Director: Eric Pham
Writer: Matthew Daley (Screenplay)
Starring: Elle LaMont, Violett Beane, A Michael Baldwin Johnny Walter, Dalton E Gray
Plot: After the death of her mother, an estranged daughter struggles to save her brother, and those around her from a malevolent faceless spirit.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Suspenseful Horror Mystery
Story: Flay starts as we learn the legend about a Native American that put a curse on a chain before being murdered by the incoming Americans. Move to present day and Moon (LaMont) returns home after the mysterious death of her mother, needing to rebuild her relationship with her young brother River (Gray).
Back in her family home, Moon starts to experience strange visions after making contact with the chain and soon she must find a way to stop the curse from spreading through her family.
Thoughts on Flay
Characters – Moon left her family home at a young age after a damaged relationship with her mother, not she must return to help after her mother’s death, only to find herself needing to battle against a spirit desperate for vengeance from beyond the grave. River is the younger brother of Moon, he had to remain at home to take care of his mother through her own demons, he hands around stoners that are dopey idiots and for the first half of this film you will hate this character. Billy is the neighbour, family friend and one of the only people Moon knows when she returns.
Performances – Elle LaMont in the leading role is good, she is everything we would come to expect in a leading lady on horror, able to play the broken while looking beautiful at the same time. Dalton E Gray does a good job to make us hate his character, but understand why he is acting the way he is, this can be hard to get right, he gets it just right. The rest of the cast are good for their own parts without needing to do too much with their characters.
Story – The story follows a family that must reunite after a death in the family only to find themselves being haunted by an ancient spirit who is out to kill people in an act of vengeance. The rebuilding of the family is by the book stuff, the siblings that clash is an arc which works for horror, being explained about the spirit in the opening sequence works too. Where some of the story goes missing is the characters never getting to learn about the curse and the spirits motives. The final act does feel rushed after a build up which has played out at a different pace too.
Fantasy/Horror/Mystery – The fantasy helps with the horror as we learn about the spirit that has come for our victims, which does only add to the mystery for the characters over the audience as we know what is going on,
Settings – The settings used keep us contained with the small town, where everyone seems to know everyone, which increases the worry about the deaths.
Special Effects – The effects are a mixed bag, there was one moment which look fantastic, but other moments don’t seem as strong.
Scene of the Movie – The spirit strikes the friends.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The kids are so stupid and seemingly don’t have parents.
Final Thoughts – This is a good horror that does have plenty of positives, we have a villainous character that would look frightening if it came for you. We do have a by the book character arc and a rushed finished, but the build up is the highlight of the film.
Overall: Good horror for the horror fans to enjoy.
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