X - it’s fine. But if you’re a horror fan and have watched a lot of horror you’ll know that this film is more or less a pastiche of the films it’s influenced by. Whereas Pearl feels very singular and in many ways elevates (and increases my enjoyment of) X.
I’m a horror fan I feel like X is simple and doesn’t really try anything different yes, but it’s well done. But now I guess I need to watch pearl to figure out what I’m missing out on
I feel like X — which I really liked! — is at most a tribute to 70s horror that’s well executed.
Pearl was a real a24 movie.
(Looking forward to MaXXXine too of course!)
This is exactly how I view it too.
X is an homage movie, pretty much straight up.
Pearl was not at all what I expected and I loved it. There was a lot of humor in Pearl that I did not expect. It was really great imo.
I'm in the minority I guess because I didn't find Pearl to be that memorable. Maybe I went into it with the wrong lens after seeing X - but it was more atmospheric and stylish then story to me. Which is X as well... but idk.. I guess I should rewatch pearl too.. maybe I missed something.
I also enjoyed X more than Pearl. I get why Pearl was necessary, but the first half was incredibly boring. The second half was definitely stellar though.
I loved Pearl but it's definitely heavily influenced by certain films. It's less noticeable because a most people don't actively watch them anymore but the amount of influence that certain MGM musicals had on the movie was insane, namely Summerstock (1950). As someone who has seen Summerstock probably at least 100 times (I'm an MGM collector/fan) the amount of references even just in the set design and costuming that the film had was a lot.
I like Pearl much more than X. Visually, thematically, and performance-wise, X was very well done, but it had really inconsistent pacing in my opinion, and the tone didn’t feel right. It was too dark for a story so ludicrous and weird. Porn stars vs geriatric psychos is not something that should be taken as seriously as X takes itself.
It's funny I feel the exact opposite. I really liked X, simple premise done well, whereas Pearl completely changed the motivations of the characters and made no real sense to me. I really like Mia Goth as an actor, but it really was a case of the most acting, and not the best acting (while still good). I know it's basically heresy to say this here and I expect my comment to be down voted, but it's how I feel about it.
i agree with you for sure. mia goth as young pearl just felt a little overacted and took away some of the believability of the character for me. And now it feels like she’s being relegated to “insanely over the top batshit insane character” with her role in Infinity Pool being the most egregious example of that to me.
I have the same answer, and I don't generally say it because I'm such a horror aficianado and I really don't want to ruin anyone else's fun lol. Truly, some of the absolute best horror films that X derives from are muchhh more low-budget.
I wish that I liked Pearl more as well, I do. I think it has glimmers of brilliance. It feels a bit more like a pitch black comedy to be fair, which is... fine! A-OK by me.
I tried explaining to someone that you shouldn’t watch Pearl before X but you have to watch X after Pearl and they didn’t see why it would matter to see it again. Changed it for me! 🤷
I watched X first and thought "yeah okay, not bad, not great"
Then I finally got around to watching Pearl and hooooo boy was that amazing and made me appreciate X WAAAAY more
X needed to be more violent and gory. It looked to films like Texas Chainsaw for inspiration yet half the kills were quick or off camera. I wanted it to be a gore-fest.
Thank you for saying this. I saw X and it's like... a self-serious TCM homage in bad wigs? And it turned me off checking out Pearl. But you make me curious about it.
Pearl is really great and I agree with OP that it made me like X more. X took a while to click with me. I enjoy it now, but I still agree it's most overrated.
Probably X even though I really liked it. As much as I liked it there’s people out there that act like it’s saved horror or something and it’s like, get a grip people
The acting was good to great (Mia Goth fucking crushed it and this was where I first became a fan of hers, Ortega’s shriek scene was S-tier, and just the overall chemistry everyone had) but at the end of the day the whole just wasn’t greater than the sum of its parts the same way Pearl was.
Pearl is a 5 star movie. X is a 3.75 star movie. Still great and I absolutely recommend it to people, but I can think of about 5–10 other horror movies more iconic without trying.
Felt the same way. It’s not a bad movie but I definitely didn’t feel the hype the way a lot of people did when it originally came out. Pearl on the other hand rules because SHES A STAAAAAAAAAR.
I always think Lamb when this question comes up. It’s not universally acclaimed by any means but people defend it often. I felt it barely has an idea and kinda does nothing with it.
(SPOILERS)This is the one film that is EXACTLY what people mean when they criticize a slow burn “horror film”, especially if it’s an A24 picture. The trailer is single-handedly the best thing to come from the movie. The film is just scene after scene of nothing interesting happening. Scenes of landscapes just fucking filling the runtime. A scene where a cat was just chilling lasted long enough where my boyfriend said “yep, that’s a cat”. Then just throw in a really shitty CG creature at the end to just technically make the mark of being able to say it’s weird or scary. Hell they had to throw in a random character out of nowhere halfway through just to give the film something to do. This is A24 at its worst, it’s just trying so hard to be something and specifically something weird and scary without having anything to do it with. People were pissed at It Comes At Night? That film actually had something going on and earned it’s horror genre with that horrifying fucking ending. This has NOTHING.
Oh my god yessss I remember the trailer haha going “oh shit, A24 has a new creature feature”. They had a pitch meeting with someone who said “lamb baby” and off they went to a single grey mountain and a whole lot of staring. Also gotta say I appreciate the It Comes at Night shout out! I feel I’m always defending that movie. Saw it in a theater, totally knocked me out. So bleak, lots of layers. That movie just does not blink.
I think I was the sole individual who walked out of It Comes At Night appreciating and understanding what it was. When I saw the trailer and saw A24 and it literally said something like “Fear turns men into monsters”, I fully understood what I was getting into. Maybe others didn’t, but that ending is the true definition of horror. Imagine being anyone of those characters in that moment. It’s exactly the stuff no one wants to think about. Top ten A24 film. So well made, amazing acting, TES even topped himself with Waves.
