Siskel and Ebert

Rating: 5/10 (7 April 2018)

The premise works. And the execution does not. For a film that had an innovative idea, the very production of it stripped it from a uniqueness of form and function to the hum drum hollywood trappings that hollywood itself relies on to generate artificial responses. I.e. A music soundtrack to invoke fear, sadness, calm, tension...
While the lack of sound is the motif that could have been used to amazing effect in the hands of an artist and or innovator, here it worked more as a gimmick and at times, failed its own inner universe due to implausibilities.
Music, as already stated, unfortunately, is used as the usual standard in this movie, and it is disappointing. Can you imagine a horror film WITHOUT a soundtrack??? The possibilities are astounding. Lots of other decisions within the plot are incongruous but that would be to pick apart the story which should be approached at face value and in a film like this, some of the inconsistent internalized logic must be overlooked to sustain believability. And, in the right mood, it can. Ultimately, the movie is entertaining. But not great. Its barely "good." The "rave" reviews out there - from "critics" are falsely at it again.
All in all, this is yet another movie that benefits by the absolute vacuum of good online film criticism which is de rigor nowadays. Film criticism is now regulated to online bloggers who are more fanboy / fangirls than deeply read, literate, surveyors of art history. The death of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert marked the true beginning of the end to reliable movie criticism and now, as consumers, WE ARE ALL, TRULY, ON OUR OWN.