 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. This is for the 2019 film Spiral and it's a shutter original and since it's a shutter original and when I'm putting this out It hasn't even hit shutter yet. This will be a no spoiler review So you can carry on without fear of spoilers happening now Maybe a little bit thematically and subtext wise, but that doesn't ruin anything about the actual film now This film is supposed to hit shutter on Thursday the 17th of September. So just know that Now this is directed by Curtis David Harder who did films Cody Fitz and in control Have not seen them Written by Colin Minahan who you may recognize some of his resume Grave encounters graven counters to Extraterrestrial it stains the sands red stillborn and Z Now I've only I saw the first grave encounters and I thought it was a solid film. I know people who love it I thought it was okay. I haven't seen the second one I haven't seen any of his other stuff except Z and Z I think was the last film that he had done and I did not like Z at all So when I saw that on there, I was a little bit worried that said this film was I'm kind of in the middle on this film to be honest and and there's good There's good. I see in it and there's not so good. I see in it and I'll talk about that But also having written this is John Pollack when who also wrote chilling visions five Chilling visions five states of fear. Sorry lock lock Lachlan Monroe, I don't know why that's a tongue twister is in this film I was very excited to see that Lachlan was in it. I like his stuff. I like everything. He's done that I've seen he's been in Riverdale. He did a great job in that He was in a night at the Roxbury. I love his character in the Roxbury so funny And he was in scary movie and he's awesome in the first scary movie So fan of him was great to see him now. Let me give you the quick synopsis of this film since I'm not doing spoilers on it it's basically about a gay couple where who the one guy had was married and has a daughter and He has custody of her. I guess that's kind of what it seems to me. They don't say anything specifically Oh, actually, I think they allude to it so he has custody of his daughter and his new partner comes in and is basically Assuming the role of the step parent so it's kind of a situation where they're going away to starting new life and they get into this new neighborhood and Weird things start to occur to Mainly one of the characters and then that's where it starts to really focus on that one character's perspective of things Who becomes the main character and the other two characters you're introduced to early on kind of become a little bit more peripheral But they're still quite involved. So That's kind of all I want to say about it because I don't really want to ruin much but yeah This film has some pretty inspired camera shots to be honest and camera movement So directed quite well. What was this guy's name again? Curtis David Harder nice work on the directing. It looks really good. I really enjoy the way this thing looks Good cinematography great directing Like I said some really interesting and cool shots and camera movements and I just love the way it looks Especially the very first shot has this really interesting movement to it that just looks really cool So really enjoyed the visuals of this film, which is nice The shot that leads right into the title screen is also cool. That's a different one than what I was just talking about It's it's kind of like shows a symbol in a way of the title Which I thought was a cool way to kind of lead into that title screen. So good job on that too very creative The family dynamic is pretty well established early on in scenes that actually feel natural Which is extremely important because there are so many times in Films especially lower budget films where they're trying to get through who the characters are or what the Dynamic between the characters are and they do it in ways that just feel so fake and so forced The good thing is it's very natural in this like you you learn the family dynamic You learn who these characters are you understand their motivations and kind of who they are as people in a way that feels normal It's like you're just kind of observing part of their life and for that reason. I think the dialogue is well written I don't think there was there would maybe been like one moment where I was just like Oh, that's really kind of like corny dialogue, but it wasn't terrible Otherwise, I mean I think the dialogue was well done It felt very natural and that's that's a pretty big achievement for for screenwriters because it's not that easy to Write dialogue and have it feel like real like someone's actually saying it And get through what you're trying to get through so there is some quite good writing to this Especially dialogue wise and like I was saying like it fleshes out the characters pretty well the main the main characters mainly Each of the initial characters are fleshed out well So you can feel invested in what could end up happening to them And that's another important thing about you know you getting to know the family dynamic You getting to know the characters is that it sets you up to care more You know if they set it up where you you're just kind of more observing and you don't feel like you know These characters at all you don't feel invested at all Then you feel very detached and when things start to happen you don't feel you don't feel anything You're just kind of like okay things are