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We Need to Do Something

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While We Need to Do Something can feel as unfocused as its title, it offers eerily timely genre thrills, soaked in claustrophobic dread.

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‘We Need To Do Something’ Review: A Single-Room Horror That Could Use More Air

A dysfunctional family is trapped in a bathroom while strange phenomena occur outside in this solidly made but dramatically stifled debut.

By Jessica Kiang

Jessica Kiang

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We Need to Do Something

Substitute “virus” for “tornado,” as the initial external threat and slot in “mandatory self-isolation” for “fallen tree that makes escape impossible” and it would seem Sean King O’Grady’s “ We Need to Do Something ” has instant allegorical relevance. It hardly takes a PhD in advanced semiotics for the pandemic-battered soul to identify with the plight of an archetypically unhappy family trapped in their bathroom while God-knows-what rages outside.

But releasing a single-location horror just as we all emerge from our own single-location horrors is a double-edged shard of broken bathroom mirror. Imagine “Sharknado” playing to an audience of marine biologists — ours are now the keen, jaded eyes of newly-minted experts in quarantine derangement syndrome. So we can’t help but see all the ways the film, which abandons allegory in favor of lurching grotesquery rather too quickly, fails to capture the actual psychological awfulness of being trapped too near your nearest and dearest, with no end in sight.

Instead of creeping claustrophobia, fraying familial bonds and eroding social skills, we get the more dramatic yet somehow more banal terrors of poisonous critters, mysterious gunfire, disembodied rasping voices and a dismembered organ that twitches, bloodily, in a sink. Which is all fine and good — especially the neat practical effects, and Shane Patrick Ford’s gloomy but surprisingly dextrous small-space camerawork. But when these episodes turn out to have little significance beyond their jump-scare or gross-out value, whatever glancing topicality the setup may have is lost, and you feel a little foolish for looking for it. When, late in the film, a phone’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” ringtone sounds out, it’s hard to escape the suspicion we’ve been Rickrolled.

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Pink-haired, pouting teen Melissa (Sierra McCormick) hurries back through a gathering storm from a date with her new girlfriend Amy (Lisette Alexis), a painstakingly styled goth with razor-blade earrings and a lattice of self-harm scars up her arm. Scolded by her mother Diane (Vinessa Shaw) for being late, Melissa, her younger brother Bobby (John James Cronin), her mom and dad Robert (Pat Healy) hunker down in the bunker-like bathroom while tremendous thundercracks sound outside and their phones blink tornado warnings. There’s a power cut and a loud thump and once the storm subsides, the door can only be opened a couple of inches. No one comes to help, phones don’t connect and the noises from outside are becoming more sinister and less explicable.

Greater nastiness still may lie within. Certainly Robert, an alcoholic, apparently abusive husband to Diane and a scornful, neglectful father to the kids, is in a rage even before they realize they’re trapped, and only becomes more blustery as the hours tick hungrily into days, weird things start to happen and cabin fever sets in. Melissa flashes back to her relationship with the troubled Amy, and starts to wonder if maybe their antics might be obscurely responsible for the whatever-it-is causing their predicament.

Part of the issue is that aside from the few, shallow-focus flashback scenes with Melissa and Amy that hint at a whole different film (specifically “The Craft” minus the mischief or the insights into self-conscious, hormonal teenage girls) we get no sense of who these people were before. Indeed in Robert and Diane’s case, it’s hard to believe they’ve ever been in the same room, let alone shared a life together.

From the outset, Healy’s Robert, a middle-management type in a short-sleeved shirt and tie, is crazy-eyed, clench-jawed, apoplectic, Willy Loman by way of Jack Torrance. Shaw, quietly impressive and restrained as always, is far subtler as Diane — neither performer’s choice is wrong, exactly, but this is a small room to be asked to contain two entirely different schools of acting. That schism, between schlocky supernatural chiller and psychological-disintegration thriller is never reconciled, certainly not by a final denouement that is as overexplained as it is unsatisfying.

