I have to admit, I was a little...disappointed. It had a great word of mouth but ultimately, like you said, too many familiar horror elements for it to have a lasting impression on me.

Although I do agree with you in that it is refreshing that it's a decent movie that's a) not a comic book one (not that I have anything against those and b) doesn't contain anything supernatural.

@northcoast said:

Oh, and if you do see this film-- stick around through the end credits.

It's funny: You mentioned the MCU. Clearly, they have made this thing into an ongoing trend, making end credits that you want to sit through.

I liked it. It's nothing new, it's simple, straight forward, but does that well. A good time, no alcohol required.

@northcoast said:

It uses many familiar horror-film elements, such as young people being punished for being "naughty", and an overused, subdued, ethereal musical score in the background, and quick unexpected kills, and characters acting stupid, and a "final girl". But, to me at least, this film also rose above-- even if only slightly --so much of the other standard horror fare out there.

For one thing, there was no supernatural element to this film, which I found refreshing (even the Friday the 13th films can still be considered supernatural, since Jason cannot be killed).

For those who like to parse and debate how to define a movie genre, this is a primary pivot in the simple distinction between horror and thriller; horror tends to involve the supernatural, while thriller tends to be natural, as in, could possibly happen.

Yes, this is simplistic. Yes, there are movies that blur that line. But, simply put, "scary" can be scary because it could happen (The Silence of the Lambs, Seven) or just because, even though it can't happen (Jason, Michael, Freddy, Candyman, Dracula), the ideas and images are still scary.

At any rate, if this movie did not employ a supernatural device, I'd say it's better considered a thriller. Here in TMDb, it's got both thriller and horror tags, because it is a debate, and there are other aspects of the genres that overlap sufficiently that, sometimes, it's a coin toss which it should be considered.

And the lake by the house.

Well I wasn't expecting explicit sex due to the caliber of the actresses, even though the gore is very explicit, but I was expecting more and better nude scenes from Mia e nude scenes from Ortega too.

@HikariWS said:

And the lake by the house.

Well I wasn't expecting explicit sex due to the caliber of the actresses, even though the gore is very explicit, but I was expecting more and better nude scenes from Mia e nude scenes from Ortega too.

I will say that I was surprised by Brittany Snow's topless scene, given that I'd only previously known her as the wholesome girl from the TV show American Dreams. And yes, I think a lot of people wouldn't have minded seeing a nude Jenna Ortega, but (sigh) I knew enough about her before seeing this movie to guess that it probably wasn't going to happen, given a certain image that I think she'd like to maintain.

Then again, I was wrong about Ms. Snow, so . . . maybe one day.;)

@northcoast said:

@HikariWS said:

And the lake by the house.

Well I wasn't expecting explicit sex due to the caliber of the actresses, even though the gore is very explicit, but I was expecting more and better nude scenes from Mia e nude scenes from Ortega too.

I will say that I was surprised by Brittany Snow's topless scene, given that I'd only previously known her as the wholesome girl from the TV show American Dreams. And yes, I think a lot of people wouldn't have minded seeing a nude Jenna Ortega, but (sigh) I knew enough about her before seeing this movie to guess that it probably wasn't going to happen, given a certain image that I think she'd like to maintain.

Then again, I was wrong about Ms. Snow, so . . . maybe one day.;)

Brittany Snow was 15-19 years old when she played Meg Pryor in "American Dreams (2002-2005)". Since then she has moved on and had her share of (clothed) sex scenes in movies like "On the Doll (2007)" , "The Vicious Kind (2009)" and "Hooking Up (2020)". It has been rumoured that her first nude scene was in the unreleased - it was only shown at The Marché du Film in Cannes, France - movie "Black Water Transit (2009)".

Jenna Ortega is 21 years old and still in the 'tease and shock' phase of her acting carreer. On the Red Carpet you can see her in revealing clothes, like this, this and this. Her latest movie, the erotic thriller "Miller's Girl (2024)" has caused some controversy about the intimate scenes.