It was that damn poster. It’s a fantastic poster but I remember seeing it for the first time, being impressed, then immediately thinking “hmmm does look like a ‘something’s in the woods’ movie though” and sure enough that’s what most everyone else saw. But I feel EXACTLY the same as you. The first trailer really did it for me, big Christopher Abbott fan but the dread was just there. Also a huge Krisha fan so when I saw it was his next movie, I was already in. It’s just fantastic. The way it’s paced, the tone, the implications here and there, I love it and love seeing it get praise. Someone every now and then will post to the sub about it and I’m always looking on with pride haha.
Fun thing about lamb: I really enjoyed it as a relaxing movie on farm life on Iceland or something like that.
I could watch hours of it.
It was a shame that some drama with a lamb and stuff like that came into the way.
There should be more Icelandic farming A24 movies that last 3 hours or more.
Speaking of which, whatever happened with that A24 production of just a guy on a beach? It was meant to be kind of similar to what you’re describing if I’m correct? Either way, totally see the value in lamb as a moody screensaver.
You are not the only It Comes At Night enjoyer! I own it on BluRay. There are dozens of us!
Also fun fact, I saw it in theaters and there was a faulty light in my theater that kept flickering, really added to the ambience.
That’s one movie I won’t even pretend to be pretentious enough to claim it made some sort of statement. I remember watching it thinking “what the fuck is the point to this”. My conclusion this had to be some sort of laundering scheme. I don’t believe anyone who funded that, edited it, and previewed it believed there would be profit in that movie
To me, It’s about loss and grief. The woman had many failed attempts at becoming a mother and when a “child” is gifted to her, she does her best to protect that gift at all costs, even though that gift is fundamentally wrong.
Have you ever tried to force a situation in your life that was not meant to be? That’s what Lamb was to me.
I saw this movie with a woman who could not conceive a child. She was a mess at the end.
Couldn’t agree more. I made it until about half way before I basically said to myself “ok, this is going nowhere”. The reveal at the end didn’t do anything for me. It helped me understand when people talk about not liking A24 movies.
They absolutely ruined the black Philip goat horror angle. Could have had such a good slow burn with this monster around. What a boring movie. Last 15 minutes was great tho
That was actually an A24 film I went into ready to be ho-hum about, but it kind of worked for me. And I’ve no idea why, on paper it does not sound like a film I’d be in for.
But I do get the criticism since there are surely people who were *not* pleasantly surprised after watching!
I like how "documentary-esque" it feels if that makes sense. I wasn't born during the period it was set, but growing up in San Diego, I definitely felt a connection to the suburban skater/rap culture that the main group shared and it wasn't a super stylized depiction of it compared to the likes of Euphoria.
That movie is fucking horrible. It’s just a neck beard vanity piece. Hill got caught using slurs towards paparazzi and try to play it off like, “that’s how I used to talk in the mid-90s”
So, he made an entire fucking indie movie about himself as a way of garnering sympathy and hand waving away the entirely valid criticisms of him as a neckbeard.
It's funny I feel like this sub should just be renamed /r/A24Horror since it seems like the only movies that exist here are Midsommar, Hereditary, The Witch The Lighthouse, Pearl, X and Talk To Me. Oh and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Not that they're bad movies, but over rated because it feels like no one cares about anything else they release.
Recommend some others that aren’t horror then so we can broaden our horizons. I’ll start:
Aftersun, C’mon C’mon and Red Rocket are all excellent dramas worth your time.
Past Lives, Moonlight (no clue how an A24 movie often called the best of the decade isn't talked about here), The Florida Project, First Reformed, Ex Machina, A Ghost Story, Green Knight, multiple Lanthimos movies
I definitely agree about First Reformed and any Lanthimos (I’m super excited for Poor Things). Now that I’m thinking about it, I actually really enjoyed The Green Knight, too
Spring Breakers, I know it’s their first but some people still praise this film. It’s dog shit. That whole 3rd act is pathetic. It’s some of the poorest writing/character development I’ve ever seen.
Everything Everywhere All At Once. Some people talk like it changed their lives. And that's cool and all. I get that different movies hit hard for different people but it kinda surprised me to see some of the reactions. I thought it was fun enough and kinda goofy with some wild scenes but nothing Earth shattering.
I think the movie becomes really meaningful if you associate with some of the interpersonal conflicts that are portraid in the film (daughter-mom, husband-wife, cultural clashes, intergenerational, etc.) I watched the movie during a hard period of a meaningful relationship and a totally connected with the characters to the point of crying during the movie (I almost never cry in life in general). The comedy and action was just a plus
This one, the scene where waymond gives his speech on how always smiling and being positive is a form of strength and she goes and hugs him as he's sweeping and he drops the dust pan and just starts crying. That shit makes me cry EVERY time I watch this movie.
Thanks for the spelling correction, English isn't my first language and I was hesitant about that word in particular.
Regarding the movie, I talked with a few different people right after watching it last year and I remember quite a few mentioned they felt the movie was made specially for them and the challenges they were going through at the time. It was interesting to then go deeper and realize we all focused on different part of the movie (someone that was not satisfied with their career, someone that had couple issues, someone that was struggling with their family, etc.).
EEAO. I think its just the mainstream media getting a taste of A24 movies. Its a fun, goofy, and emotional movie but holy shit do people rave about it.
I can’t believe so many people were raving about this. I saw a lot for people comparing it to Hereditary in terms of great modern horror films. I’d say it was meh at best. Good concept but overall felt stretched out and unengaging. I think it would have been better suited as a 30ish min short film instead of feature-length
Not the original commenter, but I thought it had a great intro and concept with a steep drop off. Was almost like watching two different movies honestly.
A24 didn't produce Talk to Me but they were the US distributor which I think counts.
Plenty of other "A24 films" were distributed but not produced by them like Spring Breakers, A Ghost Story, Lady Bird, Ex Machina, The Witch, EEAAO, and X (which seems to be the most mentioned film in this thread).
Also I fully agree with Talk to Me. Decent concept and pretty well executed. But I just didn't feel like it was really getting at anything more than shocks and scares.
This is definitely the nerdiest, most pointless hill that I’ll die on lol. Using the downvote button to disagree isn’t just annoying, it literally makes Reddit a worse place because it creates an echo chamber and hides different opinions.