Perhaps its scares work more evocatively on the page of screenwriter Max Booth III’s novel than in his screen adaptation. But more than most movie genres, horror relies on there being more than just what we see on the screen, and although “We Need to Do Something” wants us to infer cataclysms happening just outside the frame, it is as trapped therein as the characters are in that damn bathroom.

Reviewed online in Tribeca Film Festival (Midnight), June 15, 2021. Running time: 97 MIN.

  • Production: An IFC Films release and presentation of a Hantz Motion Pictures, Atlas Industries production. (World sales: The Coven, Lyon.) Producers: Bill Stertz, Josh Malerman, Ryan Lewis, Peter Block. Executive Producers: Lauren Hantz, John Hantz, Donovan Leitch, Katherine Waddell, Max Booth III.
  • Crew: Director: Sean King O'Grady. Screenplay: Max Booth III, based on his novella. Camera: Shane Patrick Ford. Editor: Jean-Philippe Bernier. Music: David Chapdelaine.
  • With: Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, Lisette Alexis, John James Cronin.

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We Need to Do Something Successfully Creates Its Own Horror Rules

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Horror films set in one location can be difficult to execute effectively, but IFC Midnight's  We Need to Do Something   rises to the occasion. The film's simplicity serves it well. That being said, it also feels grandiose in its narrative choices -- making it feel like the largest, scale self-contained horror movie ever made. Isolation is a relevant feeling in today's tumultuous times. Even though its script was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic began, We Need to Do Something brilliantly alludes to the world's current global struggle of feeling disconnected.

Directed by Sean King O'Grady and written by Max Booth III, We Need to Do Something follows a family of four who become trapped in their bathroom after a tree falls down during a storm and locks them all inside. As the days continue, it becomes obvious that no one is coming to help the family escape the claustrophobic situation. However, the storm is not the real issue. Rather, what's at play is something much more sinister. Things become dire when horrors from the outside world start to slither into the bathroom, and teenage daughter Melissa (Sierra McCormick) realizes that this whole horrific encounter may be her fault.

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We Need to Do Something makes very impressive usage of its single location. Brilliant cinematography and artful direction make this bathroom feel like a neverending hellscape. The film plays with reality, making the space feel much larger than it really is as the family is forced to live out of their bathroom for an unspecified amount of time. The film is also extremely frightening, even though it leaves most of its scares up to the imagination. While the audience is given the blueprint for its scares, the film also forces the viewer to immerse themselves into the experience instead of being hand-fed the film's ideas with exposition.

We Need to Do Something 's four leads have beautiful chemistry together and form a believable family. From the beginning, it's easy to care about the main characters, which makes it that much harder to see them unravel. Pat Healy, who plays the patriarch of the family, gives one of his most memorable performances to date in a depiction of madness that channels Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining . Vinessa Shaw also holds her own as the caring mom, but McCormick is the real standout here. She delivers a subtle yet powerful portrayal of a vibrant teen who got involved with stuff that was way over her head.

We Need to Do Something is beautifully woven in a way that many other single-location horror films aren't. It's an intricate story that uses its element of shock for careful reasons. This film blends several different elements of horror that usually aren't mixed together into a pretty diabolical concoction. The film's flashbacks play like an entirely different movie, feeling like a modern indie version of The Craft , and the end of the film mixes all of its ideas into a clever cautionary tale that packs a huge, but subtle punch. Overall, We Need to Do Something is a visionary film that not only breaks all the horror rules but rewrites them entirely.

We Need to Do Something opens Friday, September 3 in select theaters and on VOD.

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We Need To Do Something Review: Terror On The Tiles

Melissa standing in the bathroom

Whether it's intentional or not, the horror genre always reflects the anxieties and fears of the current moment. It might be something the filmmakers deliberately mine, something we as viewers find within the darkest parts of ourselves, or a combination of both, but the right horror film can somehow both entertain you and cut right to the heart of the existential dread that lives in your very soul on the exact day you watch it.

