Significant Other

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source: Significant Other

TL;DR: This is a forgettable film with no real scares and a lot of plot choices that you leave wondering if the writer has ever actually seen a horror movie. If you are looking for a good lost in the woods horror film go watch "The Ritual" as it delivers. Longer review: I love horror and sci-fi films, particularly when they are combined. And my favorite setting for movies is out in the woods so I was really looking forward to this film. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, and the plot and pacing suffer for it. The movie starts with a good eerie vibe, but the lack of chemistry between the characters and uneven pacing kept me from getting pulled in. The the plot is fairly predictable and meandering, but not bad per say until about 2/3 of the way through the movie when it suddenly takes a really odd, and frankly ridiculous turn and the movie becomes almost campy. I have nothing against campy horror, but to bring that element in out of nowhere did the film no favors. I came close to turning it off with 15 minutes left but decided to stick it out and I can't say it was for the better. Really disappointed because the premise of "what if you are out in the woods and can no longer trust your camping partner" is a great one if you can pull it off. This film did not. Oh, and if you already don't like the lead male actor - Jake Lacy - you really won't after this. The guy excels at playing entitled, and slightly creepy white men who complain a lot, and this film is no different. If they had cast Barry Keoghan or Adam Nagaitis in this, it might have been a better movie.

I wanted to see this as soon as I saw that Maika was in it because she is fast becoming my new favorite actress, particularly as she seems to be the go-to for good horror/thriller films, and she has not let me down yet. There are some minor issues with the movie itself; some pacing problems - this could have been a bit shorter overall, especially if the twist had come earlier, and once there, I loved the surprisingly humorous turn the story took, but I was left wanting just a few more shocks and surprises. The twist reminded me of the twist in Malignant, which I did not guess, and which then signaled utter craziness to come, so I was waiting for that to happen, but it was on a much lesser scale..still, this is enjoyable and unexpected, and best of all, it fooled me.

You think you know what you're getting into, but then Significant Other takes a turn about 1/3 of the way through and the story goes in a different-and thoroughly enjoyable-direction. Taut (84 minutes), a tight script, two excellent lead actors, and confident direction make this a sleeper-surprise. Plus, for a movie of this genre...everything made sense. You didn't need a lot of exposition because the set up was familiar to any sci fi fan. Instead, the focus was on the characters and an extended game of cat and mouse. There were no moments at all where you thought "how could he/she do that/be so dumb?" Nope. This was lean and intelligent. It also had comedic moments which broke the tension and fit in seamlessly. Extra points for innovative use of a shark.

This isn't a groundbreaking sci-fi thriller but I have to admit I enjoyed the first 2/3 of it. It's a low-budget, slow-burner production but definitely worth watching if you lower your expectations. As we all know by now, hiking is always a bad idea and unfortunately the first scene of the movie gives it away. Not completely, but you sort of know something is coming. Although there are some surprisingly good twists, the suspense dropped significantly when the "mystery" was revealed. The acting is hard to comment on as the script doesn't demand much from the actors, but all in all, a good movie to watch on a rainy Sunday night.