Reviews

I left the theatre with that feeling of satisfaction you get when something hits the spot. I have watched a lot of movies lately that have left me a little empty. I find my self craving a little more of it.

First, I'm baffled by a lot of the reviews - its like if the movie didn't fit their expectation perfectly it suddenly becomes the worst thing ever. This movie wasn't meant to be another "Joker"-esk psychoanalytical piece of art. I also have a few other theories about why people seem to dock this heck of an entertaining movie. Some have docked this movie because of some cock-imposed conspiracy that it is anti-male. This did not cross my mind at all when I watched the movie despite all the criticism I read regarding it before hand. I watched a video of a guy giving his take on the movie and seemed really offended by this false "premise". Sure, a movie about empowerment, symbolic of women breaking free from the masculine construct of a woman's role and worth and that they are things and property, but to consider it a man-hate film would be overreactive and probably reflects. If we were to watch the masculine filled mile a minute movie playing next door that objectifies women then I probably would hear a bunch of men completely ignorant of it as women attempt to point it out. And disclaimer, I'm a man, and I loved this movie and will probably buy it the moment I can.

Other reasons as to how the movie was made, the narrative and timeline of the movie and it being boring and all, and having little character development outside of Harley and the villain not being fleshed out - no pun intended - is all wrapped up in picky expectations. Sure, the movie may not be completely accurate to the comics, but there are many other movies and shows based on comics with a lot of inaccuracies - but people aren't criticizing them like BOP.

To the movie itself:

The movie was down-right funny. It was highly entertaining, the action scenes were wonderful and the way the action was filmed (unlike how it typically is these days) was refreshing. The story was simple, the underlying tone of empowerment (as referenced earlier) was relevant and wasn't shaming; it was loud enough to be heard and soft enough not to deflect from the value of the movie as a whole but to add to it. The acting was great spot on. One of the critiques is all the flash backs and the back and forth narrative. I admit, for some people this might not hold attention spans very well, but we can't use out own issues and processes with attention to determine how good the movie actually is. That being said, the DC movies do have a tendency to use this back and forth approach a lot rather than sticking to a linear narrative, and for the sake of audiences this might be something DC should take into consideration.

In summary, I'm satisfied with the film we got. I know not everyone is going to be just as satisfied, but take into account that people bring with them their personal issues and preferences based on a context that isn't related to the movie at all - so don't let all of that taint your impression of the movie whether you have seen it or not.

This is not a perfect film - but it is still a really good film and I think it explores deep, dark territory.

It was intense. Though, in a way it felt more predictable in some ways compared to other M. Night's movies. Because of this it felt less like a horror film and more an exploration of psychological trauma.

The topic of multiple personalities is not something new to the world of cinema - nor the presentation that a person suffering this type of mental health disorder is a dangerous person. Yet, some find offense by how "Split" presents and treats mental illness to scare people.

In my experience of the move, Split does not have many in your face jumps or scares. And I feel like that was intentional on M. Night's part.

Though the antagonist is portrayed as a monster, I found some elements of the character(s) to be conveyed that this is a person who is suffering from a traumatic past and there seemed to me to be some level of sensitivity.

At first, with the beast, I was a little put off by the sense of the character being able to evolve to some degree. But, I have to remind myself that M. Night is storyteller and along with that comes symbolism and allegory. Perhaps we are not meant to take some of these seemingly ridiculous factors so seriously - but look deeper into what those elements represent and the story they are telling.

With that in mind. I feel this story explores brokenness, and even though a person suffers from mental health issues, a traumatic past, etc., they may see themselves as "impure" and broken - but they are strong and can survive their situation - there is hope.

Maybe I'm the only one who is seeing this film and story from this perspective. I can see how it can be seen that using mental illness to entertain in a horror film is disrespectful. I think it is easy to come away confused about what M. Night is trying to say about the whole "pure" versus "impure" thing. That the broken are the pure and the unbroken are the impure. That can seem on the surface rather ridiculous, but maybe with a little more thought - it could actually make sense.

I mean, what is the difference between someone who has suffered and someone who is foreign to suffering? People don't understand mental illness, how trauma affects a person's mental health, and yes the world in reality tend to place labels and see people with mental health issues as "monsters" in various different contexts. Maybe this film was geared to showing challenge and complexity of these issues, while using a popularly entertaining medium to present these ideas to the audience to grapple with. I usually come away from M. Night's movies talking about them for a long time and more interesting exploring some sort of deep philosophical-type insight expressed through the films.

As expressed through one of the girls, we see in subtlety how she comes to realize that she is not a monster because of her past and her own mental health needs - that because she is broken she has a different understanding of life which in some way of looking at it - makes her pure. Sort of playing off the concept of Plato's cave. To be in ignorance of pain and suffering, or of reality such as in living a lie whether you realize it or not could be seen as something of impure. Impure may be a confusing way to express a concept but I'm sort of thinking of the Matrix movies here. Maybe I'm going way off topic here. But those who know the truth, such as in Plato's Cave and in the Matrix - perhaps they are pure because they are free from the lie, the illusion - that we are all broken.

Pain and suffering can lead a person to becoming something more. That pain is a chisel which can shape a person depending on how a person chooses to see and understand that pain and suffering. Not in the sense of biological evolution - but that of character, of maturity, of spiritual growth in a sense.

Anyway, enough of my two-cents on the meaning behind the story.

Split is a very well-made film. Well-acted. In some ways it didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. It was intense and suspenseful. Funny and enjoyable, all the while it is heart-breaking and hopefully eye-opening for people. It is worth the watch and I will likely watch it again.

Munger Road is intense and frightening. The acting is not bad. Its quite good actually. Sometimes I felt like the acting from some characters could have been better.

**mild spoiler: no specific details mentioned**

The horror and terror of this movie is like a creature that lurks and creeps around. I don't know what you look for in a horror film, but consider that this movie is PG-13, so I will let you know if you are looking for gruesome killings then you wont find them. There are killings, but you don't see them. The killings are out of view but you can still hear what's happening.

**End mild spoiler**

Well, the story was interesting. There is mystery and a lot of suspense. However, there are moments when its really dark and difficult to see. One moment in the car, you can't see anything but it was not necessary to see anything. Even though it was hard to see at some moments, I'd say that the movie was still pretty scary and worth watching.

If you are a horror fan who has wasted several hours on horror films you wished you had never seen, then why not give this one a try as well. I promise its not the worst horror film you've ever seen, and you may even like it.