With all that in mind, it shouldn't be surprising that "We Need to Do Something" was filmed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and it also shouldn't be surprising that the film's tremendous sense of familial tension and isolation might shake to your core if you've spent the last 18 months looking at the same four walls. With just five major characters and most of its runtime contained within a single room in a storm-battered house, it's easy to see the parallels. Look closer, though, and "We Need to Do Something" is a film about much more than the horrors of isolation and lockdown, though it certainly mines those ideas for everything they're worth. With a stripped-down, claustrophobic atmosphere, a phenomenal cast, and a filmmaking team that knows how to extract maximum effect from minimalist surroundings, "We Need to Do Something" has emerged as one of the most potent new horror films of 2021, one that will leave you squirming to get out of your house, if only to make sure the outside world is still there.

Big scares in a small room

Directed by Sean King O'Grady and written by Max Booth III (who also wrote the novella on which the film is based), "We Need to Do Something" begins with an infectious combination of the mundane and the menacing through the simple depiction of a family of four hunkering down in their bathroom to wait out a coming storm. Everyone's on edge for their own reasons as they close the door and settle in on the tile floor. Father Robert (Pat Healy) and mother Melissa (Vinessa Shaw) are seemingly still mid-argument about something they couldn't settle before the storm sirens started going off, while youngest child Bobby (John James Cronin) is more concerned about just how big and spectacular the oncoming storm might get. Then there's teenage daughter Melissa (Sierra McCormick), who's far more preoccupied with the well-being of her girlfriend Amy (Lisette Alexis) than she is with anything having to do with her actual family.

Then the storm sets in, and the family find themselves dealing with much more than internal tension. With a massive tree suddenly blocking the bathroom door, they can't get out, and they can't seem to find a way to call for help either. With no one to turn to but each other, each member of the family begins to break down in their own way, even as the world outside the bathroom might hold something far darker than the aftermath of a storm, something Melissa is increasingly convinced she might have inadvertently summoned...

That's a lot to layer into the opening act of the film, and what's apparent right away is how patient and measured O'Grady is in his pacing. There's something very methodical to this film's opening minutes, to the ways in which O'Grady's choices and Booth's scripting set up the pieces like they're all part of some demented cosmic chessboard. It begins with a tantalizing, incredibly brief glimpse of the world beyond the bathroom walls, then progresses to layering in the internal tension between the family members, then starts to hint at something darker, something stranger, just beyond the bathroom walls. By the time the first act is over, you're hooked, because you're just as mystified and terrified about what's outside that bathroom door as the characters are.

But the real key to the success of "We Need to Do Something" is not just its ability to sustain the sense of tension and mystery within the bathroom, but its ability to push beyond those initial moments of fear and panic and into a deeper, darker kind of fear. Through artfully designed and well-placed flashbacks, we learn what Melissa and Amy were doing in the lead-up to the storm, how their fates intertwined, and what their choices might have to do with everything going on, whether that's all in Melissa's head or not. This facet of the story, driven by incredible performances from McCormick and Alexis, pushes the film beyond apocalyptic horror and into earnest, almost mystical coming-of-age territory, as Melissa works to discover not just what she might have done, but why. When you're a teenager, everything can feel like the end of the world, whether it's a bad grade or a good kiss, and "We Need to Do Something" raises the stakes of its intricate, intimate storytelling by never losing sight of that fact.

Powerful performances

Of course, that intimacy doesn't work without a cast to carry it along, and "We Need to Do Something" is blessed with a quintet of pitch-perfect performances. McCormick, who caught the eye of many genre fans with "The Vast of Night" in 2019, continues to up her game with performances like this one, simultaneously vulnerable and powerful, radiating an inner intensity through her expressive eyes. She's the heart of the film, while Shaw and Healy, with impressive filmographies of their own, work as the lungs, continually raising and lowering the tension with the rhythms of their performances as two parents both in over their heads and sick of each other. As the film wears on, Melissa's backstory takes center stage, but Bobby and Diane have a story of their own, and Healy and Shaw make sure you'll never forget it. Then, of course, there's Cronin, who has his own emotional load to carry throughout the film, and who navigates it with grace and depth, and Alexis, who exerts tremendous influence over the film's emotional tone despite sharing the screen with only one other character in a handful of scenes. It all amounts to an astonishing piece of ensemble horror storytelling — all these people feel so real that the deeper the film descends into madness, the farther we're willing to go with them.

