Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

ommik I thought the beginning was more or less promising; I liked how the main character was already into the occult and it seemed like she knew what she was doing. However, the movie very quickly descended into your standard bunch of "am I going crazy or is something after me" horror cliches.The soundtrack and visual vibe was good, but as a whole the movie didn't impress me at all.

hampersnow-28905 I think it is unfair to advertise this as a horror film because if you watch it thinking it is a horror film you are going to be extremely disappointed. Even as a psychological thriller it fails. Many great horror films have a build-up , allowing you to get to know the characters, which is what I thought was happening here. An hour into the movie I was still wondering when something, ANYTHING at all interesting or frightening was going to happen. It's obvious there was no budget, and even worse, it's obvious this was made in Canada. I've seen some of the most lame excuses for cinema coming from Canada and this is right up there with the worst of them. The acting is actually decent for such a boring film but up until the last few minutes nothing much happens unless you are truly frightened by sound effects and girls walking in the woods. Looking back on it , there are even scenes that don't make sense. A lame excuse for a movie and so boring that at one point I started to think to myself "Should I get a puppy or a kitten?" " Do i have anything sweet in the house?" " Shouldn't I make sure a movie isn't made in Canada before I sit down to watch it ?"..........oh well, doing laundry is excitement as compared to this.

Nigel P Yes, this is a teen angst story. Yes, the teens are of the troubled Goth variety so unappealingly stereotyped in so many films. But don't despair! Director and writer Adam MacDonald portrays them in a very sympathetic manner (the obligatory expletives are a little forced, however) and they emerge not only as strong characters, but their group is a vital one considering the inconsistency that exists at home.Leah (Nicole Muñoz) is missing her dead father, and her mother's up-and-down alcohol-induced mood-swings are making her unhappy. A keen reader of occult books, she rashly performs a Black Magic ritual to be rid of her mother - and then regrets it. By then, of course, it's too late.This is a pleasingly altered take on the familiar 'summoning a demon' story, and the modest budget is used to good effect, with bumps and jolting camera angles providing more naturalistic chills than CGI (which is used, but very sparingly) or wildly choreographed jump-scares. The new house Leah and her mother (Laurie Holden) move into is tailor-made for a haunting and is surrounded by acres of terrific Blair Witchy woodland. The acting is very good from all concerned, especially the two major females, and it becomes a blur as to just who is possessed and who is the victim.It's a low-key slow-burner with a familiar narrative, but with enough enjoyable details to satisfy.

lost-in-limbo Decent, but I was a little disappointed in how the Canadian independent horror "Pyewacket" went about setting up its narrative and final denouncement. All mood, predictable tradegy filler, secluded house in the woods, occult doodling, an unstable mother and lonely daughter relationship leads to a rush of blood to the head ending in harrowing regret. The summoning of an evil entity to fulfil a wish, bad vibes and death slowly toying, and manipulating its victims to serve a purpose.Really, not much happens for three quarters of the film with a routine set-up going through the motions, and then its creeping structure becomes perilously high stakes. It's light on the thrills and minimal effects, favouring a less is more approach of camera trickery, atmospheric toiling and pounding thuds. So if you're tired of jump scares, your in luck because you going to get something quite reserved for the majority of the time. The supernatural force early on, is deliberately kept off-screen. After a creepy first appearance as a black shapeless apparition seeping from the walls unbeknown to the sleeping daughter, it disappears, yet the presence is always felt preying upon each and every step of those on the estate. Finally the entity comes to the forefront and makes itself known in the third act, but even then its quite limited on how far it goes, and it's over in a matter of minutes. Finishing on a disturbing and nasty executed climax with decisive sting in its tail twist, but the effectiveness of the twist doesn't work, because you see it coming. The story blatantly lets you in on it, just before the delirium kicks in. Now was meant to be a twist, because it felt like one, yet it doesnt feel like it paid off?So was this simple slow-burn horror; of quick cutaways, false lingering build-ups and ominously "loud" sound FX (and boy is it overused) all constructed around its (shocking?) final scenes. If so, it misses the point since as a viewer we are already steps ahead. Everything comes to an abrupt ending, where certain details brought up about the consequences (discussed by an occult expert) surrounding the black ritual, are now skimped over, or forgotten about in its closing scenes. In a way, it feels like a lot of hot air. Technically well-made; great location shooting and solid acting by Nicole Munoz and Laurie Holden sharing honest portrayals, but still it's a lot of hot air.