Shelley

source: Shelley

Louise (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) recently had an operation and needs help around the small farm. Her husband (Peter Christoffersen) hires a house keeper/farm hand Elena (Cosmina Stratan). They have no electricity and Elena adapts to the rustic lifestyle. As the women bond, Louise confides she wants a child, but can't carry one. She has some frozen embryos. Elena accepts the offer and carries the child which after awhile, things change. The DVD cover gives us the baby carriage/ "Rosemary's Baby" theme, but that is never developed in the film. There was some earth/pagan/ natural beliefs, but nothing that manifested itself as horror or supernatural, just people behaving badly. I was bored with the film and conversations and unseen action scenes. They show Cosmina * while very pregnant. I don't know if this was special effects or the Demi Moore syndrome. I didn't feel I got closure, which appears to be the intent. Guide: F-word. Nudity (Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Cosmina Stratan)

A very interesting horror film which mostly leans on building an atmosphere of dread. It makes it successfully thanks to Ali Abassi's neat direction, the exciting photography (very good work with the lighting) and the well organized editing (pay attention to the rotation of the scenes which are taking place inside the house and the shots of the environment outside of it). The story of Shelley isn't very original but is told through a very elliptical narration. This will begrudge many viewers with limited patience since most of the answers the movie puts are not answered clearly. A daring way to narrate which i appreciated. 7/10

So it's a Horror movie and someone gets another person to carry their child for them. There could never go anything wrong now could there? Apart from the obvious and what we would expect (suspense, questions and themes of terror or at least Horror), this has some awkward acting in it. And while it may enhance the viewing experience for some, it may also feel wrong for a lot of others. So buckle up and take this trip, try to stay with it and figure out what is going on. It won't be too clear cut from the beginning and there is enough suspense to go around. It's a decent stab (excuse the pun) to deliver on the premise the movie has. If you like the Genre you probably will like this too

Although this movie fell under "Thriller" on Netflix, it is more of a horror movie. I don't care for horror because they are not made-well and always seem to be the juvenile, gratuitous-skin, slasher-kind . This movie, on the other hand, I really liked. It is the kind of movie that actually scared me. It is slow, but it builds-up and is well-acted. Could have done without the vaginal scene, but loved the build-up on the scare factor. People are posting that there is no plot and they didn't understand it. Leo put a spell on Elena, who in turn transferred to the baby and in turn transferred to the father-That's it. Just enjoy the movie!

But while you cared about Mia Farrow, you will be hoping the demon spawn of this clunker is born prematurely and eats the Valium-popping cast. It's that foreign, art house and joyless. I think there are maybe four lines of dialogue in the whole movie that are meaningful to the "plot". The rest of the drama is a series of thoroughly long, quiet and pretentious dramatic pauses of the typical and tiresome Scandinavian cinematic variety. Think about it this way: the most "likable" character is the bratty little kid who punches the annoying pregnant girl in the stomach.

The plot of the movie is simple but it develops fairly astonishingly. The dark atmosphere starts to appear from the beginning of the movie and turns into a not releasing stress in the middle. The suspend builds up all the way close to the ending which is the strength of this movie. The movie has three distinguishing features: The English language has made it possible to be understandable by many audiences and the writer has used the excuse of a foreign maid in the house for English language. I was sick of the ghosts of many recent horror movies which had their mouths open too wide and loud. This movie was a cool breeze away from the failed horrors. The director has done an amazing job to keep up the suspense with almost no special computer effect or crawling long hair lady. The performances of the actors were really satisfying. Except for the two women, the others were not talking that much which was good. The two women (Elena and Louis) were pretty good and amazing at some scenes. All by all, a great movie which I re-watch Although I would like it more if it was longer and it had more development at the ending.

A barren wife engages a maid in her remote home, before propositioning the girl with money to become a surrogate mother. The plan works ... until the baby kicks in. Direction and editing are very good, setting the scene at a fair pace in a claustrophobic world with only three characters. Particularly good early on is the relationship between the women, which gives a genuine feel of them getting to know each other and enjoying their company. Lovely acting, and I got a good chuckle when the maid stuck her tongue out. The sense of unease is created with subtle music, and the photography makes use of well lit landscapes and close ups. But why are we uneasy? I kept guessing where the threat was coming from, but sadly it comes from nowhere, so I began losing patience about halfway through. There were a couple of interesting efforts to deliver the evil eye from the baby, but it's another case for Inspector Babadook - horror methods used to give a frisson to personal difficulties that might be psychological, might be spiritual. Problems with the story. The maid's background is interesting - educated but poor immigrant ground up by the West's wealth machine, but that doesn't inform her character, even though she's the plaything of unaccountably wealthy hippies. No attention paid to the fact she was effectively lured in with lies - when the proposition was made I was thinking, Uh oh. Apparently I was wrong. So where did we come from, and where did we end up? I dunno. Even the shaman departed in a state of confusion. This is a Danish production, but mostly in English in the first part, so no need for subtitles until about 40 mins. And the first time I've seen fisting in a drama - shouldn't he have had it torn off at the wrist? Overall, unfathomable because it lacks depth.

When I started watching this film had the idea that it would be more horror/Terror turned to psychological than to surprise, shock , it was like that , which in my view he managed to stand out in the genre , as well as The witch. The plot involved me from the middle to the end , the plot made ​​me really the climax with his photography and lighting, which incidentally, are noteworthy. The performances are also favorable , especially bathtub scene . The soundtrack is simple (no exuberant moments ) leaving most of the environment and sound that, at least in this film is good, it was more that made ​​me enter the atmosphere . Note eight because of good photography , lighting and acting.

Look - I cannot imagine what it takes for a group of dedicated professionals to film a horror movie like Shelley. The countless time spent to get the shots right. The lights. Makeup. Actors. For all of the effort taken to make a movie look gorgeous and haunting - one might consider a script that takes less risks to alienate the audience with artistic decisions and instead uses a story with more clarity and a stronger reversal of expectation. This movie is really well made - the story begins with a Romanian girl who goes to live with her boss and his wife in the woods - but they have no electricity. This seems strange - and soon it gets even more strange when our young heroine agrees to be a surrogate mother for the couple. She becomes pregnant and soon there are signs of darkness - eerie dreams and a visit from a black hound. Then her body begins to decay as the life inside of her grows. This gets worse and more painful to experience for her and for the audience as well. Then - the film gets very strange and pretty scary but I honestly admit I had a hard time following the story. I believe the Romanian girl dies giving birth? Or - she goes missing? Or - she stays in the house but is out of sight? The couple begin to raise the child but soon they too have dark experiences and seem to be going down the same path as the surrogate mother. There is a final moment that sheds some profound insight into intimacy and childbirth that is pretty chilling - but it is also very confusing and full of symbolism that may have passed me by. Our conclusion is a final shot - and I am not sure what I saw - but I think the young Romanian girl who served as the surrogate mother looms in the background and observes the current mom as she holds the baby - and the baby seems to enjoy the fact it's birth is death itself. I think it's an evil demon - or Satan - or something - but honestly I dunno. I have watched a lot of horror movies and I have seen this type of end before - ambiguous and puzzling, perhaps to a fault. Yet I admit that as a man I might need to understand the pain of giving birth and the psychological horror of what could go wrong that all pregnant woman - may experience. This movie is 100% worth it if you love horror and want to watch a well made film. It is intelligent and controversial and artistic - and some of the creative choices are confusing. I look forward to another film by this filmmaker.