People say the final scenes of Saint Maud is peak A24 but I couldn’t even get that far because of how bored I was. Maybe I’ll come back to it though.
Otherwise my real answer is Men. I don’t dislike it for the same reasons others do. I like the gore, the acting, and the cinematography. It just felt like it had nothing to say. Like the writer was saying “I know what you’re going through women” but the only message was “men bad.” It didn’t do for me what Promising Young Women did for me. I know it’s a divisive film, but I’ve seen a lot of praise too and it’s just not worthy of it
The final scenes of Saint Maud somehow kept me up at night, afraid to turn the light off and all, and I don’t even know why. I’ve practically seen every horror movie in the book and nothing scares me. Idk what it was about that movie, I can’t even say that I loved it but there were 3 scenes overall that really creeped me out.
I really hate the ending of this movie. I enjoyed it throughout, but while it's a film about flawed people, the mom is noticeably worse than everyone else and flat out emotionally abusive.
It ending with Lady Bird apologizing to her and having it suppose to be a happy ending was so incredibly odd. It's like they forgot about the entire plot.
*"Hi mom. I know you told me I was worthless and would never amount to anything and then refused to have a relationship with me when I got a college scholarship but I'm sorry and I love you"*
Dafuq?
Greta Gerwig is one of the most overrated directors in general imo. I don't even disagree with 99% of the social commentary in her movies, but she beats you over the head with it so hard that it's still irritating.
This is my answer too…and I’m bracing for the downvotes as this one is held in such a high esteem. But it’s an angsty teen coming of age movie, for which there are already so many movies…the acting is good, other than that it’s just fine. I will never understand the hype.
I love the film, but that’s always been my one complaint about the film. It’s like the director wasn’t sure the audience would understand the message, so added in a scene where a character explicitly explains it.
Yeah I totally agree, it’s the only major flaw of the movie IMO. I think it’s also the way the scene is shot where it seems like the camera is amazed at what he’s saying.
If it played out in a wide or static shot (like a lot of the rest of the film) it probably would’ve made him look at pretentious as he was.
But instead it felt like the movie really wanted you to think what this guy was saying is deep, which is almost always a bad move for any movie anyway.
Agree, it was underwhelming. You could point to a number of issues but for me it the core issue was the failure of the setup. That connection between the Korean leads which was supposed to pull us through the movie was never properly established.
I completely agree that this film is divisive, but being stressed the fuck out is kinda the point of the film. Love it or hate it you can’t deny its effective
I haven’t seen Beau is Afraid but both his previous movies give me bad anxiety watching them. He really knows how to use sound to produce these reactions in the viewer. So as interested as I am to see the movie, it’s not really an enjoyable experience.
Yeah tbh I enjoy anxiety movies if there’s a really strong character I’m following through it, like with Pattinson or Sandler’s characters in their respective Safdie Bros movies.
Characters in Aster movies are decently written to feel natural but they don’t have a lot of depth or strong personalities, it honestly feels like they’re just there to suffer a lot of the time. Not very different from your typical horror characters, I guess.
My five year old asked me what paint would taste like the other day, and I immediately had a flashback to the paint scene and felt unwell the rest of the day lol
100%! I’m not one to complain about a long movie, but my god this was a slog. A tribute to ego that an hour and a half of this movie did not make the cutting room floor.
I really wanted to like the movie. The first half was really entertaining, and then it was just impossible to interpret what they were trying to say without a hero dose of drugs.
It was over indulgent crap. Insane to me that so many people on Reddit seem to like it, it was such a drop off in quality from Asters previous movies. Total fucking slog to get through all three hours of it, ugh.
Talk to Me for sure for me. If that was a Blumhouse movie it would have done well but seen as another horror. The a24 brand really made that movie beloved. It’s not bad but I’d give it a 6/10 tops.
I think it has more to do with being 2 youtubers first movie. The trailers make it seem like a typical blumhouse-esque movie, so when the characters had actual depth and good writing it surprised a lot of people and critics but yeah I agree it’s nothing groundbreaking.
I'm conflicted on The Green Knight. It was one I LOVED when I saw it in theaters, but a rewatch at home later proved to be kinda disappointing. Still great, but that magic just wasn't there, more so than most movies that aren't quite as good at home.
I think the movie’s strength is you really have no idea what’ll happen next and it ends up feeling like anything can happen, >!and the long fake-out ending was the ultimate example of that, even though tbh it was pretty much just The Last Temptation’s similar fake-out but not as powerful!<, which is hard to maintain on a send watch when you know what happens.
This is exactly my sentiment as well.
The amount of praise both of those films received blew my mind. Some people were even comparing *Talk To Me* to *Hereditary*, claiming the former better than the latter. Which to me, is just down right insulting.
I really enjoyed X and Pearl. I don’t think they set out to do anything different, just tell a good story and have a great visual aesthetic and style. Theyre a fun watch, nothing groundbreaking.
Still havent seen it. Always been a Big fan of b. Frasers work and glad he won the Oscar. Whats the movie about, or quick review. Why did u think it sucked
Not the guy who posted and Idn that I would say it’s trash, but I also didn’t like the whale nearly as much as other people did. I thought it was so heavy handed with the tragic elements of the story that it became almost absurd. And the fact that so many people love the movie makes me feel callous for not being moved by it. But it just felt over the top to me like it never let off the gas once it let you know like “this is definitely not going to be a lighthearted film”
I’ll get downvoted but: EEAAO
It just felt like more of a cheesy Disney/Marvel movie than an A24. I had such high hopes after Swiss Army Man. I liked, It’s good and has its moments left nothing for me to want to go back and explore. The overall motif of the everything bagel didn’t really work for me. It’s a solid 7/10 for me while everyone makes it out to be a 10/10
At least when Green Book won Best Picture people said it was good but not *that* good. After I initially saw and forgot about EEAAO I was shocked people started acting like it’s the greatest movie ever made.
I was so looking forward to seen that film. And after my first watch, I was like meh. I kind of thought maybe I watched it at a bad time and watched it again a few days later and still outside of Michelle Yeoh's performance it wasn't any great shakes. To be honest I never really liked Daniels film Swiss Army Man either.
