User Reviews

The Luring takes it time on screen, not rushing, so I did check it out closely, see if I'm not missing anything. Some scenes felt random, the colour changes a lot, of course I thought about symbolism, but I failed to capture it...perhaps because it was not really there. Just a shadow, a whisper, but nothing really concrete, that would come back and hit you in the head with a brick after reconsidering those particularly, weird moments.

For a horror or a psychological one, it never seems to up its game, it genuinely becomes more and more easy to anticipate what's going to happen, so you will find no spark there. Towards the end it did have a scene, so out of the blue, so bold, it really managed to make quite the impression, and it even got me thinking how much more room there was for it, or in how many other movies, such scenes could appear and just shake you from the core. But then it continued towards its conclusion, one that I saw coming for the last 30 minutes, so it was a steady, easy ride from there till the very end.

Overall, sadly, I don't feel like recommending The Luring, because it has a weak plot, slow but not in a good way development, and the ending itself falls flat. If you do decide to watch it, lower your expectations and just try to see what those out of touch moments are all about. Because even if they represent something, the ending itself is so explicit..made little sense to make the movie stuffier for such a bland finish.

Cheers!

Arriving at a cabin in the woods, a man begins a journey to recollect lost memories of a traumatic incident from his past, yet the closer he gets to uncovering everything the true nature of the incident is revealed putting those around him in greater danger.

This was an okay if somewhat flawed effort. What works best in this one is the general build-up and atmosphere of something being wrong with the house. The opening flashback to the encounter as a kid is quite chilling which is quite nice, while the constant attempts at reconnection to the fateful birthday provide some fun foreshadowing as it sets up the genuinely unnerving final half that spells out the true intent of the hauntings. These are what hold this one up as this one does have some issues. The biggest problem here is the disconnect we get from the main couple who in no way, shape or form come off like a believable couple who have been together for a certain amount of time. Not only is it obvious he's a closed-off, emotionally-distant sociopath who thinks flushing the toilet while she's showering is funny and calling her attempts at connecting cheesy, they display very little chemistry or warmth together despite the excruciatingly long build-up in the first half that tries to say otherwise and gets worse the longer it goes. That brings up another flaw here in the dragged-out pace that doesn't make this one all too thrilling. In addition to the constant attempts at making us think they're a loving couple, the rest of the running time here is devoted to flashbacks about the fateful party which paint him as an even bigger selfish brat than he is as an adult. It's barely worth wanting to stick around trying to figure out the mystery at times where the focus on him being so unlikable causes these to be so boring and unwatchable. As well, the other issue here is that so much of the film's insistence on tropes and ideas for its scares and tension-building is just routine ripoffs and cliches. The focus on the balloons is obvious, while the small-town cliches including the stranger who knows too much, the secretive stranger with a score to settle and the inquisitive girlfriend who gets caught up in everything just come off as pointless as none of it's scary due to being complete cliches. Combined with a wholly confusing and underwhelming finale, this one does have some problems.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence and intense themes of violence-against-children.

Bad acting, a story line all over the place, characters you root for being killed off so you don't have to see/listen to them anymore. Completely disjointed ending. Rip-off of other horror elements.

This is a movie that I suspect has a specific niche group of fans. I enjoyed it. there were confusing bits but overall, I was happy with my understanding of the story. I don't think this is a horror per se, but more psychological horror/thriller would be the way I classify this one. There are themes that are disturbing. That aside, there is a story here. Not sure if it was deliberate but there are clues and symbols scattered throughout the movie, which explain some things. This movie is weird, moody, dark, and interesting - and is comparable to the likes of Twin Peaks in the way it makes you feel as a viewer. Not everyone will like this, but there is definitely a niche audience that will enjoy this one.

The movie is exceptionally poor in pretty much all aspects.

The acting pretty much gives away what kind of movie it will be from the start. The performance is akin to a high school play with nervous kids that force their lines and overact. The cinematography is not too bad, although that alone amounts to nothing in the end considering the convoluted and disconnected plot. You know how in a dream you are convinced certain things make sense but when you wake up you wonder how come you didn't see the glaring contradictions with reality? That's how this movie plays out. There is a multitude of cliche horror elements - an eerie red balloon, a psycho kid killer, children hurting children, mysterious plot device shadowy man, a toy of unknown significance which the camera zooms in on regularly, etc. etc. Events do unfold, but saying they are in any way coherently connected is like answering a math problem with "green". I wouldn't even call this one pretentious as to me this is simply a bad movie due to bad writing and directing.

This is the type of movie that will have a few people pretend to understand its "profound" meaning and will insist that it is so deep that nobody gets it but do not be fooled. Deep applies to this movie like "dry" applies to "ocean".

