As a fan of horror anthologies, I had no idea this movie was one until after that amazing first quarter ended. From the very first frame of the film, we are treated to some magnificent cinematography, which really makes the isolation in the winter road all the more suffocating. The acting is top notch, and as the scene unfolds, we begin to see the true nature of the movie and where it is going to take its viewer. Although not every segment works as well as that first one (I mean, it raised a very high bar), the following two were also well done and enjoyable in their own ways, although the tone was a bit polarizing. The gist of the story is a man enters hell and experiences several stories about others who have also been sentenced there.
The second scene features a small child and was somewhat of a dark comedy at first. Seeing this little girl dancing around and making a mess, all while horrific things have happened around her was awkward. The tone was schizophrenic, jumping from being light hearted fun to horrifying within the span of the segment. I wanted to like it a lot more, but the performance of the child was a bit on the poor side, as she delivered her lines with no real talent for acting. Aside from that, it was interesting to see the story unfold.
The third segment sees a mother dealing with the suicide of her teenage daughter. This was a deathly serious story, and while the tone stayed static throughout, it really was a polar opposite from the previous one. It was jarring going from something somewhat kooky to a serious story about suicide, bullying and regret.
The last segment sees the main protagonist being shown the ropes of hell, and what his time there entails. Basically it's a walk-though of sorts of the eternity of torment that awaits him. This segment was creepy, intense and somewhat disturbing, especially if you are Christian and believe in the afterlife. I am not afraid to say that this segment bothered me more than the others combined.
I feel the movie ended with too many lose knots. What happened to the second guy? 4.000 years of quarantine and were only shown a few minutes? The baby antichrist is born because of a mistake made by a demon? I hope they're setting it up for a sequel because the ending really left much to be desired.
Overall, I absolutely loved the ideas presented by this film, the manner in which they were conveyed, and I wish there was just more of it. This movie should have had one final segment, or at least have the last segment extended by at least 20 minutes. It just felt like it had a rushed resolution, which really brought the whole package down a few points.
If you enjoy anthologies, this film is right up your alley. Sure it has a lot of pacing issues, and the tone of the film could have been better balanced, but overall I really enjoyed this film and I eagerly anticipate its sequel.
The second scene features a small child and was somewhat of a dark comedy at first. Seeing this little girl dancing around and making a mess, all while horrific things have happened around her was awkward. The tone was schizophrenic, jumping from being light hearted fun to horrifying within the span of the segment. I wanted to like it a lot more, but the performance of the child was a bit on the poor side, as she delivered her lines with no real talent for acting. Aside from that, it was interesting to see the story unfold.
The third segment sees a mother dealing with the suicide of her teenage daughter. This was a deathly serious story, and while the tone stayed static throughout, it really was a polar opposite from the previous one. It was jarring going from something somewhat kooky to a serious story about suicide, bullying and regret.
The last segment sees the main protagonist being shown the ropes of hell, and what his time there entails. Basically it's a walk-though of sorts of the eternity of torment that awaits him. This segment was creepy, intense and somewhat disturbing, especially if you are Christian and believe in the afterlife. I am not afraid to say that this segment bothered me more than the others combined.
I feel the movie ended with too many lose knots. What happened to the second guy? 4.000 years of quarantine and were only shown a few minutes? The baby antichrist is born because of a mistake made by a demon? I hope they're setting it up for a sequel because the ending really left much to be desired.
Overall, I absolutely loved the ideas presented by this film, the manner in which they were conveyed, and I wish there was just more of it. This movie should have had one final segment, or at least have the last segment extended by at least 20 minutes. It just felt like it had a rushed resolution, which really brought the whole package down a few points.
If you enjoy anthologies, this film is right up your alley. Sure it has a lot of pacing issues, and the tone of the film could have been better balanced, but overall I really enjoyed this film and I eagerly anticipate its sequel.