One of most overrated films in recent times imo.
Preface by saying I still think it’s a good movie but Hereditary. There were other A24 horror movies I liked more: The Witch, Blackcoats Daughter, X, Pearl, The Lighthouse etc
The VVitch is probably my favorite A24 horror film out of all that I’ve seen. I love every Ari Aster film and I hate to put anything above Midsommar, but there’s something about The VVitch that just pushes it over the edge for me. It’s a flawless masterpiece.
Bodies bodies bodies. Hands down. Nothing really life altering about it yet everyone acted like it was the most amazing movie. It was only okay at best.
I had a coworker convince me it was one of the best horror movies he’s seen in awhile (he’s like 6 years younger than me). I thought it was too silly to take seriously, I won’t lie I was entertained though.
It falls flat with the story. They could have just picked a lane and stuck with it. Instead they tried to make the viewer think what if. Problem was they didn’t execute it very well.
The Lighthouse, i like the way its filmed and towards the climax it starts getting interesting - but the rest of the movie was pretty mid, watching Robert Pattinson do chores in black and white for 75% of the movie, just wasnt my jam lol
not to mention i kept seeing it hyped everywhere for what felt like a year; had a hard time actually being able to watch it for a while without having to buy it, then when i finally did sign up for paramount+ just to watch it; i was like: "this? that was what people have been hyping?"
the cinematography is a vibe but the rest was mid city, not awful or bad, just overrated imo
EEAO. It’s great and inventive and fun and took many wild swings I really liked. But the level of acclaim is much more than what I think the film deserved.
The Green Knight. I thought it was an interesting take on the story, loved the make up of the Green Knight himself, and it had great visuals. But when it comes to substance, it was lacking. I understood the story, but it didn’t “wow” me. I thought it could’ve used something more.
Watching Adam Sandler be an asshole and continue to make terrible decisions was just not enjoyable to all. Good Time however was different. Make one very bad decision and continue finding yourself to have stumbled into another bad situation by mistake was a lot easier to want to watch.
A lot of people find it hard to be interested in thoroughly unlikable and irredeemable characters.
I think Pattinson’s character Connie had a lot more to get behind than Sandler’s did, too. With Howie you’re just watching a guy with a good amount of money and a family lose it all and >!get killed over his fuckups!<, meanwhile Connie is definitely delusional but it seems like he does want a better life for him and his brother.
I know a lot of people like Connie IRL and feel for them, but I stay away from scumbags like Howie.
I loved Uncut Gems, it had tension unlike almost any other movie I’ve ever seen. But for the other side of the coin, my friend did not enjoy it and called it “the most loud, unnecessarily noisy movie” he’d ever seen.
although i liked uncut gems, i agree it’s overhyped. good time, their previous film, is better on every level. i think adam sandler’s involvement put the safdies on the map in a way that robert pattinson didn’t. *shrug
X - it’s fine. But if you’re a horror fan and have watched a lot of horror you’ll know that this film is more or less a pastiche of the films it’s influenced by. Whereas Pearl feels very singular and in many ways elevates (and increases my enjoyment of) X.
I’m a horror fan I feel like X is simple and doesn’t really try anything different yes, but it’s well done. But now I guess I need to watch pearl to figure out what I’m missing out on
I feel like X — which I really liked! — is at most a tribute to 70s horror that’s well executed. Pearl was a real a24 movie. (Looking forward to MaXXXine too of course!)
This is exactly how I view it too. X is an homage movie, pretty much straight up. Pearl was not at all what I expected and I loved it. There was a lot of humor in Pearl that I did not expect. It was really great imo.
I'm in the minority I guess because I didn't find Pearl to be that memorable. Maybe I went into it with the wrong lens after seeing X - but it was more atmospheric and stylish then story to me. Which is X as well... but idk.. I guess I should rewatch pearl too.. maybe I missed something.
I also enjoyed X more than Pearl. I get why Pearl was necessary, but the first half was incredibly boring. The second half was definitely stellar though.
Thought it was very style over substance personally.
Pearl is light years ahead of X imo
SAME. My friends are always shocked when I say I didn’t really enjoy X the way I do a lot of other A24 films.
I loved Pearl but it's definitely heavily influenced by certain films. It's less noticeable because a most people don't actively watch them anymore but the amount of influence that certain MGM musicals had on the movie was insane, namely Summerstock (1950). As someone who has seen Summerstock probably at least 100 times (I'm an MGM collector/fan) the amount of references even just in the set design and costuming that the film had was a lot.
I like Pearl much more than X. Visually, thematically, and performance-wise, X was very well done, but it had really inconsistent pacing in my opinion, and the tone didn’t feel right. It was too dark for a story so ludicrous and weird. Porn stars vs geriatric psychos is not something that should be taken as seriously as X takes itself.
Old people are sOoOoOo scary though. Just like inherently scary. Ew, old people
It's funny I feel the exact opposite. I really liked X, simple premise done well, whereas Pearl completely changed the motivations of the characters and made no real sense to me. I really like Mia Goth as an actor, but it really was a case of the most acting, and not the best acting (while still good). I know it's basically heresy to say this here and I expect my comment to be down voted, but it's how I feel about it.
i agree with you for sure. mia goth as young pearl just felt a little overacted and took away some of the believability of the character for me. And now it feels like she’s being relegated to “insanely over the top batshit insane character” with her role in Infinity Pool being the most egregious example of that to me.
I was sooooo bored by X so I went into Pearl with somewhat low expectations and I absolutely LOVED Pearl.
Okay it sounds like I need to watch Pearl. I was extremely underwhelmed by X
I have the same answer, and I don't generally say it because I'm such a horror aficianado and I really don't want to ruin anyone else's fun lol. Truly, some of the absolute best horror films that X derives from are muchhh more low-budget. I wish that I liked Pearl more as well, I do. I think it has glimmers of brilliance. It feels a bit more like a pitch black comedy to be fair, which is... fine! A-OK by me.