Good movie to watch for the thrilling and horror scenes in the movie it is a psychological drama movie good to see.

This was an absolute waste of time. Please do not waste your time watching this horrible car crash of a movie. I cannot believe anyone would pay for this, I am so baffled how it even got produced . It was all jumbled and all over the place, the acting was extremely low, the scenes did not connect, nothing made sense. I have NO idea how one person in the reviews said they watched it 3 times, probably because nothing was making sense and they couldn't accept that fact.

The way the house is used. And the dialog speaks volumes. its what a fun smart psychological thriller should be. As an independent film the luring knocks it out of the park. Sit back and enjoy

I'd rather watch paint dry then watch this again. My husband said why do I have to be so mean... And I asked him to tell me that it wasn't that bad he goes no it was bad it was really bad... Considering that I don't think I'm being so mean. This was an hour and a half that felt like three hours of my life that I can't get back. From the writing, to the storyline to the acting it just seems like somebody had way too much time on their hands and no talent...

I was shown this at a "Bad Films That Don't Know They're Bad Yet" film party. It didn't run for long before all votes were in. That's not a great start.

For those who appreciate cliche like a fine wine, I wish I could say this is for you, but because it tries to play it off with an even-handed feel, even you won't get much enjoyment out of this one.

From the rote copy-cat cinematography seemingly done on a mobile phone (no true attention to composition, instead attempts to reproduce the painfully green director's favorite scenes from OTHER more famous horror movies, to character dialogue that sounds as if a child wrote it for a school project.

How to Know a Movie is Going to Suck > If a movie's name is generic as The Luring (one wonders if Stephen King would even name a movie thus in 2019~), it's probably a good sign that it's going to suck. > Even the previews don't have any eye candy to spare (this is not a choice toward sparse imagery and bare bones film-making ala The Blair Witch Project, but an a pure lack of film-making tools and the ideas to come up with anything interesting. The eye candy trailer scenes aren't there because there simply is no vision to those who created this lackluster, overblown nothingburger. To say that this "film" lacking the thriller component of its own "horror" genre is an understated judgement, to be sure. > Characters are unable to hold the viewer's attention because the story line is flat and predictable, even for the average movie-goer. > The filmmaker being too young to understand human story lines is not necessarily a downside to a movie production (movies like Richard Linklater's Slacker are testament to this), but a horror movie depends utterly on the narrative story-telling capacity of a director who knows what they're about. So in this case...maybe just don't bother? > The small or nonexistent budget is experienced painfully. Plenty of films operate without a budget at all and do wonders, even by B movie standards. This movie will sadly never even be proper popcorn B movie fare, as it lacks heart and soul which ultimately seem to result from the zombie mind at the helm.

If you didn't make this film, then at least you can always point back to this film and claim, however meekly, "...well, at least I didn't direct The Luring..."

We all know the cliche shot of a child letting go of a balloon, but this film makes the balloon to main villain. Could be an interesting idea.

The plot is very slow. The characters are unsympathetic. The villains aren't menacing.

Some of the visuals are genuinely creepy. The clown is a bit of an obvious choice, but it is creepy. They do some intersting things with the lighting during the conversations with the villain.

Worst acting and most likely the most predictable so called plot line. Can't believe I actually sat through the whole thing. Can't even classify it as a movie

I absolutely love this film. I loved how Jenifer is a crazy, dominating seductress while Claire is more submissive but shows her strength at times. Garrett is complex with good and bad elements to his character that gave him an interesting intricacy which was fun to watch. When the film ends, I felt everyone got what they deserved but not in a predictable way at all.

I'm a big fan of movies that aren't afraid to get a little weird and believe me this film does. But in a really fun way.

I felt there was a lot of symbolism and foreshadowing within The Luring so it's not the kind of film you can not pay attention to. Things are said or shown that come full circle later on so it's like a puzzle with little pieces.

I really enjoyed how the film dealt with the back story of the balloon and the truck, I thought that was very clever. It kept me engaged and I was trying to guess the meaning. I think they told a better story than what I was guessing.

The Luring is not your normal horror film and the director was sure to make that point and I applaud Wells for that. I like directors who aren't making what everyone else is making. I've seen those films, I'm ready for more films like this. I think there are going to be a lot of people like me enjoying watching The Luring because of the fact that it's so different and the style in which he directed it is just cool to watch.

I recommend it. It's different. So if you're looking for cookie cutter film-making you may not like The Luring, but if you're into indie films that try to do something different without alienating a broader audience, and yet at the same time really tell a story that hard core horror fans will appreciate you'll enjoy it.

