Movie Review: Muse (2017)

Adam (Riley Egan) is kind of shit at being a career artist when he finally finds his muse…like literally; the dude finds the Celtic version of a muse and she’s all magical and shit. So he becomes a great artist thanks to her witchy ways, but it all comes with a price; namely she’s a tad over protective of our hero and turns into a murder machine whenever her place in Adam’s life is threatened. So what is A-man going to do; turn a blind eye to the psychotic episodes and just ride high on his new found fortune n’ glory, or will he end her wicked reign?
Not going to lie; Muse is one straight up beautiful motion picture to behold; cinematographer Damian Horan along with writer/director John Burr know how to frame a scene for maximum aesthetic impact, that’s for sure; and that helped the finished fright flick look much more expensive than it actually was. Also of note is the usage of the Celtic legend Leannán Sí; this is a unique mythology that hasn’t been exploited in the horror biz as much as it’s much more familiar Greek Muse counterpart, so kudos to Burr on that one!
On the negative side; enough with the slow-mo already! Seriously, this effect is utilized so often that I would swear the original runtime was sixty minutes! But that’s a minor quibble compared to the film’s biggest stumbling block…namely Adam is a non-entity (and make no mistake, this is no fault of Egan, but rather with the material he was handed). He just kind of floats from scene to scene reacting to whatever is thrown his way with only a minor arc to keep him interesting, and when the pace is as slow as this film’s that is a major problem. I’m all for a slow-burn fright flick experience, but the main character has to be interesting to carry us through…and Adam isn’t (though to be fair, the supporting cast are all excellent and have the benefit of portraying more memorable characters).
To sum it up; Muse is a well shot slow burn horror, with an interesting mythology and quirky supporting characters, but ultimately it ends up unsatisfying due to it’s dull hero. I’d still recommend giving it a view, just don’t expect it to blow you away and become a new creepy classic in your horror collection.