The film appears to be a slot machine, seeking money and giving almost nothing in return
In a sea of blockbusters hitting theaters, with some costing upwards of $300 million, the last laugh is Supernatural: the red doorpremiered this Thursday 6. The feature film, the fifth installment of a franchise that has existed since 2010, attracts attention for its meager budget: initial figures indicate that the film cost only 10 million dollars and can be paid on the first weekend.
It’s one of Sony Pictures’ safest bets in theaters. The first film only cost $1.5 million and earned $100 million. The second one was even better: it cost $5 million and earned more than $160 million. The third and fourth films followed very similar paths, earning more than expected and giving the studio money.
Supernatural: the red door it’s real money. However, it leaves a bad feeling to those who watch the film: the film appears to be a slot machine, looking for money and delivering almost nothing in return. After all, there’s almost no story here.
Directed by and starring Patrick Wilson (da evocation), the feature film has so little to say that it’s even difficult to explain what the story is about. Initially, he accompanies Josh Lambert (Wilson) with the mission of bringing his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) to the rooms of the new college. They don’t get along and, just like in the film, they too can’t find a subject that unites them. Silence reigns and the two don’t know where to begin the conversation.
But it’s after dropping the boy off at his new home and leaving that Josh begins to see that life away from hangouts is far from just the distant past. The two, father and son, begin to have frightening visions that distort reality. Josh is alone, with nowhere to go, while Dalton has help from his new roommate, Chris (Sinclair Daniel), who tries to better understand what’s going on.
Change of air? Not so much
For those who don’t follow the franchise much, it’s a bit confusing to place the feature film. It is a direct continuation of Supernatural: Chapter 2, bringing back the characters of Wilson and Simpkins. However, Supernatural: the origin AND Supernatural: The Last Key nor are they superfluous: in them some concepts of this horror universe are explained.
It is a project that interrupts the narrative line formed in the last two films, going further away from the initial nucleus, and which marks Wilson’s directorial debut.
“[O criador e roteirista da franquia] Leigh Whannell had written a 15, 20 page sketch with Dalton going to college and then things happen,” Patrick Wilson explains, about the beginning of the project, to Entertainment Weekly magazine. “They presented it to my agent. Since we were actively looking for projects for me to direct, she asked Blumhouse, who thought it was the perfect idea. So they put me on the project.”
Wilson also tells Entertainment Weekly that he put many of his ideas into the film, expanding his stake and bringing more elements from the second feature. “I went to Blumhouse and said, ‘If I’m going to do this movie and come back to this franchise, I have to deal with these things. I have to look at Rose Byrne and ask her why she lied to me for 10 years. ‘This is the movie I wanted. I want to do.” And they said, ‘Okay, go with God.’ So we hired Scott Teems and we literally spent two and a half, three years writing.”
Despite Wilson’s enthusiasm for his new venture, it seems more like the script continued with those initial 15 or 20 pages. Over the course of 100 minutes, the story drags along with Dalton and Josh’s characters suffering only from hallucinations. In reality, a few things happen. No wonder, with almost an hour of screening, the feeling that remains is that little actually happened in the film. He’s desperate.
It seems Wilson is trying to emulate elements from similar films Hereditary OR Babadook, who has put fear into the public’s unconscious, but continues to bet on fears to keep the public awake. It doesn’t go one way or the other. He stays in the middle of the road, trying to find psychological horror in commercial cinema. In the hands of an experienced director it might work. Not by Patrick Wilson.
Am I out of money? In the same interview, the director released some complaints. “You never have enough money, you never have enough time, you’re constantly being asked to compromise. ‘We don’t have this’ or ‘this has to stop’ or ‘we need to change this scene’. ‘Do you need a lot of arrangements?’ ‘Can you tell the story faster?'” explained Patrick Wilson.
“I take out the cards and hope the house doesn’t fall over. They knew it was my first experience [como diretor] and say, ‘Hey, you’ll be fine. ‘But everything [no roteiro] it was so precious to me. I need this scene, guys!”
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