"We Need to Do Something" probably wouldn't work, or at least wouldn't work as well, without the power of the performances at its core. That's just the nature of movies with this level of stripped-down intimacy, but that's not to say the craft applied elsewhere should be neglected. O'Grady has built an impressive, taut, surprise-packed puzzle box of horror with "We Need to Do Something," and he's done it with his feature directorial debut. This is an impressive announcement of a bright new directorial voice in horror filmmaking, but it's also something more. It's a compelling, often strangely moving story of apocalyptic teenage longing, a thriller about a family coming apart at the seams, and the kind of film we'll be talking about a decade from now as a clear and powerful encapsulation of the horrors of the moment we're living in.

"We Need to Do Something" is in theaters and on demand September 3. 

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Movie Review – We Need to Do Something (2021)

October 21, 2021 by Robert Kojder

We Need to Do Something , 2021.

Directed by Sean King O’Grady. Starring Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, John James Cronin, Lisette Alexis, and Ozzy Osbourne.

After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm, they become trapped. With no sign of rescue, hours turn to days and Melissa comes to realize that she and her girlfriend Amy might have something to do with the horrors that threaten to tear her family – and the entire world, apart.

A complement of the highest order, there’s only one question to ask once We Need to Do Something concludes; is director Sean King O’Grady okay in the head? I don’t have the answer, but I can tell you that if you enjoy witchcraft, body horror, excessive amounts of blood, charged family drama, demonic tongues, chamber thrills, or some combination of the above, there’s no reason to skip out on an experience this demented and warped. The fact that it’s Sean King O’Grady’s debut narrative feature (adopting both a novella and script from Max Booth III) makes this all the more impressive, as while the specifics of the story are still uneven and flawed, the zeal and confidence to put something this bonkers out into the world deserve to be commended. It’s a movie where Ozzy Osbourne has a voice cameo, nowhere near the strangest ingredient.

We Need to Do Something is very much a film built on surprises and swerves, so details on the plot will be left vague. However, what can be said is that the narrative centers on a dysfunctional family taking shelter in their bathroom for the night throughout a dangerously raging thunderstorm. Booming almost as large as every crack of lightning is the increasingly irritable voice of Robert (Pat Healy, only a “dumbass” quip away from resembling Kurtwood Smith, albeit with more toxicity and hostility), demanding to know who his wife Diane (Vinessa Shaw) is texting. He suspects infidelity, but given his temperamental behavior, it’s hard to blame her for doing so if that’s what’s going on.

Their children are teenage daughter Melissa (Sierra McCormick) and young Bobby (John James Cronin), who bicker as siblings often do, especially under harsh circumstances. Melissa is spamming her girlfriend Amy (Lisette Alexis) with messages hoping she is safe from the storm, whereas Bobby excitedly wonders if there will be an F5 tornado. The situation goes from bad to worse with a power outage, but as the rest of the family unites and starts to support one another, Robert only becomes more volatile. With no way out (which may be challenging to overlook and contrived for some), he switches between modes of emotional terrorism and a mildly caring father with little warning. Nonetheless, it’s clear to everyone that he is the one they should truly fear.

Breaking up those arguments are flashbacks to Melissa and Amy (the former believes that the thunderstorm, which seems to be morphing into some apocalypse) as they first get to know one another, fall in love, and eventually start experimenting with necromancy spells to get revenge on a local creepy boy spreading rumors about them. Admittedly, this relationship portion of the film feels underwritten and meant to explain away and push other aspects of the plot along, but it’s not without unsettling moments.

