Paranormal Operator

Category: Reaction

Night Swim (2024) Initial Reaction

January 21st, 2024

Operator Movie Reviews

This film came out at the beginning of January 2024, and from the original trailer it had my interest. The overall idea of a haunted body of water is not original, but condensed into a pool, does seem original to my memory. This post will not be a complete breakdown of the film, only a brief summary.

***SPOILER FREE***

The first trailer is what originally caught my interest, and the best part about it was that it gave nothing away only the general idea of the plot. A family moves into a house that has a pool, and at some point during its use people are almost got by something. The cinematography and sound design was good. The characters all acted believable so the writing, or at least the acting was good. The creature design, which you do see a little of in the trailer is eh. I think a lot more could have been done with this movie, but it is a decent film.

Verdict: 3/5

***SPOILER WARNING***

Now you might be wondering: “Operator, why did you put the second trailer in the spoiler section?” You would be justified for asking. The second trailer virtually gives away the entire movie. The son encounters the ghost daughter who was sacrificed, to the water spirit (?), by her mom who was a previous owner. The daughter nearly gets got by the entity. The parents are oblivious until The Mom (current owner) notices her son acting odd. After being told that weird stuff happened and doing a bit of research she seeks out the previous owner mom only to realize that what happened to her is happening to her husband. That is why you see him freaking out. Also, the demon, or water spirit, or whatever it is gets the cat Cider.

Why do I not know what this entity is? Because the film never tells us and current owner mom does not look into it beyond the ton of people who have gone missing. This, the discovery and establishment of the antagonist, is lacking. I feel that more time should have been given to the mom to research because in the end they just fill in the pool. Does this “defeat” the demon, spirit, djinn, etc.? Does it even confine it to their pool? After all, the pool guy states that the whole area was known for healing springs. Who knows?, Probably not even the writer. The villain is there and conquered easily enough. Accept that it must be paid regardless of whose wish it grants.

About the only thing the trailer does not give away is the ending. The dad, Captain America, who is the recipient of a wish and therefore has his health restored, sacrifices himself to save his son.

The world building is pretty good except for the massive gapping hole where we should have learned who and/or what the antagonist is. I saw this film in theaters and paid $24.00 including popcorn and drink. It is available on Amazon for $30! I think someone is greatly overestimating the demand for this movie. I might have paid $30 if it were in Imax, but not to watch it in my house.
Initial Reaction and Review of The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

January 18th, 2024

Operator Movie Reviews

When I first saw the original The Exorcist (1973) during my high school years 2005-2009 I did not appreciate the impact it had on some. My dad admitted it gave him nightmares. I wish I could have see it through his eyes. Having rewatched the original in preparation for this review, the difference in quality is noticeable. That being said, while this 2023 movie did get one jump scare in on me, I cannot say it is terribly scary. So, lets get into The Exorcist: Believer.

***SPOILER FREE***

The movie is boring. The cinematography is well done, the music is fine, and the acting kind of falls short in places. The characters are almost nonexistent in that there is only one, Mr. Fielding. The story is an interesting one of fate, choice, love, regret, faith, and family. Too bad that the film only illuminates these ideas about as well as flashlight with a dying battery. It is a sequel to the original 1973 film and you will find some lines of dialog and at least one shot tying the two together.

Overall, if you want to watch a good exorcist movie, watch the original or The Pope’s Exorcist (2023). Don’t get me wrong, it could always be worse, but it could have been better.

Verdict: 2.6/5

***SPOILER WARNING***

The story is about two teen girls who, like in the original, are dabbling with what could be perceived as witchcraft. In this case Mr. Fielding’s daughter is trying to communicate with her deceased mother — using a pendulum? So you can use pendulums in spirit communication, but what the girls describe is not something as mundane as pendulum work but full on channeling, so I am not sure why they have a pendulum. Anyway, they sneak off to the woods, as you do, to perform their “ritual” ( I am putting that in quotes not because they call it that but because I am calling it that). They awake three days later having missing time. After they go missing the parents are introduced and we meet the other not characters. Everyone in this story except for Mr. Fielding is a foil strictly speaking regardless of what the writer/director/executive producer David Green intended. The West family is basically a caricature of the picture perfect “Christian” family. The dad is pretty much introduced as a dick and never really redeems himself, except maybe a little at the end and even that is walked back. The mom is quiet and submissive as I suspect some stereotype Christian women to be.

