Directed by Chloe Okuno. Written by Okuno and Zack Ford. Starring Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Madalina Anea and Burn Gorman.
Plot: a young woman notices a mysterious man watching her from a building across from hers at the same time that a serial killer is reported active within the city.
I’m not a huge fan of IFC Midnight, but I am a huge fan of this. I really like how it was shot. And it surprised me. In a good way. That is always enjoyable. LOL
Maika Monroe shines as Julia, the doting, super supportive wife of Francis (Glusman), who, let’s face it, doesn’t deserve her. I knew that much from the beginning. She goes to Bucharest with Francis because of his job. He speaks the language, while she’s still learning keywords and phrases. Their new apartment is directly across the street from another apartment building. Almost immediately she notices a man across the way watching them. Watching her. And since Francis works all the time, she’s alone in the apartment often .
Julia is afraid even more when she hears there is a serial killer loose in the city. She’s also upset and frustrated because Francis often speaks in Romanian to his friends, while she’s there with them, knowing she doesn’t completely understand everything he’s saying. Finally, she makes a friend, Irina (Anea), who lives next door to them and is a dancer at a “gentleman’s club”. She speaks English and helps Julia feel like she belongs.
I’m not going to tell you the rest of the tale, but I will say, I never liked Francis. When he actually sees the man across the street (Gorman), staring at his wife, he only tells her that “maybe he’s just staring at the woman staring at him”. Are you kidding me? I’d have left him then and there. Fuck him. Fuck Bucharest. Fuck everything. She stays though and things get worse. There’s a cat involved a little later. Police as well. They aren’t any more helpful than her husband though.
The only really gory bits happen at the end. It’s much more psychological in it’s terror. You never really know for sure who Julia can trust or if she can even trust her own self. I believe the whole “Believe Her” ideals going on right now are promoted here, but I feel that the “Trust Your Gut” idea resonates even louder here and it resonates with man, woman, child and animal. If your gut is telling you to get out, for god’s sake, GET OUT!
In that way, the Freddy Claws here is pretty weak, but the script was realistic. The story was realistic. The effects were wild and wonderful. The cast had me believing every single aspect of who they were and why they were doing what they were doing. The motive wasn’t really anything you could pinpoint, but I think that’s a bit realistic too, at least in this situation. I really enjoyed the whole thing and I wish DJ liked these kinds of movies more. Maybe I’ll make him watch it one day.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
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