Luciferous (2015)

I love this movie so much

The Age of Commercialism

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

In this short review, I will keep things very general, so as not to give away the story line.I didn't personally read any reviews before watching this film. The fact that it is independent and won 5 awards was good enough for me. I wasn't disappointed. This is a film that engages your mind, with a range of possibilities as to why things are unfolding as they are, any of which could be plausible. So you are left to study the characters for clues as to which answer is more likely. A welcome break from many films that rely too much on action and special effects. Personally, I enjoyed this film on many levels. Highly recommended! " Undoubtedly a little gem lost in the world of cinema." - Rodrigo Garcia Ferreyra May 16, 2016 Cinema

The description of this god-awful film on my cable pay-per-view intrigued me. So I ordered it. I watched it for the first two minutes and was sucked in to watch it more. The significance of the two minute mark is that I could've canceled and got my $4.99 back. Perhaps that is why this move was made; i.e. to lure the viewer into watching beyond the two minute mark and lose their money. There is no cohesive plot. At least 2/3 of the scenes (as there is no coherent and anything even approaching a consistent story-line) are just randomly thrown at us and, apparently, left up to us to figure out what is going on, are simply, well, there. At the approximately 52 minute mark, the mom asks Mina to stop filming. (We find out at the end that Mina is missing so presumed dead. You do not need to waste 90 minutes of your life watching this garbage. You have been warned.) Did 7-year-old Mina edit this too? Alex and/or Masha (his wife) are either independently rich (so they can afford to make cinematic garbage) or they have something on those who would part with money to fund the production of such garbage; in any event, this is not worth viewing except to anyone who would aspire to making good movies and who wants/needs to see an example of what not to do.

Nearly every horror movie about a loving family goes berserk, starts with a way too loving parents and a cute kid who extremely loves his/her parents. But this movie goes beyond and makes it too hard to concentrate on the plot. I have few words for the scriptwriters; using the word "Baby" as a punctuation mark doesn't pump up our sympathy for the family but the exact opposite. Throughout the whole movie the actors said "Baby" nearly 3 billion times! And yes now i hate relationships. I wonder, is it because of the scriptwriters or is it just terrible improvisation. The other thing is about the end. Don't you think that there is so many information for a monologue? Other than that it was an OK movie.

"Luciferous" is psychological horror film in the vein of "the Shining" for the digital era. It centers around a family who see their seemingly normal life get turned up-side down by a series of events that stand on the verge of the supernatural. Some years after a tragedy where Dad accidentally killed the entire family of a friend of his, he is apparently attacked by someone or something in the forest, living him in a catatonic state and on a slow path to recovery. As Dad begins his recovery so does as well the perceived supernatural events around him, and it is implied that perhaps there is nothing supernatural about it and that perhaps it is all in Dad's damaged head. In a way the mysterious occurrences that have befallen the family could be a manifestation of a deeply rooted sense of guilt within Dad, since he is sure that the ghastly apparition that has set to haunt him is his old friend out for revenge after the accident claimed his entire family."Luciferous" cast is actually a real family, giving the film a sense of realism and true dynamic among them, Mom and Dad do commendable jobs, but it is little Mina who truly steals the show with her riveting performance. The film makes some very smart decisions and is well aware of how much it can actually get away with effectively with the minimum resources it has. Instead of trying to shoot things that are completely out of its league, "Luciferous" makes the smart choice to go for a slow burn and a mounting sense of dread throughout the film, without the need to resort to cheap VFX or make-up, it builds an effective creep factor from some well place shots and clever editing.At its core, "Luciferous" manages to convey the idea that it is perhaps wiser to fear the living than to fear the dead, and while its final twist may seem completely out of nowhere, it still played a good hand of bait and switch. Always keeping us guessing, whether there is a true demonic presence tormenting this family, or if evil lies closer than we think, right within the human heart.The final twist can be hard to buy, for the film spends so much time diverting our attention somewhere else that it really never takes its time to set up a few clues let us in on what might be happening. It works both against and on its favor, for it never really comes off as predictable. Perhaps the biggest head-scratcher was the true motivations behind the orchestrator of these events, perhaps a bit more build-up to it would have been more cohesive for the twist to work."Luciferous" is a great example of creating an effective, slow burn chiller with creativity and awareness of resources, creating a much more organic and grounded horror.