X
- 2018
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 28 m
- 2018
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 28 m
Summary Teenage Leah (Nicole Muñoz) finds solace from the recent death of her father—and from her strained relationship with her mother (Laurie Holden)—by dabbling in the dark arts. It all seems like harmless fun at first, until a blow out argument leads Leah to do the unthinkable: put a death curse on her mother. No sooner has the girl performe...
Directed By: Adam MacDonald
Written By: Adam MacDonald
- 2018
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 28 m
- 2018
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 28 m
Pyewacket
Metascore
Mixed or Average
56
6.2
Where to Watch
Summary Teenage Leah (Nicole Muñoz) finds solace from the recent death of her father—and from her strained relationship with her mother (Laurie Holden)—by dabbling in the dark arts. It all seems like harmless fun at first, until a blow out argument leads Leah to do the unthinkable: put a death curse on her mother. No sooner has the girl performe...
Directed By: Adam MacDonald
Written By: Adam MacDonald
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
56
75% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
25% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
56
75% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
25% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
It’s the rare horror film that’s actually more effective in psychological terms than in suspense ones.
Pyewacket is a slow-burn chiller that is all the more impressive for its subtlety.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
6.2
45% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
40% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
15% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
6.2
45% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
40% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
15% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Slow burn, but truly terrifying
Before I rate this, I just want to say two things. Firstly, I don't care for reviewers telling me how to think or feel about a movie... just review it and let me make up my own mind. Secondly, all horror does not have to be terrifying from start to finish, there are different ways to tell a story, and as long as the story is interesting and the acting is good, then it will work, but not if you're one who loves constant action. That being said...
Acting is top notch. Nicole Munez does an outstanding job, is very believable and empathetic. Laurie Holden is also outstanding as the erratic but loving mother. You're given time to bond with and understand the characters, which is very important. This is a STORY, not an action film, and it is a very well-told story at that. It builds to a very scary ending, giving the payoff to horror film lovers, but be patient, go into it ready to sit back and watch it all unfold. Again, superb acting... well worth watching.
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Pyewacket's payoff is a bit too meager given the creepy build-up. But as a psychodrama about a troubled mother and daughter, this movie is gripping from start to finish. Like a lot of the best horror, it's about the hells people conjure for themselves.
The heavy-handed score, narrow performances (Nicole Munoz as the repeatedly terrified daughter; Laurie Holden as the dense mum) and weak dialogue all fail to justify a provocative ending that overturns the exorcising conventions of the genre.
Surly goth teenagers dabbling in the occult have become a horror movie cliché, but with Adam MacDonald's followup to his excellent debut Backcountry, it is an effective and compelling slow burn. With great performances from the leads (including Laurie Holden of The Mist and The Walking Dead), it explores what happens when a troubled teen follows up on her darkest wish. The final act is creepy and disturbing even though it comes to an abrupt end too early leaving us wanting more.
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I have a lot of issues with Pyewacket: (dull dialogue between the mother and her daughter, bad set up for the dramatic aspect, some scary scenes that either don't have too much to do with the story or just were poorly executed, slow pacing that didn't work before the climax), but this indie flick also has a lot of pros:
Adam MacDonald used many clever techniques for shooting the jump scares and the other scary scenes using very wide shots to reveal somethings which is very unique and creative way to be used in Horror films. The slow pacing helped the film after the climax and really made it an insidious slow **** movie established masterful rules and basics for the evil force from using the rituals. Also, the sound engineering and the editing are top-notch and so risky to be used that way in a horror film but that made some scenes seem way scarier than what they could have been.
All the performances were very good and helped enhancing the terror aspect and elevating the dramatic one. The psychological part played a vital role to make me invested in the characters and the story itself, and of course Nicole Muñoz who played Leah has a big role in that.
The cinematography is great; it is dreary and gloomy but also strangely beautiful.
(6.5/10)
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I have a lot of issues with Pyewacket: (dull dialogue between the mother and her daughter, bad set up for the dramatic aspect, some scary scenes that either don't have too much to do with the story or just were poorly executed, slow pacing that didn't work before the climax), but this indie flick also has a lot of pros:
Adam MacDonald used many clever techniques for shooting the jump scares and the other scary scenes using very wide shots to reveal somethings which is very unique and creative way to be used in Horror films. The slow pacing helped the film after the climax and really made it an insidious slow **** movie established masterful rules and basics for the evil force from using the rituals. Also, the sound engineering and the editing are top-notch and so risky to be used that way in a horror film but that made some scenes seem way scarier than what they could have been.
All the performances were very good and helped enhancing the terror aspect and elevating the dramatic one. The psychological part played a vital role to make me invested in the characters and the story itself, and of course Nicole Muñoz who played Leah has a big role in that.
The cinematography is great; it is dreary and gloomy but also strangely beautiful.
(6.5/10)
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I feel this film received more praise than deserved, in addition its narrative rhythm is too slow and the film falls more into suspense and mystery than in horror and that is incidentally something that discourages and makes you feel cheated because it's announced like a horror movie. And I hate to say it but the film looks really cheap and some shots look incredibly amateurish.
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Awards
Toronto International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