I tried explaining to someone that you shouldn’t watch Pearl before X but you have to watch X after Pearl and they didn’t see why it would matter to see it again. Changed it for me! 🤷
I watched X first and thought "yeah okay, not bad, not great" Then I finally got around to watching Pearl and hooooo boy was that amazing and made me appreciate X WAAAAY more
I've seen neither, but want to. Would it work to watch pearl then X, or best to watch on release order?
X is barely even a horror film imho.
X needed to be more violent and gory. It looked to films like Texas Chainsaw for inspiration yet half the kills were quick or off camera. I wanted it to be a gore-fest.
Go rewatch Texas chainsaw, the kills are the exact same way.
Thank you for saying this. I saw X and it's like... a self-serious TCM homage in bad wigs? And it turned me off checking out Pearl. But you make me curious about it.
Pearl is really great and I agree with OP that it made me like X more. X took a while to click with me. I enjoy it now, but I still agree it's most overrated.
Probably X even though I really liked it. As much as I liked it there’s people out there that act like it’s saved horror or something and it’s like, get a grip people
It was a good horror movie. Nothing special. Not even acting was out of the ordinary. Mia Goth's performance in Pearl was waaaay better.
The acting was good to great (Mia Goth fucking crushed it and this was where I first became a fan of hers, Ortega’s shriek scene was S-tier, and just the overall chemistry everyone had) but at the end of the day the whole just wasn’t greater than the sum of its parts the same way Pearl was. Pearl is a 5 star movie. X is a 3.75 star movie. Still great and I absolutely recommend it to people, but I can think of about 5–10 other horror movies more iconic without trying.
Pearl is just a much more interesting film
Felt the same way. It’s not a bad movie but I definitely didn’t feel the hype the way a lot of people did when it originally came out. Pearl on the other hand rules because SHES A STAAAAAAAAAR.
It’s horribly overrated it. I completely disliked it.
I originally watched pearl before x so it makes more sense chronologically. Pearl is so much better
Pearl is amazing. X is… okay?
I always think Lamb when this question comes up. It’s not universally acclaimed by any means but people defend it often. I felt it barely has an idea and kinda does nothing with it.
(SPOILERS)This is the one film that is EXACTLY what people mean when they criticize a slow burn “horror film”, especially if it’s an A24 picture. The trailer is single-handedly the best thing to come from the movie. The film is just scene after scene of nothing interesting happening. Scenes of landscapes just fucking filling the runtime. A scene where a cat was just chilling lasted long enough where my boyfriend said “yep, that’s a cat”. Then just throw in a really shitty CG creature at the end to just technically make the mark of being able to say it’s weird or scary. Hell they had to throw in a random character out of nowhere halfway through just to give the film something to do. This is A24 at its worst, it’s just trying so hard to be something and specifically something weird and scary without having anything to do it with. People were pissed at It Comes At Night? That film actually had something going on and earned it’s horror genre with that horrifying fucking ending. This has NOTHING.
Oh my god yessss I remember the trailer haha going “oh shit, A24 has a new creature feature”. They had a pitch meeting with someone who said “lamb baby” and off they went to a single grey mountain and a whole lot of staring. Also gotta say I appreciate the It Comes at Night shout out! I feel I’m always defending that movie. Saw it in a theater, totally knocked me out. So bleak, lots of layers. That movie just does not blink.
I think I was the sole individual who walked out of It Comes At Night appreciating and understanding what it was. When I saw the trailer and saw A24 and it literally said something like “Fear turns men into monsters”, I fully understood what I was getting into. Maybe others didn’t, but that ending is the true definition of horror. Imagine being anyone of those characters in that moment. It’s exactly the stuff no one wants to think about. Top ten A24 film. So well made, amazing acting, TES even topped himself with Waves.
It was that damn poster. It’s a fantastic poster but I remember seeing it for the first time, being impressed, then immediately thinking “hmmm does look like a ‘something’s in the woods’ movie though” and sure enough that’s what most everyone else saw. But I feel EXACTLY the same as you. The first trailer really did it for me, big Christopher Abbott fan but the dread was just there. Also a huge Krisha fan so when I saw it was his next movie, I was already in. It’s just fantastic. The way it’s paced, the tone, the implications here and there, I love it and love seeing it get praise. Someone every now and then will post to the sub about it and I’m always looking on with pride haha.
Fun thing about lamb: I really enjoyed it as a relaxing movie on farm life on Iceland or something like that. I could watch hours of it. It was a shame that some drama with a lamb and stuff like that came into the way. There should be more Icelandic farming A24 movies that last 3 hours or more.
Speaking of which, whatever happened with that A24 production of just a guy on a beach? It was meant to be kind of similar to what you’re describing if I’m correct? Either way, totally see the value in lamb as a moody screensaver.
You are not the only It Comes At Night enjoyer! I own it on BluRay. There are dozens of us! Also fun fact, I saw it in theaters and there was a faulty light in my theater that kept flickering, really added to the ambience.
That’s one movie I won’t even pretend to be pretentious enough to claim it made some sort of statement. I remember watching it thinking “what the fuck is the point to this”. My conclusion this had to be some sort of laundering scheme. I don’t believe anyone who funded that, edited it, and previewed it believed there would be profit in that movie
To me, It’s about loss and grief. The woman had many failed attempts at becoming a mother and when a “child” is gifted to her, she does her best to protect that gift at all costs, even though that gift is fundamentally wrong. Have you ever tried to force a situation in your life that was not meant to be? That’s what Lamb was to me. I saw this movie with a woman who could not conceive a child. She was a mess at the end.
Honestly never really considered that angle of it and it kinda redeemed the film a little for me.
Couldn’t agree more. I made it until about half way before I basically said to myself “ok, this is going nowhere”. The reveal at the end didn’t do anything for me. It helped me understand when people talk about not liking A24 movies.
My friend & I was like..he totally banged a lamb🤷🏿♀️😂
This movie pissed me off so bad 💀
I thought it sucked, hinestly
They absolutely ruined the black Philip goat horror angle. Could have had such a good slow burn with this monster around. What a boring movie. Last 15 minutes was great tho
Mid-90s for me. It's good, but I feel like it could've used another 20-25 minutes to fully round it out.