As if the multiple intersecting story elements weren’t enough to keep viewers off-balance, We Need to Do Something also oscillates between black humor and uncomfortable terror. Pat Healy is dialed up to 11 and going for broke. At the same time, the rest of the cast ground everything emotionally in devastating contrast to a father whose actions become straight-up disturbing. There is also a nightmare sequence that, putting it bluntly, fucked me up with its sense of place in the narrative and grotesque imagery. Toss in several other unpredictable elements, and you have a movie that’s the equivalent of funhouse horror with genuinely tragic moments. Yes, aspects such as the editing, pacing, and writing could be fine-tuned, but it’s nearly impossible to come away from We Need to Do Something without a rush of frightful adrenaline from a new voice that should already be thrown money to make whatever he wants.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Film review: we need to do something (2021).

Janel Spiegel 06/26/2022 Film Reviews

movie review we need to do something

Seeking Shelter from a storm, a family find themselves trapped for days with no sign of rescue and untold evils lurking just beyond the walls in this wildly fun horse-of-horrors thrill ride.

Sean King O’Grady directed We Need To Do Something, and Max Booth III wrote it. It’s based on the novella.

The film opens with a stunning view of the town the family lives in, and we meet the family. Diane the mom portrayed by Vinessa Shaw, Melissa (Sierra McCormick), Robert the father (Pat Healy), and Bobby (John James Cronin). There is a bad storm, possibly a tornado, and the family decides to lock themselves in the bathroom. Normally it’s a basement but a bathroom could be good too. The bathroom looks big by the way, like a living room.

movie review we need to do something

The father seems to be short with his family. No patience and annoyed. Robert and Diane don’t want each other on each other’s phones either. It’s rather strange. There is a flashback to Melissa with her friend Amy, and she wants to stay in contact with Amy during the storm. They wind up getting trapped in the bathroom, and Melissa’s phone gets lost.

No help has showed up yet, they are seeing snakes. The father has an alcohol problem, he resorts to chugging mouth wash. What in the Poltergeist is going on? So, now they hear noises from outside the door, and no one has come to help. Ozzy Osbourne is the voice of the Good Boy. The family thinks it’s a dog that’s come to save them but it’s not a dog.

movie review we need to do something

Melisa and Amy (Lisette Alexis) have been dabbling in magic, maybe dark magic? Who knows? A lot is happening to this family. I’m not sure how many days they have been trapped in this bathroom but it’s insane. We Have To Do Something is a supernatural mind-fuck of a movie. It takes you on various creepy routes. You find yourself fascinated, and you want to know what this mysterious creature or force is? Will Reverend Kane show up and scare the shit out of the creature?

Vinessa Shaw and Pat Healy are so good in this movie. They are playing off of each other, and you don’t trust Robert at all, at least I don’t. Sierra McCormick put her all into Melissa, she gave this tortured character heart and soul. The Voice at the Door is Dan John Miller.

The cast and the story are good. It makes you think about life but it’s a fun scary movie. You can grab a drink, snacks, and have a fun movie to watch with friends. We find out some more wild stuff and also, is Amy real? It gets weird. When I say that, I sort of mean is Amy another version of Melissa? Maybe, I took the deep dive too far? It’s a trippy movie. The cinematography is amazing. The fact that it takes place in a bathroom is crazy because you would think it would be BLAH! But, it’s not.

movie review we need to do something

Also, in regards to witch craft, learn and understand witchcraft. Don’t mess with anything you don’t fully understand. Amy reminds me of Nancy from The Craft , she wants all of this and isn’t entirely sure if it will fully happen? Vinessa Shaw is so calm and collected throughout the movie. She’s a force to reckoned with.

This family is barely holding on, and Robert can’t get himself under control. People always think kids don’t know stuff in regards to their parents. If there is some kind of sadness, heartache, or things like being an alcoholic or an addict. Kids know, they can see it and sense it. It’s horrible to grow up in situations like that. You don’t know the next move, the next screaming match? It’s torment.

movie review we need to do something

I would suggest picking up the Blu-Ray and watching the movie. We Need To So Something is a supernatural mind-fuck of a movie. It takes you on this journey that is frightening.

Make sure to check out We Need To Do Something.

