As "Significant Other" (2022 release; 84 min) opens, a couple (we later learn they are Harry and Ruth) are on their way to Red Ridge Trail in the Pacific Northwest for a weekend of backpacking. This is Ruth's first time doing this. As they head out, it isn't long before there seems to be something different about this trail... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from frequent collaborators (and co-writers and co-directors) Dan Berk and Robert Olsen ("Villains"). The premise of this movie looks decent enough on paper: a couple goes on a backpacking weekend trip in the remote Northwest Pacific, so what could go wrong? Except that when you actually watch the movie, this premise turns out to be paper-thin and the actual implementation leaves you gasping for air when it goes off the rails and strains all credibility in the movie's second half. The two lead performers, Maika Monroe (as Ruth) and Jake "The White Lotus" Lacy (as Harry), try the best they can with the weak material they are given. The outdoor scenery is all but the third character in the film. Beware, though, as quite a few scenes are filmed in the dark (so as to make it look scarier?). In the end, this movie is not scary, not tense, not funny, not credible, and not much of anything really. It just is. The main reason I still give it 5 stars is that this flew by very quickly (if you discount the opening and closing credit, it lasts roughly 1 hr. 15 min.).
"Significant Other" premiered recently on Paramount+ and is now available to stream on demand. If you are looking for a "(ho-hum) scary" movie, I'd readily suggest you check this out with low expectations, and then draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from frequent collaborators (and co-writers and co-directors) Dan Berk and Robert Olsen ("Villains"). The premise of this movie looks decent enough on paper: a couple goes on a backpacking weekend trip in the remote Northwest Pacific, so what could go wrong? Except that when you actually watch the movie, this premise turns out to be paper-thin and the actual implementation leaves you gasping for air when it goes off the rails and strains all credibility in the movie's second half. The two lead performers, Maika Monroe (as Ruth) and Jake "The White Lotus" Lacy (as Harry), try the best they can with the weak material they are given. The outdoor scenery is all but the third character in the film. Beware, though, as quite a few scenes are filmed in the dark (so as to make it look scarier?). In the end, this movie is not scary, not tense, not funny, not credible, and not much of anything really. It just is. The main reason I still give it 5 stars is that this flew by very quickly (if you discount the opening and closing credit, it lasts roughly 1 hr. 15 min.).
"Significant Other" premiered recently on Paramount+ and is now available to stream on demand. If you are looking for a "(ho-hum) scary" movie, I'd readily suggest you check this out with low expectations, and then draw your own conclusion.