Luciferous (2015) Reviews

• Trying going with it.

  gothic-fiction2016-04-07

  I had to rate it 5 stars, was quite close to 6 but I think it is more fair like this and I am going to explain why. Well, you see, the movie looks just like an ordinary one. Nothing new, nothing special, a film like so many you've seen before, especially if you're into the horror section. As time passes, it does exactly what you'd expect to do, same moves, same lines, same reactions. Yet it manages to surpasse the most out there because it has a plot, an ending, a destination, it knew where it was heading to so it had to build a road. For that, for that nice parking place it got, I almost graded it 6 stars. There was more needed to it tho. So if you're a horror junkie and you're loaded with lots of patience, this one might be an interesting choice for the night. Do not expect a masterpiece, not even a good movie, but a different and possibly interesting approach. Cheers

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• When a good story is worth more than a thousand special effects.

  rgarciaferreyra2017-05-24

  "The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us; but he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. His attack is psychological…and powerful." William Peter Blatty – The Exorcist. With that text extracted from the book "The Exorcist" begins Luciferous, the Canadian horror film that has surprised us and where this text, is no accident. In fact everything that happens in the film is not chance, nor is it at random, not even decoration. Luciferous is a film that tells the story of an ordinary family made up of Alex, Mahsa and the little 7-year-old Mina, who suffer the attack and harassment of something or someone directly and indirectly and slowly take them to madness . We say directly because the target of the attacks is Alex, the main victim of these events and indirectly because his daughter Mina and his wife Mahsa are those who are affected by the behavior of the father who seems to be increasingly immersed in the paranoia becoming Frightening It all happened normally in the life of these three until one day Alex undergoes a very strange accident in a park. This accident leaves him in bed and unconscious a few days and wake up nothing will be the same. Alex begins to see and perceive very strange things in his apartment. Of course no one believes him and not only that, but given his post-traumatic condition they blame him for much of what happens. Each scene seems to be filmed in a home-made way regarding the quality of the image being a low-budget film but with an unusual and somewhat strange effectiveness since the performances are not very bright but they are hypnotic. Something is going to happen and you know it. As the story progresses the atmosphere begins to load more and more tension for an outcome that we can ensure is far from what they imagine transforming this humble film into a great story of suspense and terror, a terror that Is no stranger to us since it is implied in every moment. The work between the narrative and the spectator is of perfect collaboration: the gaps left by them, we fill them with what we imagine. The decoration in the apartment is not alien to history either. You will see many masks hanging from the walls that are almost an analogy between what appears to be and what it really is. We all wear masks after all and this is also relevant at the end. We also find a lot of symbolism: If something left us "The Witch" (2016), among many things, is that even the rabbits hide more than being simple and innocent little animals. Luciferous is a good suspense film and psychological horror that acts on the viewer from the beginning with a load of mystery from the same text of Blatty. We will think of demonic possession and spirits, but will there be? The quote from "The Exorcist" is a tribute along with the masks and is not the only one, there is a clear homage to Kubrick's "The Shining" and there is a direct and visual mention to a current urban legend that is slowly growing in the imaginary Collective, not only cinema and horror stories, but real and tragic events that have happened in recent times. They will see it and they will realize it in the act. As history is impeccable and effective since in the end everything closes and squares to perfection. This film has something very special since the family in the film is a family in real life: Mahsa Ghorbankarimi and Alexander Gorelick are a real marriage and their daughter is Mina Gorelick, the girl we see. "Minushka," as her mother Mahsa calls her lovingly using the diminutive "shka" that is used in Russia for female proper names. They are of Belarusian origin both in the film and in real life. Not only do they act by making themselves but they produced, wrote and directed the film. Perhaps it is the most familiar production in the history of cinema. All are questions and every question leads us to an assumption and every assumption will lead us to another question. The surprise that will be taken at the end in this small and great film where nothing is what it seems, as an outcome, is very effective. If we had to choose a phrase to define it we could use the famous "I am more afraid of the living than the dead" because it may summarize what we experience together with the protagonists. But what is behind the living and that moves them ?, in that field they give us the reflection to us so that we draw our own conclusions. In a world full of prequels, sequels, spin-offs and reboots, independent productions like these are a song of hope in a world that seems lost in the lack of ideas. Without doubts a little gem lost in the world of cinema.