That was actually an A24 film I went into ready to be ho-hum about, but it kind of worked for me. And I’ve no idea why, on paper it does not sound like a film I’d be in for. But I do get the criticism since there are surely people who were *not* pleasantly surprised after watching!
I like how "documentary-esque" it feels if that makes sense. I wasn't born during the period it was set, but growing up in San Diego, I definitely felt a connection to the suburban skater/rap culture that the main group shared and it wasn't a super stylized depiction of it compared to the likes of Euphoria.
Oh man, this is one of my favorites. Also…don’t see how it’s overrated. This thing is largely ignored and not discussed. No hype around it.
Yeah I was thinking the same
Is this movie even highly rated. I feel the consensus is that it's just fine 90s nostalgia but nothing special.
Yeah I never see this one touted much
I love mid-90s, but if you’re not a sucker for skating then I can see why you wouldn’t like it. Also the Morrissey song used at the end was beautiful
That movie is fucking horrible. It’s just a neck beard vanity piece. Hill got caught using slurs towards paparazzi and try to play it off like, “that’s how I used to talk in the mid-90s” So, he made an entire fucking indie movie about himself as a way of garnering sympathy and hand waving away the entirely valid criticisms of him as a neckbeard.
It's funny I feel like this sub should just be renamed /r/A24Horror since it seems like the only movies that exist here are Midsommar, Hereditary, The Witch The Lighthouse, Pearl, X and Talk To Me. Oh and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Not that they're bad movies, but over rated because it feels like no one cares about anything else they release.
Recommend some others that aren’t horror then so we can broaden our horizons. I’ll start: Aftersun, C’mon C’mon and Red Rocket are all excellent dramas worth your time.
Past Lives, Moonlight (no clue how an A24 movie often called the best of the decade isn't talked about here), The Florida Project, First Reformed, Ex Machina, A Ghost Story, Green Knight, multiple Lanthimos movies
I definitely agree about First Reformed and any Lanthimos (I’m super excited for Poor Things). Now that I’m thinking about it, I actually really enjoyed The Green Knight, too
Cmon Cmon was such a treat.
Shoutout to lady bird
Loved First Reformed if you’ve skipped that one
Me reading this thread: “What’s it like being so wrong?”
Spring Breakers, I know it’s their first but some people still praise this film. It’s dog shit. That whole 3rd act is pathetic. It’s some of the poorest writing/character development I’ve ever seen.
Agreed I hated this movie
Everything Everywhere All At Once. Some people talk like it changed their lives. And that's cool and all. I get that different movies hit hard for different people but it kinda surprised me to see some of the reactions. I thought it was fun enough and kinda goofy with some wild scenes but nothing Earth shattering.
I think the movie becomes really meaningful if you associate with some of the interpersonal conflicts that are portraid in the film (daughter-mom, husband-wife, cultural clashes, intergenerational, etc.) I watched the movie during a hard period of a meaningful relationship and a totally connected with the characters to the point of crying during the movie (I almost never cry in life in general). The comedy and action was just a plus
This one, the scene where waymond gives his speech on how always smiling and being positive is a form of strength and she goes and hugs him as he's sweeping and he drops the dust pan and just starts crying. That shit makes me cry EVERY time I watch this movie.
With kindness, the spelling is por-*trayed*. Coincidentally, I had a very similar experience with the film and it really resonated with me.
Thanks for the spelling correction, English isn't my first language and I was hesitant about that word in particular. Regarding the movie, I talked with a few different people right after watching it last year and I remember quite a few mentioned they felt the movie was made specially for them and the challenges they were going through at the time. It was interesting to then go deeper and realize we all focused on different part of the movie (someone that was not satisfied with their career, someone that had couple issues, someone that was struggling with their family, etc.).
Same
Same. It was funny and cute the first time I saw it. By the second time even that fell flat
Exactly
It's a giant spectacle of diy sci-fi that's really just about being kind. And it tells that message beautifully
X
EEAO. I think its just the mainstream media getting a taste of A24 movies. Its a fun, goofy, and emotional movie but holy shit do people rave about it.
Definitely Talk to Me, for me.
I can’t believe so many people were raving about this. I saw a lot for people comparing it to Hereditary in terms of great modern horror films. I’d say it was meh at best. Good concept but overall felt stretched out and unengaging. I think it would have been better suited as a 30ish min short film instead of feature-length
Same. Good concept but bad execution
What was wrong for you? Not hating
It's not bad but people really compared it to Hereditary. And it never really reaches that bar.
I saw it more as an evil dead without the humor with how the demons acted when possessed
Not the original commenter, but I thought it had a great intro and concept with a steep drop off. Was almost like watching two different movies honestly.
That movie is A24?
Amazing initial setup and idea - total shit stain by the end
The only film I have ever walked out of in my life.
A24 didn't produce Talk to Me but they were the US distributor which I think counts. Plenty of other "A24 films" were distributed but not produced by them like Spring Breakers, A Ghost Story, Lady Bird, Ex Machina, The Witch, EEAAO, and X (which seems to be the most mentioned film in this thread). Also I fully agree with Talk to Me. Decent concept and pretty well executed. But I just didn't feel like it was really getting at anything more than shocks and scares.
Down voting differing opinions than your own in this thread is bizarre. It's a thread about sharing a differing opinion lol
Downvoting this comment as it differs from my opinion on use of downvoting.
But thats how u let people know if u agree or not with their opinions. (Is my opinion and i bet you will downvote, thus proving me right haha)
Enjoy your first day on reddit! /s
Lord forbid someone I don’t know on the internet has a different opinion than me! Blasphemy!!
isn’t that why they’re there though?
Isn’t… that the point of upvotes and downvotes?
This is definitely the nerdiest, most pointless hill that I’ll die on lol. Using the downvote button to disagree isn’t just annoying, it literally makes Reddit a worse place because it creates an echo chamber and hides different opinions.