happening, but with the way that they set this up It's nice because like you don't want bad things to happen these people because they kind of you know They did a good job of endearing them to you It seems very straightforward for quite a bit in this film But then something odd occurs that creates a very solid air of mystery And that's one of the biggest things is as soon as that thing occurs That kind of starts the mystery of what's actually at play here. What's going on It does a relatively good job of keeping you wondering what is actually happening there's some you know red herrings that kind of get thrown in in there and Yeah, I mean I feel like until pretty much the very end it does keep you Guessing there were a few things I had in my mind when I was watching it of like I think maybe it's this but I also think maybe it's this and then by the time it got to the end It ended up being somewhat like one of the things I was thinking but not exact so they do an okay job of kind of throwing enough red herrings in there and Keeping you engaged enough in the story through the mystery aspects of it now that said doesn't really play much like a horror film Not so much really in certain aspects Yes, but they needed in my opinion to have a lot more of the actual horror in this so kind of like the movie Z Which is appropriate to refer to I Wanted more they gave you little bits and pieces, but I wanted more now There are a few kind of like scary moments that make be like a jump scare for some people in this film and They're okay. Oh Kind, you know done well enough. I guess but they also feel very out of place they really don't feel like they go in the film and You'll see what I mean when you watch it if and when you watch it They just feel out of place They don't feel like they go with the actual movie and part of the reason is they don't set the Track for those types of things to happen in the film and it's so infrequent. I think I can only only really think of like to Like that that even happened until the very end and there is something at the end that actually works really well That feels like it fits but the two things prior to that just don't and you're just like why I don't I don't understand So they needed more horror. They needed more of the scary stuff The horror of it is kind of more of like a personal horror for the main character societal slash neighborhood paranoia fear Type thing. It's just there's not a lot that happens, which is unfortunate It's a whole lot of trying to figure out what happens, but there's not a lot that happens While trying to figure out what happens if that makes sense The music is good in this there are a few moments where it feels a little bit heavy-handed But not too bad and for the most part music pretty well matched. So I like that There is a shift of sorts that ends up being used in the film And it's done a few times and I believe it's there to kind of plant a seed of a certain thing that's kind of happening to kind of Potentially happening to cast doubt in the mind of the audience when you feel like you might be on one track of thinking Something's happening then they do these kind of and you could miss them if you're not paying enough attention like these kind of I Was gonna say subtle but not quite subtle almost subtle They don't overstate it like these kind of switches in the film and and you'll see what I mean You'll know what I mean if you watch it. So I feel like that was good because it just ended up being enough for you to just like Get that feeling like something else is going on like maybe I don't have it figured out when I thought it was this this path Let's just forget that and instead kind of step back and take take more in and kind of see where this really is going So that is good. I like that Already talked about the scares. Oh, I do want to call out real quick Jeffrey Bo your Chapman bow your Chapman or bow your Chapman. I'm sorry Did quite a good job with the acting in this. He is the main character as Malik and he did quite a good job I was very impressed with this acting for people who may recognize him. He was in Grave encounters to and he was also in a few episodes of the newest American horror story season. So just so you know There's an important scene toward the end that actually doesn't seem to be done very realistically I was talking about how good the the writing is for the most part for making things feel real but there is a kind of pivotal scene towards the end that If you look at if you're really paying attention to it The way people are reacting and the way the situation is playing out does not at all feel realistic It doesn't it's it's it's it just feels off it feels weird And maybe it was intentional to feel that way, but it doesn't play well in my opinion There's an interesting point that's made about fear in this film and how it's basically used in society That I think is a very prudent point to be made and they made the point in a very interesting cool way And when it's brought up towards the end of the film It is kind of this cool moment that at least me as an audience member was just like oh That's an interesting point, and I think you're right on that. That's a very good prudent point It's kind of partially I'm not gonna tell you how they tie it in but it's basically The idea that fear is can be and is used in society to kind of Marginalize some people to kind of create this us versus them mentality and keep people living in fear to for various reasons It ends with a pretty good