This movie seems out of it's time. If it was made by Hammer in the 1960s it would be a creepy little entry. However, audiences in 2019 require a little more in the way of scares in a so called horror movie and this has none! Nothing happens for the first 90 minutes and then a visit to a psychic medium in the last 15 minutes, finally generates a bit of menace (not enough!) Just sticking black contact lenses into the hero's eyes and getting him to growl a bit is not going to cut it on the scare-ometer! The plot is very flimsy and takes ages to set up what actual story there is. Everyone seems to be half asleep - the main protagonists being a bunch of rather insipid students dabbling in astral projection. This is not Flatliners. Frank Dillane, son of actor Stephen, is the lead character and he plays it so laid back, you want to shake him! The other students are dull stereotypes and don't do anything other than hang about with the "hero". The special effects are pretty basic. You're probably wondering why I've given this strange, old fashioned little movie 6 stars? The stars are for the atmosphere which pervades the film. Its rather unsettling and is actually quite creepy. The shadow entities are pretty unspectacular as far as monsters go, but when they appear they're quite unnerving. This movie could have been a lot better with tighter direction, a better script and a plot that moved things along at a brisker pace. However, it's got something and isn't as terrible as some of the reviews would lead you to believe.
Review of Astral