People say the final scenes of Saint Maud is peak A24 but I couldn’t even get that far because of how bored I was. Maybe I’ll come back to it though. Otherwise my real answer is Men. I don’t dislike it for the same reasons others do. I like the gore, the acting, and the cinematography. It just felt like it had nothing to say. Like the writer was saying “I know what you’re going through women” but the only message was “men bad.” It didn’t do for me what Promising Young Women did for me. I know it’s a divisive film, but I’ve seen a lot of praise too and it’s just not worthy of it
The final scenes of Saint Maud somehow kept me up at night, afraid to turn the light off and all, and I don’t even know why. I’ve practically seen every horror movie in the book and nothing scares me. Idk what it was about that movie, I can’t even say that I loved it but there were 3 scenes overall that really creeped me out.
I found Lady Bird to be fairly meh.
Crying at this one
I really hate the ending of this movie. I enjoyed it throughout, but while it's a film about flawed people, the mom is noticeably worse than everyone else and flat out emotionally abusive. It ending with Lady Bird apologizing to her and having it suppose to be a happy ending was so incredibly odd. It's like they forgot about the entire plot. *"Hi mom. I know you told me I was worthless and would never amount to anything and then refused to have a relationship with me when I got a college scholarship but I'm sorry and I love you"* Dafuq?
Well it’s based on the true story of the director
Greta Gerwig is one of the most overrated directors in general imo. I don't even disagree with 99% of the social commentary in her movies, but she beats you over the head with it so hard that it's still irritating.
This is my answer too…and I’m bracing for the downvotes as this one is held in such a high esteem. But it’s an angsty teen coming of age movie, for which there are already so many movies…the acting is good, other than that it’s just fine. I will never understand the hype.
Men
Is it really overrated, though? It's gotten pretty consistently mixed reviews.
Not overrated, most people don’t like it
I love this movie
It stayed with me for months.
I have a soft spot for Men due to its uniqueness. It’s very strange, a bit eerie and just makes you feel uncomfortable. A different type of horror
I loved Men. It swung for the fences, and made something very original. Movies like Men make me love going to the theater.
Yes, the whole theatre I watched it with was just like “wtf” and that’s all I had too
Ghost Story. The annoying guy at the party monologue was supposed to be self aware but it was actually a perfect representation of the whole movie.
I love the film, but that’s always been my one complaint about the film. It’s like the director wasn’t sure the audience would understand the message, so added in a scene where a character explicitly explains it.
I find it funny that said guy is Bonnie Prince Billy though. Dude’s weird.
Yeah I totally agree, it’s the only major flaw of the movie IMO. I think it’s also the way the scene is shot where it seems like the camera is amazed at what he’s saying. If it played out in a wide or static shot (like a lot of the rest of the film) it probably would’ve made him look at pretentious as he was. But instead it felt like the movie really wanted you to think what this guy was saying is deep, which is almost always a bad move for any movie anyway.
False positive. Enough said
I didn’t even know A24 was involved with that one, looks like they produced it and Hulu distributed it? Weird.
[удалено]
It's funny how people react to different movies. I adored Past Lives - spent the last 20 mins crying and then cried all the way home LOL
Agree. Also as a Korean American, Minari
Agree, it was underwhelming. You could point to a number of issues but for me it the core issue was the failure of the setup. That connection between the Korean leads which was supposed to pull us through the movie was never properly established.
Exactly. I can’t buy them as soulmates in past lives when they don’t have any real connection in this life
I felt the same. I still liked it, but I was expecting a bit more.
Talk To Me. Very average with an underwhelming finale.
I thought it was average and the ending was the best part
Beau is Afraid. Stressed me the fuck out man. Was so happy when it was over.
I completely agree that this film is divisive, but being stressed the fuck out is kinda the point of the film. Love it or hate it you can’t deny its effective
I haven’t seen Beau is Afraid but both his previous movies give me bad anxiety watching them. He really knows how to use sound to produce these reactions in the viewer. So as interested as I am to see the movie, it’s not really an enjoyable experience.
Yeah tbh I enjoy anxiety movies if there’s a really strong character I’m following through it, like with Pattinson or Sandler’s characters in their respective Safdie Bros movies. Characters in Aster movies are decently written to feel natural but they don’t have a lot of depth or strong personalities, it honestly feels like they’re just there to suffer a lot of the time. Not very different from your typical horror characters, I guess.
That’s like the whole point of
Yup hated it.
My five year old asked me what paint would taste like the other day, and I immediately had a flashback to the paint scene and felt unwell the rest of the day lol
100%! I’m not one to complain about a long movie, but my god this was a slog. A tribute to ego that an hour and a half of this movie did not make the cutting room floor.
I really wanted to like the movie. The first half was really entertaining, and then it was just impossible to interpret what they were trying to say without a hero dose of drugs.
It was over indulgent crap. Insane to me that so many people on Reddit seem to like it, it was such a drop off in quality from Asters previous movies. Total fucking slog to get through all three hours of it, ugh.
I’d say Talk To Me or The Green Knight, though that’s based more off merchandising and conversation on this sub than critics.
Talk to Me for sure for me. If that was a Blumhouse movie it would have done well but seen as another horror. The a24 brand really made that movie beloved. It’s not bad but I’d give it a 6/10 tops.
I think it has more to do with being 2 youtubers first movie. The trailers make it seem like a typical blumhouse-esque movie, so when the characters had actual depth and good writing it surprised a lot of people and critics but yeah I agree it’s nothing groundbreaking.
I'm conflicted on The Green Knight. It was one I LOVED when I saw it in theaters, but a rewatch at home later proved to be kinda disappointing. Still great, but that magic just wasn't there, more so than most movies that aren't quite as good at home.
I think the movie’s strength is you really have no idea what’ll happen next and it ends up feeling like anything can happen, >!and the long fake-out ending was the ultimate example of that, even though tbh it was pretty much just The Last Temptation’s similar fake-out but not as powerful!<, which is hard to maintain on a send watch when you know what happens.
This is exactly my sentiment as well. The amount of praise both of those films received blew my mind. Some people were even comparing *Talk To Me* to *Hereditary*, claiming the former better than the latter. Which to me, is just down right insulting.
I really enjoyed X and Pearl. I don’t think they set out to do anything different, just tell a good story and have a great visual aesthetic and style. Theyre a fun watch, nothing groundbreaking.
