This was a real mixed-bag of a film. Tries to be a horror-comedy without being particularly scary or funny and uses elements we've seen from stories set at boarding schools like this many times before.
My main issue is the film's first half which does a rather sloppy job setting up the overall story, characters and elements that lead to later payoffs. It also treats the audience like they're stupid at points, showing flashbacks of scenes that literally occurred five minutes beforehand as if we've already forgotten them. This combined with awful dialogue and an odd structure make the first 45 minutes an extremely tedious watch.
When the second half kicks in with the proper introduction of the creatures it becomes a lot more enjoyable, as it truly embraces the gore-fest it becomes. On a production side it's all fairly competent with decent direction and visual effects for the most part. All the acting is fine, with the ever-charming Simon Pegg and Asa Butterfield putting in the best performances.
Overall, if the film had a better script with some more interesting characters who don't all have surface-level motivations then this may have turned out to be a enjoyable experience. Alas, it feels like a wasted opportunity.
My main issue is the film's first half which does a rather sloppy job setting up the overall story, characters and elements that lead to later payoffs. It also treats the audience like they're stupid at points, showing flashbacks of scenes that literally occurred five minutes beforehand as if we've already forgotten them. This combined with awful dialogue and an odd structure make the first 45 minutes an extremely tedious watch.
When the second half kicks in with the proper introduction of the creatures it becomes a lot more enjoyable, as it truly embraces the gore-fest it becomes. On a production side it's all fairly competent with decent direction and visual effects for the most part. All the acting is fine, with the ever-charming Simon Pegg and Asa Butterfield putting in the best performances.
Overall, if the film had a better script with some more interesting characters who don't all have surface-level motivations then this may have turned out to be a enjoyable experience. Alas, it feels like a wasted opportunity.