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• Review of Luciferous

  contact-742-5008352016-04-11

  "Luciferous" is psychological horror film in the vein of "the Shining" for the digital era. It centers around a family who see their seemingly normal life get turned up-side down by a series of events that stand on the verge of the supernatural. Some years after a tragedy where Dad accidentally killed the entire family of a friend of his, he is apparently attacked by someone or something in the forest, living him in a catatonic state and on a slow path to recovery. As Dad begins his recovery so does as well the perceived supernatural events around him, and it is implied that perhaps there is nothing supernatural about it and that perhaps it is all in Dad's damaged head. In a way the mysterious occurrences that have befallen the family could be a manifestation of a deeply rooted sense of guilt within Dad, since he is sure that the ghastly apparition that has set to haunt him is his old friend out for revenge after the accident claimed his entire family. "Luciferous" cast is actually a real family, giving the film a sense of realism and true dynamic among them, Mom and Dad do commendable jobs, but it is little Mina who truly steals the show with her riveting performance. The film makes some very smart decisions and is well aware of how much it can actually get away with effectively with the minimum resources it has. Instead of trying to shoot things that are completely out of its league, "Luciferous" makes the smart choice to go for a slow burn and a mounting sense of dread throughout the film, without the need to resort to cheap VFX or make-up, it builds an effective creep factor from some well place shots and clever editing. At its core, "Luciferous" manages to convey the idea that it is perhaps wiser to fear the living than to fear the dead, and while its final twist may seem completely out of nowhere, it still played a good hand of bait and switch. Always keeping us guessing, whether there is a true demonic presence tormenting this family, or if evil lies closer than we think, right within the human heart.The final twist can be hard to buy, for the film spends so much time diverting our attention somewhere else that it really never takes its time to set up a few clues let us in on what might be happening. It works both against and on its favor, for it never really comes off as predictable. Perhaps the biggest head-scratcher was the true motivations behind the orchestrator of these events, perhaps a bit more build-up to it would have been more cohesive for the twist to work. "Luciferous" is a great example of creating an effective, slow burn chiller with creativity and awareness of resources, creating a much more organic and grounded horror.

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• Awful, Boring, Ridiculous and with One of the Silliest Plot Points Ever

  claudio_carvalho2016-10-15

  The family man Alex (Alexander Gorelick) lives a normal life with his wife Mahsa (Mahsa Ghorbankarimi) and their daughter Mina (Mina Gorelick) in a middle-class apartment. Alex has a trauma and uses strong medication since he accidentally killed his friend Peter in a car accident. Out of the blue, wicked things happen with Alex and his family and he believes Peter is haunting them. Is Alex delusional with his medication? "Luciferous" is an awful, boring and ridiculous film with one of the silliest plot points ever made. The overrated IMDb User rating and a couple of fake reviews lure the users and fans of horror movies. Life is too short to spend 90 minutes watching this flick. My vote is one (awful). Title (Brazil): Not Available (fortunately)

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• Horrible

  oldee6242016-04-10

  Someone please tell me what the hell this movie is about and what is happening. Who is John? Who killed the little girl. Is this real. Was there malevolent force? Who was the malevolent force? And , I agree, if that little girl did not get killed soon with all that whining and mommies, if I had a gun would shoot her myself. Just, Horrible! From what I can gather, the father was being possessed; or you may believe he had a brain injury which altered his personality to a more violent one. He was not aware of his actions; either due to the injury or the demonic force in the house. Somehow they left the house and everything was okay; but again, that could be psychosomatic also. Anyway, it goes; they all deserved something bad to happen in the end; each member of the family was extremely annoying. Maybe that's how the movie intended it to be. You, the viewer becoming the ultimate evil force in wanting to kill them all or see them gone!

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