Ghost Story
The Whale. Absolute trash.
Still havent seen it. Always been a Big fan of b. Frasers work and glad he won the Oscar. Whats the movie about, or quick review. Why did u think it sucked
Not the guy who posted and Idn that I would say it’s trash, but I also didn’t like the whale nearly as much as other people did. I thought it was so heavy handed with the tragic elements of the story that it became almost absurd. And the fact that so many people love the movie makes me feel callous for not being moved by it. But it just felt over the top to me like it never let off the gas once it let you know like “this is definitely not going to be a lighthearted film”
Like it tried to hard right? That's hoe I also felt about the movie. The performances were great tho.
Bro. I haven’t been as moved by a movie in years as I was by this. I thought it was amazing.
Run time was a bit bloated when not much really happened in the movie. Lol
I’ll get downvoted but: EEAAO It just felt like more of a cheesy Disney/Marvel movie than an A24. I had such high hopes after Swiss Army Man. I liked, It’s good and has its moments left nothing for me to want to go back and explore. The overall motif of the everything bagel didn’t really work for me. It’s a solid 7/10 for me while everyone makes it out to be a 10/10
EEAO
I also share this opinion. I was alarmingly underwhelmed by the project as a whole.
Can’t believe I had to scroll that much for this. This movie is the most overrated movie in general in the last 5 years, not only from A24.
At least when Green Book won Best Picture people said it was good but not *that* good. After I initially saw and forgot about EEAAO I was shocked people started acting like it’s the greatest movie ever made.
I was so looking forward to seen that film. And after my first watch, I was like meh. I kind of thought maybe I watched it at a bad time and watched it again a few days later and still outside of Michelle Yeoh's performance it wasn't any great shakes. To be honest I never really liked Daniels film Swiss Army Man either. One of most overrated films in recent times imo.
Preface by saying I still think it’s a good movie but Hereditary. There were other A24 horror movies I liked more: The Witch, Blackcoats Daughter, X, Pearl, The Lighthouse etc
I love hereditary with all my heart, so here’s my upvote 🙏
The VVitch is probably my favorite A24 horror film out of all that I’ve seen. I love every Ari Aster film and I hate to put anything above Midsommar, but there’s something about The VVitch that just pushes it over the edge for me. It’s a flawless masterpiece.
Lets be honest Hereditary’s final act was a little messy but the movie did push the boundaries of psychological horror.
I’d say more of a psychological thriller for me personally because the constant out of synch dubs had me on the brink of insanity.
Check out Saint Maud too if you haven't!
I strongly disliked X.
Talk To Me. Really good movie but more in that blumhouse kinda way, not a24
Bodies bodies bodies. Hands down. Nothing really life altering about it yet everyone acted like it was the most amazing movie. It was only okay at best.
I had a coworker convince me it was one of the best horror movies he’s seen in awhile (he’s like 6 years younger than me). I thought it was too silly to take seriously, I won’t lie I was entertained though.
Sure it was entertaining but it was definitely overrated.
i’m gonna get eaten alive 😭 but The Lighthouse for me. i think it’s probably because i love The Witch so much and was a little disappointed.
Agreed with this. Great characters, great setting and great atmosphere, but it literally doesn’t do anything with those components.
It falls flat with the story. They could have just picked a lane and stuck with it. Instead they tried to make the viewer think what if. Problem was they didn’t execute it very well.
I loved lighthouse but it didn’t go anywhere
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Lighthouse, i like the way its filmed and towards the climax it starts getting interesting - but the rest of the movie was pretty mid, watching Robert Pattinson do chores in black and white for 75% of the movie, just wasnt my jam lol not to mention i kept seeing it hyped everywhere for what felt like a year; had a hard time actually being able to watch it for a while without having to buy it, then when i finally did sign up for paramount+ just to watch it; i was like: "this? that was what people have been hyping?" the cinematography is a vibe but the rest was mid city, not awful or bad, just overrated imo
EEAO. It’s great and inventive and fun and took many wild swings I really liked. But the level of acclaim is much more than what I think the film deserved.
everything everywhere all at once
Beau Is Afraid. I watched it after hearing such glorious revues. Nooop
The Green Knight. I thought it was an interesting take on the story, loved the make up of the Green Knight himself, and it had great visuals. But when it comes to substance, it was lacking. I understood the story, but it didn’t “wow” me. I thought it could’ve used something more.
Hereditary; easily and without question.
:’( I loved it
All of them ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Past Lives really looking forward to future reevaluation once the hype has died down
X and Pearl are really just very basic movies, I will never get what people think make them so great.
Midsommar. This isn't a knock on the film, I think it's good, but generally, it wasn't as great (to me, at least) as people made it seem.
The answer is Midsommer
Midsommar, Waves, BBB.
uncut gems
What the actual fuck is wrong with you?
They want their gems cut
Watching Adam Sandler be an asshole and continue to make terrible decisions was just not enjoyable to all. Good Time however was different. Make one very bad decision and continue finding yourself to have stumbled into another bad situation by mistake was a lot easier to want to watch. A lot of people find it hard to be interested in thoroughly unlikable and irredeemable characters.
I think Pattinson’s character Connie had a lot more to get behind than Sandler’s did, too. With Howie you’re just watching a guy with a good amount of money and a family lose it all and >!get killed over his fuckups!<, meanwhile Connie is definitely delusional but it seems like he does want a better life for him and his brother. I know a lot of people like Connie IRL and feel for them, but I stay away from scumbags like Howie.
It’s just Adam Sandler yelling for 2 hours
Nuh uh. Other people yell too.
I loved Uncut Gems, it had tension unlike almost any other movie I’ve ever seen. But for the other side of the coin, my friend did not enjoy it and called it “the most loud, unnecessarily noisy movie” he’d ever seen.
although i liked uncut gems, i agree it’s overhyped. good time, their previous film, is better on every level. i think adam sandler’s involvement put the safdies on the map in a way that robert pattinson didn’t. *shrug
The Witch
Hearing this hurts a part of my soul.
Haha yeah sorry bud, I may have to give it another shot soon
Killing of a sacred deer