Once it is established that this is not a medical problem the story quickly shifts to full blown supernatural mode. Remember in the original film when the mom spent a lot of the movie trying to find a medical answer, and established characters as people who could help? It gave depth to the world as even psychiatry was looked down upon by the doctors, but here it is all, as Nick Fury puts it, “black girl magic!” Don’t get me wrong magic is magic no matter whose culture it comes from, but every Christian person and every Christian action taken or presented in this movie is weak, impotent, and second rate to the root magic of Dr. Beehibe. Oh, and I wouldn’t wan to forget to mention Ellen Burstyn reprising her role as Chris MacNeil except that she shows up just long enough to have her eyes stabbed out and does not contribute anything of substance except to complain about the patriarchy.

Moving on, the who diverse community of non-characters and Mr. Fielding come together for an exorcist. You have Mr. and Mrs. West, their pastor, generic Christian friend, Dr. Beehibe, and random nurse neighbor. A priest does eventually show up only to get his head spun 90 degrees which the special effects did looked pretty good. By the end however, a choice must be made: They must choose the form of the destructor, no wait that was a better movie… They must choose which girl to save. Like in Ghostbusters the decision is left up to the first person to speak up, and like the bad guy in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade they chose poorly. Funny thing actually, there is no choice. Mr. Fielding’s daughter received a prenatal blessing (more black girl magic) and Mr. West’s daughter had not been baptized, it is the West daughter who is sacrificed on the proverbial alter of “white Christians bad.” Does the film say this? Not explicitly, but every man who is a foil in this movie are depicted as weak, ineffectual, overbearing, tone deaf, or irresolute. Every woman and person of color is shown as selfless, in-charge, and willing to do whatever is necessary to storm the gates of Hell and fight evil incarnate.

Mr. Fielding, who presumably having lost his faith at the beginning of the film after loosing his wife, comes full circle and believes once again. He lovingly embraces his daughter while the West’s daughter is drug to hell. Unfortunately however, we are left guessing as the nature of Mr. Fielding’s faith at the beginning of the film as it is not shown and only brought up in a throw away line of dialog.

With that said, it is not a bad movie, but it was not worth seeing in the cinema. If you want to see it, I would rent it.
Initial Reaction to Godzilla Minus One (2023)

January 14th, 2024

* * * SPOILER FREE * * *

So I know I am like a month late to this one, but if you can get to a theater to see this movie do it. I was not going to see this movie, but after hearing praise from EFAP, I knew it had to be good.

The movie starts strong from the get go. The soundtrack, cinematography, effects, acting, costuming, sets, creature design, all of it was superb. There were only two points that slightly detracted. The first being that our protagonist has a beautiful woman and child seemingly thrust into his life as if by fate. This came across very anime (and there is nothing wrong with anime). The other is an incident of plot armor. While you do see people get stomped and bitten, there is no blood or gore. It is rated PG13 and I would estimate that it is more tame than Jurassic Park (1993). That being said, if you are a fan of Godzilla, go see this movie. I will warn you that it is a human story about honor, duty, family, and PTSD, but do not let that deter you. I know the most popular complaint about Godzilla (2014) was too much human and not enough monster. Make no mistake the story does revolve around the human protagonists, but Godzilla is the star and antagonist.

If you do go, there are not any mid- or end-credit scenes, but in the closing scenes there is hope for a sequel.

Initial Verdict: 4.8/5
Thanksgiving (2023)

November 24th, 2023

Initial Reaction

I saw Thanksgiving (2023) the day before Thanksgiving, and now the day after Thanksgiving I am going to give you my initial reaction. Happy Thanksgiving by the way!

*** SPOILER FREE ***

Watching the trailer gives nothing away and it gives a pretty gauge for the overall feel of the movie. I would say that Thanksgiving is firmly planted in the suspense genre with a hint of a “who done it” murder mystery. The story revolves around a group of high school friends and the main character’s family who are slowly being murdered and/or abducted. If you like body horror then this movie is probably for you.

