Every once in a while, I come across a movie the leaves me speechless. As I sat down today to watch Amulet I thought I had some idea of what to expect. I was wrong.
Where to start? I guess the premise would be a good place. Amulet is the debut feature from Romola Garai and follows Tomas (Alec Secareanu), a homeless ex-soldier, suffering from PTSD and heavy guilt. He meets a nun who arranges a place for him to stay, with a young woman (Carla Juri) whose mother is sick and living in the attic. But not everything is what as it seems to be.
Normally, I do my best to avoid giving out spoilers, but to work through this film, I need to reveal a few things. To avoid spoilers stop reading this review now.
The first half of the movie is a SLOW burn. But at the halfway mark things go off the rails and morphs into a very strange nightmare.
The black water-filled and moldy house is the least of these people’s problems. Before you know it, men become “mothers” and are giving birth to bats through their penises, there is a strange god, and you can catch a demonic possession through bite wounds. I was left asking myself what the hell did I just watch?
The house which much of the film is set in was a wonderful choice. It’s dark and dank and moldy, the type of place that you would expect evil to live.
The main cast, Cara Juri, and Alec Secareanu did a great job with what they were given. You’ll recognize the nun as Imelda Staunton who starred in Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix as Dolores Umbridge.
There are several things that just don’t add up or make sense. Why are men giving birth? Why bats? What’s up with the giant shell? Where did it come from? Why didn’t the guy see the red flags? It just felt like some things just didn’t click, like part of the story was left out. There are so many things in the movie that aren’t explained that should have been. I also feel like A LOT of time was wasted. Events could have played out a lot more quickly in the first half to make room for more action, more horror, and hell, more story.
One thing did make sense, the male character did something really bad to a woman, so of course, he’s got bad karma coming right? I get it. And yes, I understand that the film is about punishing men who do bad things. But that’s the only thing that makes sense.
I will say this, it’s fucked up. Will it leave you thinking about it for days? Yes. Are there moments that will make you jump? Maybe.
My main problem is that I feel that Amulet got lost trying to deliver more drama of the past when there should have been more emphasis on the present story, the supernatural aspects of the film, and explaining what is happening and why. That’s why I’m giving it a 2 out of 5. Amulet in now in theaters and out on VOD if you want to see it for yourself.
