TENTACLES (2021) Reviews of Hulu Valentine’s Day horror

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‘How well do you know the one you love?’

Tentacles is a 2021 American horror film about a couple that falls head-over-heels into a new romance and entwine their lives. However, their intimacy transforms into something altogether more terrifying.

Directed by Clara Aranovich (Tantalum) from a screenplay written by Alexandra Pechman (Channel Zero), based on a story by Alexandra Pechman and Nick Antosca (Antlers; The Forest), the movie stars Dana Drori (Freaky; The Price), Casey Deidrick (In the Dark series; Teen Wolf series), Evan Williams and Kasey Elise.

Plot:

A young Los Angeles couple – Tara (Dana Drori) and Sam (Casey Deidrick) – fall head over heels into a new romance, entwining their lives — until their intimacy transforms into something terrifying…

Reviews:

” …plot sinkholes open up, it comes perilously close to being an episode of Bad CGI Theater, and ludicrousness reigns. It could’ve used a little levity early on, considering what happens later. Either way, the payoff is muddled, and the screenplay down the stretch screams rewrite. Somewhere in here is a commentary on the blinding nature of love and the baggage we all bring to our relationships — but nobody has this much baggage, baby.” Decider

“Not only is the film well done, but it also held my interest from beginning to end. It is difficult to surprise me with an ending after watching countless horror movies, but this film did just that. This fact alone makes me love it. There is a lot to enjoy with this movie, but an outstanding ending with a twist that gets a round of hearty applause from me.” Geek Girl Authority

“The ending of Tentacles had a solid pace and some good twists, which is probably why it worked so well for me. I can accept some slow-burn development along the way. Especially since we do need to become familiar with the characters. Still, when the ending came, I quickly realized that I had missed the faster pacing of the story, which is what the ending delivers on.” Heaven of Horror

” …lacks a cohesive plot-driven identity. What supernatural elements it possesses are tacked on too late in the film’s duration and, by the time the audience gets to that point, the film is already dead in the water. A final round of re-working the script would have fixed the pacing issues and, perhaps, made the film itself a more intensive journey for the viewers.” Nightmarish Conjurings

“Aranovich isn’t interested in these people like the best movies of this kind […] Drori and Deidrick are perfectly fine and actually have strong chemistry, but they’re just unengaging characters. Even worse, the imagery fails the piece’s mood until the final act. If you’re going to give us a bland romantic drama, at least make the grisly fates of these bland people memorable. ” RogerEbert.com

Tentacles shows that not all love is healthy and positive. Some relationships are dangerous to one or both parties involved. Toxic love can grab ahold of one and squeeze tight, suffocating them in the process. That’s why the movie’s use of a creature with tentacles is such a clever bit of symbolism.” Screen Rant

“It’s not even that the tentacles, when showcased, have the same lackluster appearance as, say, those digitized extensions in Hulu’s Bad HairIn a folkloric condemnation of the risks we take by offering our hearts to another person, Tentacles struggles to sustain its 90ish minutes of quick-cut stalker phone calls, Sam’s blindsided puppy dog behavior, or the more exciting genre elements left hidden.” Slash Film

Release:

Tentacles will be available on Hulu on Friday, February 12th 2021 (Valentine’s Day tie-in).

Background:

In partnership with Blumhouse Television, Hulu’s ‘Into The Dark’ is a monthly horror event series from prolific producer Jason Blum’s independent TV studio. “Each feature-length instalment is inspired by a holiday and features Blumhouse’s signature genre/thriller spin on the story.”

Cast and characters:

Dana Drori … Tara
Casey Deidrick … Sam
Evan Williams … Grant
Kasey Elise … Esther
Dan Aid … Theo
Aaron Groben … Engagement Man
Cathy Vu
Johnny Ramey … MB
Larry Fields … Strange Man

Notes:

Not to be confused with the film Tentacles (1977) which is about a giant octopus.

YouTube reviews:

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