My only complaints that there are too many characters, no character development, and some of the kills, while they look good, stretch my suspension of disbelief.

Verdict: 3/5

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Having seen the movie, If you are security or law enforcement, the trailer kind of gives away who the killer is with the close ups on the boots. You might assume that the killer is some random person who was caught in the inciting event. However, you are introduced to all of the characters including a couple of red herring characters as well.

The movie starts with Black Friday which starts on Thursday night and not Friday morning. Cut to the big box store with an insane crowd of irate impatient shoppers. Because our main characters get in before everyone else through an employee entrance, Football Jock gets his hands on a megaphone and causes a stampede leading to the deaths of at least two people. Several other NPCs get killed due to the ensuring mayhem. And because capitalism bad of course the business owner gets the blame for only having two security guards on duty (one of whom died trying to save the Football Jock). Due to the utter inhumanity of the crowd and lunacy of the scenario pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limit. According to BlackFridayDeathCount.com there have been 17 deaths and 125 injures on Black Friday from 2006-2021. I am not going to go into that any deeper until the review.

Anyway, this inciting incident motivates the killer to to go on a killing spree against the people he blames for the deaths, mainly our main characters, Football Jock and his Cheerleader, snobby Waitress, cowardly Security Guard, and the protagonist’s father and step mother who own the store. The kills look good even if they do not follow the laws of physics or may be convenient. There were a few scenes that made me chuckle although it may have just been me.

Overall the characters act like relatable yet stereotypically stupid teenagers and the police are not negligently incompetent but actually somewhat believable. I feel they could have written a better story and added some depth to the characters not just for the killer. I would say anyone who are fans of body horror and slasher films will probably enjoy Thanksgiving.
Operator Movie Reviews

October 3rd, 2023

Initial Reaction & Review of It Lives Inside (2023)

SPOILER FREE

For those who follow me on Facebook, You may have seen I went to the movies this past weekend. As you can tell from the subtitle, I saw It lives Inside.

The movie takes place in somewhere America and follows the story of an Indian girl who struggles against her mother’s perception of what she should be, finding her place amongst her peers, and vanquishing a demon. This is what the director and writer probably intended, but is may not be what everyone takes away from it. The dialog is not terrible. The cinematography and photography are pretty good, and the horror aspect is done fairly well as the monster is hinted at, but you do not see it fully until the end. The story is very simple, but it did not deliver the story I was expecting. That said there is a good idea in there, but it could have been done better.

Verdict 2.0/5

***SPOILER WARNING***

Why I do not like this movie. The protagonist is a bitch and we are not given a reason beyond the superficial worry of not being accepted by the end. She alienates almost everyone including her childhood best friend who she almost kills. The mom is very traditional and wants our protagonist Sam to keep true to her roots and Sam does not want to, even through she never explains why. Sam is on a first name basis with her teacher. These issues alone, I feel, do no represent eastern cultures where respecting your elders is paramount.

So, here is the story. Sam is a public school student who seems brilliant and successful at everything she does. Her ostracized best friend is being weird like she in on drugs. The friend has found a jar with a trapped demon and she goes to Sam for help wherein Sam almost immediately releases the demon and causes the friend to be captured and fed on. As payback, now the demon is following Sam. People get got by the demon, and Sam is central to these murder cases, but is never seen being questioned by the police. She discovers a journal and with help from her teacher and eventually her mom, she figures how to capture the demon within herself. Besides seeing her eat what looks like raw meat and a single tear at the end we have no idea what the ramifications for her actions are, but most seems right with the world.

In the story, we do not get to really know the main character, her family or friends until the end. There is no explanation and it makes it feel like a short story not a feature film.

Here is what we do know about the mom She is shown as a rather religious person and keeper of tradition. So, why would Sam, knowing this, feel her mom would not believe her when she says there is a demon tracking her? The mom, who speaks and reads Hindi is the key, so I guess the movie has to movie. I wish they had written a mother/daughter team up, but instead she teams up with her supposedly three-quarters dead best friend who probably would not have been much help.

