Fear X

Albeit it's not a perfect movie, its torturing and thrilling atmosphere is worth sitting through. A mystery movie in every sense.

It's not that this is a particularly bad movie, it's just that there isn't a whole lot of it. I really enjoyed the first hour, but the slooow buildup of tension doesn't really go anywhere and once the credits roll it's soon forgotten. A shame, because this definitely had a nice David Lynch atmosphere going and I was hoping for it to explore some interesting concepts.

While I love the mood the film creates at the end I felt robbed. I felt that there should've been more. While I certainly appreciate open ended movies I thought that this simply didn't give enough for one to even make up their own ending. Sad to have the film leave a disappointing (not bad) taste in the mouth because up to the final 15 minutes or so it's quite, quite good.

I liked the film's constant state of dread, of understatement, of a fear of the unknown and of a truth always just out of reach. If you see it as a meditation, (with a logic of nomadic introspection), there's a lot to appreciate.

I can see where this would turn some people off. I had to read an article after watching it to fully understand everything, and I do actually appreciate some things in this movie. I always liked Refn as a director and this was a small showcase for what he was to become later. It's slow, quiet pacing and visuals make it seem truly haunting and dreadful. The end is a bit of a downer, but I personally liked the movie as a whole. Not for everyone. I still liked it.