AS THE VILLAGE SLEEPS (2021) Reviews and overview

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As the Village Sleeps is a 2021 American horror film about a young woman’s birthday celebration in a cabin that turns into a nightmare.

Directed by Terry Spears (Agent Jade Black; Hell’s Belle; American Terror Story) from a screenplay written by Chloë Bellande. The 19 Artist Development production stars Eleonora Saravalle, Shiah Luna, Daniel Olguin, Victoria Strange, Oliver Rotunno, Mark Adam Goff and Rane Thomason.

Plot:

A smart yet naive college girl organises a birthday celebration at her stepfather’s cabin, bringing together a volatile group of friends and family. While playing a mysterious party game, nightmares blend with reality and the friends struggle to survive as the living game attacks and turns them against each other…

[May contain spoilers] Reviews:

“We never really see the werewolf. We never find out who the werewolf was. There’s no gore or monster effects. I’m sure we simply lost track of one or two characters at some point because they were so forgettable […] this was just a jumbled mess of terribleness, and I mean that in the harshest way.” The Horror Guys

Cast and characters:

Eleonora Saravalle … Sarah
Shiah Luna … Tala
Daniel Olguin … Jacey
Victoria Strange … Liz
Oliver Rotunno … Alex
Mark Adam Goff … Officer Stratford
Rane Thomason … Matt
Michael Gum … Nick
Winnie Du … Julia
Chloe Caemmerer … Connie
Tyler Malinauskas … Jason
Otis Watkins … Midnight
Kenzie Leigh Spears … Kaileigh

Trailer:

MOVIES and MANIA verdict:

A bunch of unlikeable young people hold a tedious party and then suffer an even more tedious collective hangover. Then the party begins again. And they’re playing a game similar to Werewolves Within. And like the film adaptation of that, there’s a distinct lack of lycanthropes (we hear growling and “it’s right there, behind the tree!”).

Instead, there is ranting, backstabbing and bitching but none of it is interesting. Maybe it’s all meant to be a repetitious, metaphysical nightmare and part of the much-mentioned “game”? If so, it’s difficult to care. Worse, the whole film, even dialogue scenes, is accompanied by a maddeningly awful synth score by Michael Lockwood. A more appropriate title would be ‘As the Viewer Sleeps’. Avoid.

MOVIES and MANIA rating:

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