PRESENTS

It's just so slow. And on top of the pacing problems, the big twist at the end is apparent from the middle. The acting is excellent and I can tell if it's because the cast is skilled or the dialogue is so well written. I can tell the director was going for the eerie, slow burn, creepy build, quiet terror, cerebral, make you lean way in effect - that's very popular right now, very film festivaly - but that slow burn only holds for the first half. Once you string me along past the halfway point and you're still trying to draw me in with whispery, vague dialogue and prolonged, wide eyed stares at creeks in the wall, I start to lose interest pretty heavily. What is meant to keep hold of the audience starts to annoy them. Slowness and predictability aside, the practical effects and Makeup are really fantastic. The demon in the end is unique and well built. The CGI is supporting, but not overpowering, maybe a little distracting, but not too too much. All the pieces of this film by themselves are high end and expertly executed, it's just all that quite space in between that really brings the whole thing down.