? We get hints, not much more. They’re drawn pretty flatly and generically, and as an audience, we’re not given enough to care beyond the surface. I think what the movie is trying to do here really requires our commitment. It’s like we’ve agreed to ride a rollercoaster with them, but before we can say hello and exchange a few pleasantries, we’re strapped in and sent away for the next couple of hours. And the ride is a lot less fun than it seems to be. I gave up after 35 minutes. I’m a pretty avid viewer of all kinds of horror movies (I even found Bodies Bodies Bodies entertaining) — but I just didn’t like this movie. The final season of What We Do in the Shadows is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month. Check out our October calendar for more!