Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
9.1
The directing, storytelling, and score are absolute horror perfection. The tracking shot in the beginning is a thing of cinematic beauty. The unstoppable force that is Michael Myers meets the immovable object that is Lorie Strode. So many firsts that would soon become staples in the genre. A masterclass in horror cinema.
8.1
What started out as a summer “coming of age” movie takes a very dark turn. A small town on the water in Michigan. People getting picked off one by one. An enemy that you can’t quite put your finger on, even by the end of the film. That oh so beautiful cliffhanger ending that makes these horror films legendary. The creep factor of “The Witch.” You think you know where things are going, but then they turn the tables again and keep you off balance almost the entire runtime.
Again, the ending of this is a thing of beauty. It takes a hot second to catch up with what’s going on, but when you do…
7.4
The whodunnit factor of “Knives Out.” The camera work of “Paranormal Activity.” The “y’all gonna die” factor of an 80’s slasher movie. A pleasantly surprising thriller, with well developed characters and well executed twists and scares.
5.5
I think they were going for intriguing… but they just left me confused and bored. Like watching an hour and a half of Debbie Downer. You’re rooting for her to die yesterday towards the end of the film.
8.9
Classic Spielberg.
The dynamics between the siblings, newly children of divorce. The soaring John Williams score. The perspective of the camera angles between filming the adults and filming the kids, much like JAWS, provides a subtext that really adds to the realism of the storytelling. The masterfully subtle, yet impactful touch of one of the all time great directors. Only Spielberg could make a creature like E.T. lovable.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 