So flawed but beautiful

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2013)

There's so many conflicting emotions I felt about this film. Let's start with the negatives because there were quite a lot. The screenplay needed to be a lot better. Some of the plot developments feel completely forced, and the characters seem to make some truly stupid decisions. I usually overlook this in most horror films, but the fact that I found myself rolling my eyes several times at what the characters were doing is a huge flaw.
Despite the screenplay not being all that good (or maybe decent with just way too many problems), there's an originality to its tone and to its final act that make it stand out among other recent horror films. Sure, it has several jump scares, and for people not a fan of that it might not work. But the jump scares were effective and always seemed creatively executed that it just made up for the other screenplay factors. Despite the writing not being very strong, the central plot here is. The backstory to the "evil" is very interesting, and the climax is rather beautiful and very touching.
The other thing that made the film work as much as it did despite being completely problematic is Jessica Chastain. She's already one of my favorite actresses working right now with only a few films that I've seen her in, but there's no sense of naivety or immaturity in her acting. She feels completely in the zone every time I see her in any film and this is no exception. And although the circumstances by which her character becomes the lead is one of the most contrived plot developments in the film, once she's the lead you really don't mind at all.
Overall, the climax bumps my grade up even more. Definitely a creepy film with some truly fantastic visual imagery and a truly fascinating "villain" that perhaps warranted a better film, but still works nonetheless.