This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Frank and Beings
Plot Overview
In its Reagan era heyday, Brightmoore on the outskirts
of Detroit was home to countless yuppies and the odd barbarian. When
business moved away, so did they, mostly. When Hollywood type
A [Assault Justifier] J (Justin Long) is about to be prosecuted for
a sex crime, he comes to look at his investment property for garnering
resources to cover his legal expenses. He finds evidence of yuppie
squatters upstairs and tunneling rodents down. We'd been introduced
to the former in the opening scenes, but it is unknown what happened
to them. The two (Georgina Campbell & Bill Skarsgård) had been
double-booked thru Airbnb & HomeAway and had decided to share the
accommodation for the night and let the “idiots” sort it
out in the morning. Easier said than done.
Ideology
The foundation of the horror story is the twisted application of a true enough proverb: (Prov. 30:15-16) “The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.” The two needy daughters are, of course, the very young and the very old, full of demands. The grave being never satisfied is like to claim old Frank (Richard Brake) seen earlier in his prime but now bedridden and so decrepid he can't speak but must point. The barren womb is the erstwhile suburbanites who cranked out kids like there was no tomorrow. The earth that is not filled with water is the land that dried up leaving a salt flat. Water is stored in a tower and the walls of the unfinished basement are unsealed yet dry. It is a landscape fit for industry. The fire that never quits is, of course, human metabolism, mouths wanting to be fed from birth till death.
The movie repetitively returns to a
video tutorial on breast feeding. There's an earlier shot of a clueless
Frank going to a store to buy baby supplies when the kid is yet on
the way. Later we see multiple playpens at his place. His perverse
family planning produces an incestuously horrid hag, a certifiable
idiot who ignores Frank's need but nurses big babies. AJ doesn't care
for it and throws her babe under the bus. The hag-mother sacrifices
herself to thwart the abortion.
While we like to distance ourselves from the horror on screen, there is a niggling suspicion that our waking world sees some of the same. Women seek abortions when their fetus makes demands on them. The public discourse on justifications for it include rape, incest, and convenience, not to mention protecting the mother's life, all of which come up here if we include AJ's alleged rape of his co-star Meagan. As for the sicko hag's misdirected maternal care, isn't one of the standard defenses for abortion to free a woman to better service her employer? There's even a bit on assisted suicide thrown in.
Production Values
“” (2022) was written and directed by Zach Cregger. It stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long. All the acting was very adequate for this genre, and I was particularly pleased with Derek Morse & Trevor Van Uden playing indifferent policemen.
MPAA rated it R for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout and nudity. Filming was done in Detroit, Michigan, USA and in Bulgaria. It has a runtime of 1¾ hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This was a well directed, choice horror piece. Hold onto your seat, is my recommendation.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed drama. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.
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