I would have loved more cultural info. Hindu mythology and religion is a vast and colorful arena to draw from, and while the monster is Indian, and the fix is Indian, I feel the social dynamic between Sam and her mom could have been better. The food is probably the most cultural part, and the food looks absolutely delicious. It is also given focus at the end with the raw meat in stark contrast to the commercial quality meals the moms has previously prepared.

The creature design is alright until the end when you see it in full light. I think it would have been better to have kept it a shadow creature with a rough outline. The idea where it keeps you alive to feed over several days was good, but I do not fell like Sam’s friend was on death’s door when Sam arrives.

Overall, I would not recommend seeing this one in the cinema.
Operator Movie Reviews

September 25th, 2023

Initial Reaction to A Haunting in Venice (2023)

***SPOILER FREE***

So, A haunting in Venice released the other week and I happened to be at the cinema see another film so I stuck around for a double feature. I was rewatching the Nun 2 if you are curious. See my reaction and review of The Nun I/II.

My initial reaction is 4.5/5.

A Haunting in Venice is based on Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party 1969. I would not call it scary although it is definitely an easy PG-13. Our protagonist Hercule Poirot, played by Kenneth Branagh, is in retirement living out his years in Venice when along comes an old acquaintance who needs his help debunking a psychic medium played by Michelle Yeoh. It is a murder mystery that you will be challenged to solve. I have not seen any of the other Agatha Christie adaptation movies or read her books, so I am a blank slate with no expectations.

I would recommend seeing this movie in cinemas. The atmosphere, cinematography, and imagery make it worth the ticket. Moreover, all the actors play their roles to a “t.” The best part is the juxtaposition of Hercule being a scientific analytical man facing the existential question of whether there is an afterlife. That being said, he spends some of the film experiencing the paranormal and questioning his own sanity. If you watch the trailer, be warned there is only one slight of hand edit. Everything in the trailer is in the movie. By the end Hercule may not be completely sold on the idea of the paranormal, but the movie and Hercule leave room for its possibility.

Verdict: 4.5/5
Operator Movie Reviews

September 10th, 2023

Initial Reaction to The Nun 2

Spoiler Free

Today is September 10, and I just watched The Nun 2 (2023) which released this past Friday. Granted it is Sunday and during the day (1pm), but there were might have been 20 cars in the parking lot and about a dozen people in my theater. So, what did I think about the move?

My initial reaction is 2/5. I am not a self-described fan of horror, but I understand how movies are supposed to work, thanks MauLer and EFAP. Make no mistake is not a bad movie, but it was not scary and only verged on suspenseful. Also, you do not need to see the first Nun to understand the sequel. The had a lot of call backs, but they were spelled out as you were led by the hand through the basic plot of the first movie. The visuals were great; it looked good, as was the audio. The acting was okay. The characters were believable all for one which I will mention in the spoiler section. Everyone’s motives seemed to make sense and all of the scenes melded together into a coherent story. So why a 2.5/5? The ending is telegraphed. Maybe I am being a bit harsh, but to me it is just eh.

Again, this is just my initial reaction. I am going to see it again Friday so maybe I’ll have a different opinion. However, if you want to watch a better movie, go see The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) or Talk To Me (2023)

***SPOILER WARNING***

The ending did not land well. It is literally, The Nun (2018) round 2, and I have yet to see The Nun. I know this is the case because the movie told me. Speaking of which, I am a fan of show don’t tell and I think they could have done a better job. It is not a shot for shot redo, but the idea is the same with a minor payoff which might have been a writer’s jab at Christianity saying essentially our faith is only real because we believe it is.

The one character that did not seem to fit is Debra played by Storm Reid. And, Before you pull out all the -ists and phobes, I think it was the writing. Her character is too cool for school, don’t really care, kind of a stoic. She portrays no emotion and is so calm under pressure she might as well be Captain Marvel. That being said when she does show emotion, I can tell she is acting, like she was not given enough direction. Over all, her character is not really needed. It feels like the original intent was for her to be a foil or side kick for Irene played by Taissa Farmiga’s character to bounce off of, and there appears to be some chemistry between them. But there is no growth of their friendship, Debra does not grow as a character, in fact she should probably be traumatized, so I am getting some DEI vibes.

