I think I hated it.
With a huge caveat, because I loved every single technical aspect of it, the camera work and shot selection were amazing, and I truly loved the first-person shots that felt like playing a game. Brian having to look around in multiple rooms to find the shotgun shells was really fun. The practical effects and also the sound design were also incredibly solid; the sound of viscera being blown apart by gunfire was gas.
My main issue with this film is that I can’t stand the characters at all. Brian stood still and watched some crazy homunculus coming towards him and only started to freak out when it was essentially breathing in his face. Watching it begin to form was already bad enough; there were so many moments where I was feeling so incredibly rage-baited, especially the final 30 minutes.
The characters being so stupid genuinely made this a hard watch with predictable moments and the same annoying padlock bit which served 0 purpose and wasn't even funny. If it didn’t work the first time, why are you going to try it again multiple times? Holy hell, give it a rest, and the corny jokes at times made me want to get up and leave.
If you’re able to look past all of these things, then I can definitely see and understand why people will like it. I think from his work I’ve seen I like Zack Cregger as director, but I’m not a fan of his writing at all. Contrarian opinion over. Everyone should go and watch this.
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