In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual. —IMDb
Incredible direction, marred by a few silly plot holes and a rather anti-climactic climax.
I was trying to make the experience more interesting, so I started thinking: what if I watch the film as a response to the recent banking crisis? After all it's set in the 1980s; not just the decade of the straight-to-video slasher, but of Wall Street (and its maxim "greed is good!") and conservative moral panic - preludes to the current financial situation of today! Here (and elsewhere) it's all about the money. If the character is motivated by anything, it's financial gain. Thirty years ago, the fact that she was young and alone would have been enough to make her the target, but these days everyone has a price, even when playing the victim.
"During the 1980's over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic cults... Another 30% rationalized the lack of evidence due to government cover ups..." I'm not entirely sure what that last sentence means, but rather than attempt to parse it, I will just scratch my head and say thank you to Ti West and company for putting together such a nice little piece of retromania.
An excellent genre piece with suspense that slowly creeps like terror in your veins. The final act delivers all the promises of the late seventies early eighties horror, and the beautiful lead is a treat to watch.
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