sequence But overall I am feeling pretty conflicted about this like I was saying because I just wanted a lot more to it It does feel like there's some stuff in there where they're kind of wasting time It is about an hour and a half and you know it feels about that Maybe feels a little bit longer than that because it does feel like there's a little bit of like time wasting You can only Have someone looking into something for so long Before the audience is feeling like okay I need to have like a little bit of payoff Even before we get to the very end of the film there is payoff in the end of the film and I like that about it In fact the the very very end of it. I think ends in a very interesting way, and they did a solid job with that so yeah This plays with the situation of being viewed as other in a new neighborhood But it uses that to make the point of what it's like to basically have the perspective of a person who is marked as other Within society not just within the neighborhood the neighborhood is kind of like a microcosm For what's actually going on point-wise with this and when I talk about other I'm talking about mainly in this situation You know being gay which you know That's the perfect time for me to basically say you know I'm a straight male white male So my perspective and what I get out of this film may end up being very very different than what someone who's gay gets out Of the film so if anyone is watching and you are gay, and you have any sort of feelings on this film I'd love for you to comment down there just to see if there's a different perspective to it because obviously I'm open to watching this film But it's not necessarily gonna mean the same thing because I haven't been through a lot of what's Kind of talked about subtext and overtly Within this film, so I it's it's not something that I'll you know really connect with on that level so and I'm aware of that So it's interesting because it pulls together the challenges of living out loud as gay and at the same time Having a step-parent situation now I I can't remember ever seeing any movie or show that kind of tackles the that aspect You know I've seen plenty of movies and shows where it's about you know living your life out loud and then shows where it's about You know dealing with the the issues of trying to be a step-parent in those challenges now bringing those two things together I've never seen that done before and I think it it added a very interesting New aspect to this type of film So that was very interesting to me that they kind of layered those two things in this and I like that about the story That's one of the most engaging things very early on with it so yeah And then the last thing I want to say is there's a difference shown between someone who grew up living out loud and someone who came To it later in life and there's definitely a difference in how they view society and the scars that are ending up being created now This kind of leads me to a story that's you know It's not my story, but I'm not gonna name names or anything But a friend of mine who is a gay gentleman had told me a story about how he had an uncle Who ended up coming out much later in life and the uncle had then gone to him and kind of apologized to say You know, I'm very sorry that I wasn't really there for you when you were going through you know being out and gay and all the the hatred that was put towards you and all the You know all the pressures of society and being judged and feeling, you know, like you don't fit in and all that stuff You know, I'm sorry. I couldn't have been there for you And I just you know He was basically saying that like he feels bad that he didn't have to go through that and then when he came out It was very accepted especially within the family because the my friend had already You know done that he had kind of paved the way and there's some aspects of that that are really played with in this film That I think work quite well It really is an interesting look at someone who's always been gay and has always lived out and someone who Came to it much later in life and there is a difference and a lot of it has to do with The past experience and your feelings towards society and the the scars that have been created by society So it's it's interesting from that standpoint. So As you can tell there are a lot of things I enjoyed about this film But there are also some a lot of things that I just I just wanted more. I wanted to be kind of different I wanted to be more horror. So That said it makes me really feel like I got to come down in the middle I mean I'm between two and a half and three stars on this But I think ultimately I just I have to go with the two and a half because I truly feel like right in the middle conflicted on this whether I Fully like it or when you know whether I like it or I don't really like it because like I was saying too like the two Horror more horror ish things in it. Just don't feel like they go, you know I like what the film has to say. I think the subtext is good and I think The themes are good, but it's not integrated that well into horror really just saying but That's just me that's just my personal opinion and like I always say with my reviews I would love to hear what other people have to say about this film. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Are you in between like I am put some comments down there? Let's talk about that But regardless, thanks for checking this out. 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