a great horror film (it is a fairytale horror) that deserves a way better rating. it ust has an author fingerprint and it doesn't want to be mainstream.

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2020)

Imdb sometimes has ratings that don't mach with the film quality - sometimes they're too good for the film sometimes they're too bad. and the problem is about the expectation of the viewer. this film has something of art house in it, made by a guy that has a vision - it's not a standard horror film and should not be looked that way. people need to let the film flow and have expectations that can't be matched what they are accostumed to see - and while sometimes i understand, in other cases i won't. in reality this film deserves a rating around 7.6. in these case, critics are more trustworthy. why? Because they see a lot of films, and get tired easier from the same gimmicks than the movie goers. sometimes critics are unfair yes, but on other times the problem is there are a lot of reviews made by people that are not expecting that horror films can be like this.
so yeah, if i was 16 years old and thought insidious was an awesome horror film i probably wouldn't like this one (i actually think insidious is good, but way more standarized than this - and my favor horror subgenre is by far slashers) because it's very different. this is almost author cinema made in the horror field. because yes this movie can be scary - mostly by what you don't see. by the music, by the ambiance around the forest, by the cinematography...even by the language they're talking.
this is supposed to be a fairytale an horror tale that took place in the 17th century, a tale that you tell to young people to scary them amidst a campfire in the woods . this movie has all the elements of a traditional folktale and should be regarded as such. maintaining that speech was a very clever move, because it makes us travel easier back then, a time where pretty much people feared everything - and this family feels cursed right from the beggining. that fear is pretty much everywhere in the movie.
and yet the horror elements prevail: the idea something "is hiding", the fact that "everybody is a suspect", or saying "ill be back" might cost you. it's a tale made with the horror rulebook on point that wants to follow it. just its own way. i liked the ending by the way, where i think the truth is explained. and i really enjoyed to follow the deep suspicions of this family around themselves while something terrifying might be hiding close to them.
just please don't expect this movie to be a mainstream horror film. it's not. it has someone with a fingerprint, and only eggers could have done this, no one else. I have "the lighthouse to still check and i'm going to do it after really enjoying this first film of his.