The film’s satire is right on brand for Bong Jo Ho, though less subtle than much of his previous work.
Although it drags and gets a bit cheesy towards the end, the film is clever, well written, well directed, and frequently very funny. The whole cast delivers, but the highlights for me were Pattinson, Yeun and Collette.
Not on the same level as The Host, Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer or Parasite, but still a fun way to spend two hours and seventeen minutes.
Showing the entire film shown from the POV of the two main characters was a risky choice that could have easily come off gimmicky and annoying, but thanks to the cinematography and direction, I never got sick of it and found it just added to the narrative and emotional impact, especially at the end.
My only nitpick is that the beginning of the film sort of feels like a montage with minimal dialogue skimming the childhood and upbringing of Elwood…
I feel like there’s been a lot of horror and thriller films that have come out these last few years that start off with an engaging premise and an excellent first act, but then go off the rails and become far-fetched, ridiculous and just plain uninteresting. Heretic is the first example that comes to my mind, and some (though not me) may argue Barbarian is guilty of the same sin. While Companion gets pretty farfetched itself, especially in the second…
Really loved Fargeat’s over-the-top style and vision. It makes it pretty clear that the film doesn’t wish to be taken too seriously, which makes it easier to suspend your disbelief, and there are plenty of things in the film (other than the premise) that challenge that.
Ironically, it’s perhaps the film’s goriest and most horrifying scenes that make it feel less like a horror and more like an absurd, fucked up dark comedy.
My only complaint is that for how…
