Julia C – Google

I’m a big believer that any movie can be enjoyable as long as you’re in fun company with tasty snacks. This is one of only three movies ever where I feel like I wasted my time and I enjoyed Velocipast, Killer Sofa, and Thankskilling. Not a real high bar here, folks. The only worthwhile part of this movie is the cast and the acting. I love a good exorcism movie. Many explore religious themes without being downright corny like The Deliverance. The story starts out decent and devolves into what I can only describe as a made-for-tv Christian Halloween movie. I genuinely can’t believe this propaganda piece is so popular on Netflix. Don’t waste your time on this movie. They did the true story so dirty. Don’t even get me started on the hilarious slow-mo shots, the 1990s Goosebumps disappearing effect, and freeze frames. 0/5.

They marketed this as an extension of The Haunting of Hill House, not a sequel, but was boasted to be by the same creators with the same actors. They purposely did that to pull over fans of Hill House and then they pooped on them. Hill House is in my top 10 favorite shows of ALL TIME. Bly Manor isn't even in my top 100. If you want to watch a sort of creepy show where you wait for it to get good for the entire season (9 hours) only to be disappointed, this is the show for you. There are so many different things that pissed me off about this show (why does Flora suddenly have an American accent? Why does Owen shrink 6in at the end?), but I feel too betrayed right now to write a reasonable review detailing all of it. Don't market stuff to a specific audience and then fail to deliver. If this had been a totally separate show that I'd never heard of, I would have been okay-ish with it.

I love the books series as a child so much I read them to my own children. When this movie was announced, I was over the moon. Especially excited because Guillermo del Toro is fantastic. The trailers created more excitement. Well, I begged my husband to stay up tonight to finally watch it for Halloween. What began as elation slowly drifted into confusion and ultimately disappointment. It was basically Goosebumps with amazing monsters. A childish, corny movie with bad acting and incredible imagery. They made this movie and knew the demographic would be people 30-45 years old who grew up reading these books. I'm just so disappointed. I've seen better scary movies on Netflix. You can't watch this movie with kids under 12 at least but it's not enjoyable as an adult either.

I’m not going to bother giving a synopsis like the rest of the amateur film bros. Initially, I began watching this as a hate-watch from all the negativity I saw surrounding it. I inevitably enjoyed it. It’s visually stunning, sexually charged, cringey, culty, dark, and emotional. I don’t think it needs another season, but it seems there may be room for one by one of the ending scenes. Overall, it was a unique watch and I didn’t hate it. I overanalyze everything else in my life, so movies and shows are the one thing I will enjoy unless they are legitimately boring in every aspect. The Idol gets a solid 3.5/5 from me. Definitely something you could watch in between waiting for your other favorite shows to air new episodes.