Very thought-provoking movie

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2019)

Starting off for this movie was the intriguing trailers that played. They were intense and eye-catching. Definitely had me excited to see this movie.
Then came the movie. Not all of it was what I was expecting. The trailer hinted at the "shadowed" or "cloned" characters, but it did not prepare me for how the movie ended up playing out.
You definitely need to have an open mind for this one as it is not your simple horror film. I don't know that I would even have classified it as horror. It is a bit sinister, but also has several light-hearted funny moments and more of the SciFi type, really out there feel to it. Definitely similar to Peele's other movie "Get Out."
The movie didn't waste much time getting to the point, but was still able to sneak in quite a bit of background in terms of flashbacks. The actors really brought the story to life and kept it going from start to finish. Considering each one essentially plays two different characters, you would have never known that with how well each one was able to execute the difference between them and their "shadows."
Even though the movie was unique and well executed, there were still a few details that dropped my personal rating to an 8. I have so many unanswered questions on the plot twist at the end and I'm not sure it even makes any sense. If the mom was the "shadow" this entire time, was she pretending to experience her "amnesia/PTSD" surrounding the hall of mirrors scene in the beginning? If she switched places with the other, how did the rest get to the point of wanting to come to the surface to kill their "shadows?" And since the essential "leader" is killed, why are the others still holding hands at the end? I know that part was referencing back to that commercial playing on TV in the beginning, but what was the point in it? Lastly, if they were copying their "shadow" in life, how were they able to break from copying to form a group to kill their shadow?" Those are just a few of the unanswered questions on the plot.
My second reason for dropping my rating was because of how terrible the dad was... It almost feels like they did it on purpose. He spent the whole movie limping around with no real good scene of how he even got hurt. Besides that, his wife (and kids) got beat up several more times than he did (and way worse, might I add), but still managed to get back up. Maybe it was for comedic relief? But his character was unfitting in that aspect and just irritated me watching him limp around.
Besides that, everything else about the film was unique in every way. The acting was phenomenal, the feel of the movie was very chilling and the music was unlike any other, which is saying a lot as that is a trait of movies that never really stands out to me. The way it was used in this film was fantastic as far as setting the feel for it.
Simply put, the other negative reviews seemed to have been looking for the same original horror film that's been copied several times over. When this one didn't deliver that, weak-minded "movie critics" couldn't handle the advanced script or appreciate the uniqueness.