Mildly entertaining, though unremarkable

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2018)

Wish I could get behind this as much as everyone else. It's decent. The creatures are relatively cool looking, some of the lighting and set design is nice, and most of all it was enjoyable to see a mainstream film commit to being so quiet for so much of its runtime. The movie also does a relatively good job of making the vulnerability of these characters and the fragility of their safety feel palpable. Beyond this though, I was very much underwhelmed by the final product. I understand the metaphorical layer the film is going for - the idea of sacrificing everything for your children and the insistent paranoia that surely goes along with being a parent. But the metaphor is just there. It isn't explored in any deeper or satisfying way. Perhaps it would've resonated more if I were a parent myself, but as it stands I felt there just wasn't enough to chew on with the story here. And when you take away that metaphorical level, the movie that remains is ultimately just a very traditional cat-and-mouse creature film with plenty of loud, easily foreseeable and mundane jump scares. Yes, as quiet as the film often is, it still very much relies on those piercingly loud jolts for the bulk of its scares. I'll always prefer a horror film that can get under my skin; one that can disturb rather than startle me. And I also just had a nagging sense that the film lacked the directorial vision it really needed to help elevate the material above the basic premise. Fair, mildly entertaining, but derivative and ultimately forgettable.
Light 3/5