So for those of you who don't like my recommendations, let me be clear: I haven't seen this yet (seeing it today lol). But the word of mouth has been absolutely bananas-- I wasn't even considering checking this out, but a sizable number of people have told me to go see it, to go in blind, to try to avoid spoilers, because it's so fucked up and crazy and fun. So I'm going to go.

It's also at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, for those who care about that sort of thing. So it's just not the word of mouth I'm hearing, critics all seem to be digging it too. If you're looking for a fun, fucked up horror flick, maybe this is for you. (But, again: I haven't seen it yet.)

i saw the one main trailer beforehand. it doesnt necessarily spoil anything. but it does give up a bit as to the direction of the film. i think it wouldve been even more enjoyable if i just watched it without seeing the trailer.

this is def one of those viral horror movies that you cant wait to tell someone else to go see.

There's also an actor in it (would saying who's in it be a spoiler? I don't know, so I won't say) who is *woefully* underrated, and he appears unexpectedly after a long stretch of movie and is just a *delightful* addition the rest of the way.

Good time at the movie theater. A few good scares, a few laughs, a few completely bonkers moments. Definitely worth seeing.

I don’t get scared by too many movies and I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of this. Agree with going in as blind as possible as there are a bunch of twists and turns. I’ll be curious to see how it holds my attention on a rewatch now that I know the twists, but either way, this was really well done.

The scariest part was the walk back to work from the theater. Those who have seen it will understand:

I saw the movie in a Megaplex that is one of the last surviving businesses in a once-thriving metropolitan mall that is now mostly boarded up and being torn down. The theater was completely empty and the bathroom was dark when I went in after the movie and the lights came on but the automatic soap dispenser started shrieking the moment I waved my hand under and didn't stop. I leave and walk through the mostly boarded up or under perpetual construction interior of the outdoor mall. Even though it's mostly empty of stores and people, they still have cheery mall music blaring.

I walk by what used to be the old Virgin Megastore, which decades ago used to be one of my favorite places to go, but after a succession of failing businesses has now just been completely ripped out of the wall, like a bomb went off.

In the courtyard, the children's play fountain is still shooting out squirts of water, but is deserted. This used to be a place where you would see hundreds of children on a summer day.

I make it back to my office building and see that the little on-site cafe has been closed permanently since I last was there. I enter the quiet lobby where they don't even have any one stationed because so many people work from home now. Anyway, luckily my office was populated and not post-apocalyptic feeling. But it's going to take a while to wash this eerie feeling away.

I loved the originality of it, it just wasn't scary to me.



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Fuck aliens

-Warriorpoet415

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Spoiler





-Justin Long is just about my least favorite actor ever. So he shows up and does his typically hackneyed Justin Long bullshit, and as usual, every second he’s on screen, I can’t wait for it to end. So there’s that, and he’s a terrible choice for this. At least it wasn’t Jay Burachel.

Be plays a complete piece of shit who gets serious comeuppance in the end, so I guess there’s that.

-Bill Skarsgard is wasted in this. He does *everything* a guy shouldn’t do when he doesn’t want to be seen as creepy. I suppose it was meant to be a misdirect, but IMO it was so thick that I knew he wasn’t the bad guy.

-I LOVED Georgina Campbell, and was genuinely upset when she got thrown off the ledge.

She’s the only reason this works for me, and the true horror here was the way a woman of color was so completely dismissed that they wouldn’t even investigate her claim.

-the zombie titty momster thing was dumb as rocks. Lazy, unimaginative, and a far bigger detriment to the film than trash ass Justin Long. The scariest thing about her, is how stupid it was.

Then you have the rapey SVU torture man, who they did fuck all with.

This was engaging until Zombie Titty Momster shows up, then it becomes a campy b movie, with a brief break back into something good when Georgina’s character tries in vain to convince a couple of pigs to help her.

Overall, this was a disjointed mess. That seems to be a pattern with all these “shut off your expectations!” movies.

... then this movie will not work for you at all. Because the Justin Long stretch is almost certainly the best part of the movie, and the tape measure gag is probably the hardest I've laughed at a movie all year.

I don't know that I've ever encountered a vehemently anti-Justin Long person before, lol.

I liked him in Tusk.

That was one that I thought was a well-executed burst of creativity, and Justin worked well for the role.

But yeah, he just has this weird, unappealing manchild thing, and lacks the charm or charisma others in that vein have to make it work.

He's an instant "change it, this sucks" actor for me.

Kevin James is another, as is Rob Schneider. Actors who are so horrendous to me that I wonder what they have on who, because I struggle to understand the appeal.

JL was the right choice because he is soooo hate-able.

I am with you that the titty monster was just a dumb choice that took from the build-up and doesn't make any sort of sense.

The movie could have been scarier, but it would have to had leaned into a story about a serial killer and the torturing of his victims, I am actually glad they left that out. I personally just don't have the stomach for that.


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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

to that last point, agreed. I don't think we need any of that right now.

Your hypocrisy towards movies is absolutely HILARIOUS. Lmao

Almost EVERY SINGLE DECISION MADE IN THIS FILM IS UNBELIEVABLY DUMB.

I loved it.

Go see it immediately.

was the idea of a blighted town, that the police won't touch, as a grounds for horror. I wish the movie was more about that.

Tying the horror to the decay of the community would have been interesting.


"zombie titty monster" was dumb. I get why they went that route instead of actually dealing with tortured serial killer victims, but it made no sense. They could have least made the serial killer a mad scientist of some sort.


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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I don't like most horror movies but this was one was just dumb, creepy and funny enough all-around

fantastic work

nm

when the Mac died.

I watched the trailer after the movie and so glad I didn’t see it first.

I didnt get around to watching a trailer, saw it available on HBO Max after all the word of mouth and maaaan.....amazing movie. I thought it was just a typical "rented a place with a stranger who turns out to be a killer" movie. Glad i was wrong. Glad it wasnt spoiled for me.