As it stands though, it looks like lazy writing.
Operator Movie Reviews

September 8th, 2023

Initial Reaction & Review The Unbinding (2023)

I just got done watching The Unbinding and as my initial reaction I am giving it a 5/5. For what it is and what they appeared to have wanted it to be, they hit the mark.

I had not seen anything about this movie except for a single post on X, which was probably an ad. It looked interesting, and the release date was today 9/8. So, I was going to see it in the local cinema, only to find after closer inspection that today was the release date for streaming. That being said it is available for rent and purchase on Amazon (at a great price).

Non-Spoiler

It is wholly a documentary surrounding the introduction and subsequent activity of “the Crone” which is the idol depicted in the movie poster. This black wooden statue apparently was found by some hikers in the mountains of New York, taken, and began to terrorize the thief with knocks and physical manifestations.

All of the dialog was from interviews, except for a small section during a previous livestream where things got hairy with seemingly direct communication by two different entities. There was also footage from the end ritual. The rest seemed to be recreations of events. It is kind of funny that they mentioned the Michigan Paracon, which is an event I list on my calendar, and one I am going to attempt to make it to next year. Overall the editing and photography were done well.

The main people in the movie are Dana and Greg Newkirk who operate the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult which you can support with a membership. The movie was done by Planet Weird who, with the same people, produced Hellier (2019) a TV mini series which is free with Amazon Prime. It was already on my list to watch and now it is at the top of the list.

***WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD***

So, what happens in this movie? After the hiker found the object he experienced enough activity that he could not sleep in his own house. Someone posted on the paranormal subreddit asking what to do and eventually the Newkirks got brought into it. Unsure of how to proceed, the idol was mailed to the museum. When the activity started to manifest with the Newkirks, they began their investigation. The activity included physical manifestations and materialization of footprints with dirt, wet footprints were no water had been, moisture with no apparent source, and movement. The initial repots from the hiker were that the idol would appear in different rooms as well as it apparently having been thrown and impacted the wall hard enough to crack the sheetrock. Movement reported by the Newkirks stated it moved from a coffee table to under a TV stand and as Greg went to retrieve it Dana caught the TV from falling on him as though it had been pushed by an unseen force. Additionally, the idol had supposedly ripped the figure of Jesus from a crucifix with enough force it broke an arm off, but left the crucifix hanging by one nail. This along with banging noises, and a shadowy apparition of a wet crone would make a believer out of most.

Attempts to study the idol found high EMF and high strangeness from an attempted 3D scan which seemed to manipulate itself. What appeared to be fingers reached out of the idol when the artist removed the head in the 3D software. Note that this was on his computer after the fact and well after the object had been scanned and removed from his presence.

The communication was captured on a Halloween livestream (although I could not find a recording on the Planet Weird YouTube channel). They used the Estes method whereby the one person would wear headphones hooked to a spirit box while blindfolded. This eliminated any interaction from the questioners leaving the first person to act as a mouthpiece repeating whatever came over the spirit box. The communication seemed direct and intelligent.

The team finally shed a little light on the subject when they spoke with a specialist on Russian and Slovak folklore. They found this lead due to the fact that there was a population of Ukrainians in the area where the idol was found. The nails in its eyes and line used to make the noose where traced back to possibly the local Walmart.

In the end, they performed an unbinding ritual and released whatever was in the idol which was concluded to be possibly an embodiment of the Slovak deity Mokosh (left and center) or a Kikimora (right) a companion of Mokosh “who can be identified by her wet foot prints” 1:27:48.

Mokosh symbol Wiki Commons

Obec Mokošín- Bohyně Mokoš Wiki Commons

Illustration of a Kikimora (1934) by Ivan Bilibin Wiki Commons

They said one mystery remains, and that is who is Brother Biddum? However, this is where I would have done a deeper investigation if possible to reach out to the communities and try to track down possibly who did what to this idol or perhaps who is missing a Mokosh idol? But that could be bottomless rabbit hole.

At the very least it begs the question of how was the entity able to manipulate the 3D scan while not present as though the scan file itself was possessed? Also, what or who was bound in/to the idol? This incident has peaked my interest and I may have to do a deep dive.

Let me know what you think in the comments below if you have seen it and what your thought about the movie. Until next time, keep searching in the darkness.