The Perfection (2019) Review

Time: 90 Minutes
Cast:
Allison Williams as Charlotte
Logan Browning as Lizzie
Steven Weber as Anton
Alaina Huffman as Paloma
Director: Richard Shepard

When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) seeks out Elizabeth (Logan Browning), the new star pupil of her former school, the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.

I heard about The Perfection for a few months now and have been meaning to check it out, mostly out of curiosity more than anything. All I really knew was that Allison Williams was in it, it’s a horror movie, it involved cellists, and the response to the movie has generally been mixed. I really had no idea how I’d feel about it, and it ended up being decent. However, it really isn’t much more than just that.

I won’t go into too much depth into the plot to avoid spoilers, the movie really benefits from not knowing too much going in. Because of that, if you really want to see it, I do suggest not watching any trailers or anything like that, in fact I wish I knew less about the movie going in. The Perfection starts off pretty well actually, oddly enough the first half is where the movie felt strongest, especially with the tension, it really takes its time. The second half was fine I guess but it delved into silliness at points that felt a little too much, even if it’s meant to be a little ridiculous. Also, oddly enough that second half felt rather rushed, especially the last 10 minutes. There are some genuinely good twists, especially one in the first half of the movie that I didn’t predict. With that said, the way the movie treats the twists, especially towards the climax however makes it feel like it’s over reliant on them (not to mention the way they directed certain reveals was really goofy). One of the latter twists in particular at that point was really easy to see coming, and so when it’s building up to it, you just want it to happen so that it was out there already. There are some questionable aspects about the plot, especially revelations in the second half (obviously won’t hint at what they are to avoid spoilers). While I did hear about them going in and heard some heavy criticisms about them, it wasn’t done as badly as I thought it would be. Still, I kind of understand people who have serious problems with that. Also the last shots of the movie were rather fitting. The Perfection is 90 minutes long and that was probably the right amount of time for it. It feels like there had to be much more to the script, certain aspects needed to be developed more and handled a little better. As a firmly B movie horror flick though, I guess that was the most appropriate length for it. For as lacklustre as it is, they do keep the plot very tightly focussed, there are no subplots or anything, and it doesn’t really drag.

There really isn’t a large cast, but the few main actors do well in their roles. I really just know Allison Williams from Get Out, but she’s also really good here in yet another horror role. This is also the first time I’ve seen Logan Browning in anything and she’s very impressive with her performance here. Their performances and chemistry between the two were among the best parts of the movie. There’s really nothing to say about the rest of the cast.

This is the first movie I’ve seen from director Richard Shepard, and I think most of it good. Certain scenes were shot in ways that they are genuinely uncomfortable and unnerving. One annoyance (even if it’s only used a few times) was the use of rewinding the movie to reveal certain things that happened in the past, and I do mean rewinding, not just cutting back to show a scene again. Maybe this way of showing flashbacks works well in certain movies, but it definitely doesn’t work here, by the time the second rewind happens, it becomes obnoxious. Much of the buzz around this movie has been about the gore and all that. It’s really not as present as you’d think it would be, but yes, when it’s there its very graphic. People who are easily grossed out probably won’t be able to handle certain scenes. I won’t go into plot details but there is a certain graphic scene, and really the horrifying aspects were really undercut by some really fake looking CGI. Not really a big deal but it really took me out of it.

Despite its title (and believe me, I know that I’m not the first person to make this incredibly original zinger of a comment), The Perfection is far from perfect, in fact it’s got a lot of problems. The script was really missing stuff, became a little too silly for its own good, and certain aspects of the plot and direction just didn’t work. With that said, Allison Williams, Logan Browning are quite good, and I liked some of the direction and twists. And I even appreciate how absolutely crazy and absurd it went at times, it absolutely went all out on whatever it was trying to be. I thought it was fine enough, but you won’t be missing much if you decide not to see it. As far as Netflix movies go, it fits right in the mid tier level, okay enough but nothing memorable. It’s a 90 minute horror flick that’s okay enough if you’ve got nothing else to watch.

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Get Out (2017) Review

Time: Minutes
Age Rating: Violence, offensive language and horror
Cast:
Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington
Allison Williams as Rose Armitage
Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage
Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage
Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage
Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams
Betty Gabriel as Georgina
Marcus Henderson as Walter
LaKeith Stanfield as Logan King
Stephen Root as Jim Hudson
Director: Jordan Peele

Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

Get Out is a movie that has been getting a lot of attention recently, and has already been called one of the best films of 2017. While it looked interesting, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it. After finally seeing it, I have to say that Get Out really deserves all the hype, it really surprised me. It is both a great horror movie, as well as a great comedy. Jordan Peele has directed a great social commentary on modern racism, while at the same time creating a great horror movie.

I was riveted from start to finish in this movie. Get Out has the perfect mix of horror and comedy. Horror comedies are extremely difficult to get right but this film nailed it, it knew when to have scares and when to have comedy, and none of these moments felt tonally out of place. This movie wasn’t that scary to me personally (granted most horror movies don’t really scare me) but it is very well crafted. Until the last act, most of the ‘scares’ aren’t that significant, but there is a constant feeling of uneasiness, as you know that something is off, you don’t know what it is. At the same time this movie is hilarious, sometimes some of the scares and ‘weird’ moments are for comedy, the dialogue at times can be really funny, especially between Chris and his friend Rod, and the comedy (when present) never detracts from the scares or tension. Of course the mix of horror and comedy isn’t just what makes the movie work so well, this film is smartly written by Jordan Peele. This movie is honestly one of the best written horror movies in recent years. The social commentary of Get Out is absolutely genius, which Peele explores in very subtle bits of dialogue, symbolism and writing. The racism aspect of the film is actually more in depth and complex than you may think, its not just that the girlfriend’s family is racist and doesn’t like Chris, there’s a lot more to it. So many things in this movie really does reflect today’s society, from the dialogue, to the way people act. In fact I’d say the most unrealistic thing in the movie is that someone uses Bing as a search engine. I won’t reveal too much about the movie as I don’t want to ruin any surprises, I’ll let you experience all this for yourself.

The acting from everyone was really good. Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams are very convincing as this couple who are basically surrounded by uncomfortable people. Kaluuya particularly was great, no matter your race it is very easy to relate to his character Chris, and Daniel’s acting played a big part in that working effectively. The girlfriend’s family members with Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener and Caleb Landry Jones were also great, very unsettling but at the same time not too over the top. If there’s a showstealer performance it is of Lil Rel Howery as Chris’s friend, there are many moments when they talk on the phone. He was so hilarious, and the interactions with him and Chris were incredible entertaining.

The film is very well directed overall. It’s clear that Jordan Peele knows and loves horror, and he directs it excellently here. The scares were very well implemented throughout the movie, there aren’t many jump scares and when they are there, they are effective and well placed. The film looks absolutely stunning, and the visuals are amazing. This movie does have a lot of subtle visual symbolism, which Peele inserted into the movie in such a great way. The soundtrack by Michael Abels was really effective, and added a lot to the horror and suspense.

Get Out is one of the best horror movies in recent years. Smart, creepy and hilarious all at the same time, it’s no surprise why this film has been met with such critical acclaim. It seems that Peele has created a new type of horror/thriller, the ‘social thriller’. Apparently he’s planning on making more of these types of movies, and I’m very intrigued. He’s shown his talents as a director and writer with Get Out, so I can’t wait to see more of his work. If you are a fan of horror, I definitely recommend checking this out. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of horror I suggest watching it. It’s one of the best movies of the year.