For what it is - a no budget, first feature - it is really not bad at all and has a lot going for it. The lack of budget is very apparent in some scenes however and the acting is mostly at a dinner theater level. The writer/director shows a lot of promise.

If you're easily offended and looking for something typical or want to be spoon-fed then The Luring isn't for you but for real psychological thriller fans who love the feel of a Midnight Movie experience minus the cliche B-rated plots then you're going to absolutely love it! This is a different type of film, it's strange, it's subtle, it's creepy and it also has a dark sense of humor that isn't so obvious which I thought was very smart. Like the deck scene, as hard as it was to watch I also found myself laughing on how wrong it was.

I totally got what the filmmakers were trying to do but I assume some people may not be in on the joke or the fact this film is indeed different. I applaud The Luring for doing a good job executing an intriguing story that was creepy and suspenseful. But you'll have to pay close attention because there are a lot of creative subtle hints throughout the film (quick flashes of a memory, the knocking sounds origin, the artwork on the wall, the wooden birds, etc.) so watching this on your phone while multitasking is not advisable. If you do you'll miss a lot.

This film in no way spoon-feeds it's audience and this is one of the main reasons why I love it so much! I was not expecting that but in the first scene I could quickly tell with the the way they had certain subtle sounds this was going to be a really fun ride. Watching it in a dark room with no distractions is was how this film should be watched. The Luring doesn't assumes its audience is stupid and isn't afraid that some of the subtitles may go over some peoples heads which again is another reason why I love this film!

I really liked the character development of all them and how the truck and the balloon were explained, I thought the kid who played Tom was really good. I think the whole cast did a great job and was presently surprised how the old man comes back into the film later on. That was unexpected.

I liked the way Jennifer was a polar opposite to Claire's character and their approach to Garrett was very, very different. It says something about men in general. I think it says something about relationships too. This film has symbolism too, like how everyone is always drawn to the art in the film To me it symbolized a beautiful distraction and the cool thing is, it can be up for your interoperation but there is a meaning behind it. Again, nothing in this film is going to spoon feed you. I think we've come accustomed to being spoon fed so it's really refreshing to watch something that doesn't do that.

We had a lot of fun watching this film also because it gets weird and strange and yes some scenes are pretty disturbing but not in a gross or bloody way. I recommend you watch it but pay attention. I don't know the rating but I wouldn't let little kids watch it due to the content. They may be used to a lot of blood but with a psychological thriller I think is more creepy than gore any day.

B-level film with many elements of "The Shining". Psycho kid grows up and gets revenged upon by a siren from his past. Decent screenplay but B-level as mentioned so anyone posting 8/9/10 ratings are shills, at best it's a 7 and I feel a bit generous rating it 6, it's really a solid 5. It's best viewed with a gf/wife.

Movie is creepy and fun. Lots of homages but it feels fresh and a nice twist on the genre. Story is intricate. Suspense throughout with some real scary moments. Kept me riveted - and gave me nightmares.

The Luring is a movie about a one sided relationship where Garrett is still trying to see what his options are which is why he's so curious to go back up to Vermont and using his lost memory as an excuse. Unfortunately his girlfriend is so in love she doesn't see the red flags. I think this happens a lot more often then we'd like to admit and I think The Luring makes an intelligent social commentary about these types of relationships. Kind of like an ugly truth. That's why there is beautiful artwork in the house because all is not right or as it seems. If you like a film that engages you and has a lot of easter eggs The Luring is a really fun watch but nothing about it is typical, this is by true definition a psychological thriller, a chess game rather than the checker films that flood every streaming platform. It's nice to see a film that deals with peoples insecurities, kinks, weakness and strengths. I really enjoyed this film a lot, I also think it's great what they did with clearly not a large budget rather rely on a really good story.

So this film is not for everyone, probably why I liked it so much. I thought the pace was what one should expect from a psychological thriller and I commend Christopher for having the guts to do something most filmmakers are afraid to do and that's make a film that's actually not like every other film. Clearly he is targeting an audience who want something unlike what's so commonly out there that are in this genre. I haven't been this pleasantly surprised in a long time.

I also like how Christopher used sound in many ways. Sometimes it was very subtle, and sometimes it was more obvious but it was very clear the sound design was intentional. What I liked most is the fact not everything is obvious in The Luring which makes it a true psychological thriller which I assume some people may not know the difference between that and a horror film. Horror films usually has a ton of blood and a story that isn't well developed. A psychological thriller however messes with your head, pulls you in different directions and stays with you. That ending scene in the basement will stay with me forever because I wasn't expecting it.