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We Need to Do Something – Movie Review (3/5)

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | Sep 2, 2021 | 4 minutes

We Need to Do Something – Movie Review (3/5)

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING is a horror movie with a lot of symbolism. Most of the movie takes place in one room. The only exception being a few flashbacks. It’s too long but has very strong moments. Read our full We Need to Do Something  movie review here!

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING is a new horror movie that plays out almost entirely in one room. A bathroom where a family is seeking shelter from a storm. The film has a lot of symbolism and not all of it is as easy to decipher as this film requires. As someone from the LGBTQ community, I can identify some of the subjects covered.

YOU MIGHT LIKE Our review of the LGBTQ-themed Shudder horror movie  Spiral  here >

However, I would not expect this to be easy for just anyone to catch onto. You need to pay close attention to the flashbacks and reactions of the teenage daughter to catch the details. And no, it’s not all-important to enjoy the film but the story is a bit messy without these details and facts.

Continue reading our We Need to Do Something  movie review below.

A little less conversation, a little more action!

Overall, We Need to Do Something suffers from the one thing a “one location story” just cannot suffer from; Too much dialogue and not enough progress! We have seen quite a few amazing movies with one-location restraints. Hell, sometimes the films even feature just one actor on screen and it still works.

And I don’t mind dialogue-heavy movies. Not in the least. Hell, there are even moments where a monologue (often a story told by a character) can be the most intense and scary thing in the entire movie. For  We Need to Do Something , there are just too many lulls in the pacing.

Also, the characters do stupid things and react in ways that are difficult to understand.

We Need to Do Something – Horror Review

Strong little cast

For We Need to Do Something , we get four pretty cool characters – and awesome actors portraying them – caught in a rather large bathroom. In other words, there should be plenty to work with. However, the storyline does go around in circles a lot and much is never actually revealed. It just gets tired and boring, which I did not expect after the first half of the film.

I mean, the core cast consists of Pat Healy as the (very unlikable in every  way) dad, Vinessa Shaw as the (loving and badass) mom, Sierra McCormick as the teen (and LGBTQ) daughter, and John James Cronin as the (obvious baby of the family) son.

We’ve loved Pat Healy in movies like Cheap Thrills (2013) and he played a very laidback character in the Hulu horror movie Run . His character in this new movie is the least favorite role of his, for me. Vinessa Shaw was awesome in Clinical and  Family Blood and you may also know her from the 2006  The Hills Have Eyes .

CHECK THIS OUT The Netflix horror-thriller Clinical starring Vinessa Shaw is worth watching >

Sierra McCormick just starred in the two opening episodes of the new  AHS  spin-off American Horror Stories   so she was fresh in my memory. She delivers a strong performance in  We Need to Do Something .

Also, Sierra McCormick essentially carries the story and plays the only family member we see outside of the bathroom. This is in flashbacks with the character, Amy, played by Lisette Alexis who is also really good. More scenes with these two would have been a plus in terms of storytelling.

Watch  We Need to Do Something in theaters or On-Demand!

Sean King O’Grady is the director of We Need to Do Something and he has landed a strong cast, which should have resulted in a better overall movie. At least, I expected more from this based on the cast and plot. This is the feature film debut of Sean King O’Grady as a director and hopefully, we’ll see more from him soon.

There was  definite  potential. Just also a lack of proper pacing, too long of a runtime, and more symbolism than needed. The latter might have more to do with the script than the directing.

The screenplay was written by Max Booth III and is based on a novella by him as well. I have not read the original story, so I can’t say how well it has been adapted here. However, since the author also wrote the screenplay, I can only assume it included whatever he felt was most important.

I would recommend watching this for about 75 percent of its runtime. However, the final 15 minutes or so go off on a tangent that doesn’t suit the overall movie. Not in my opinion, in any case. Sure, the actual final moments are pretty (bloody) awesome but they don’t hit nearly as hard due to the weak moments leading up to it.

We Need to Do Something  is out in theaters and On-Demand from September 3, 2021.

Director: Sean King O’Grady Writer: Max Booth III Stars: Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, Lisette Alexis, John James Cronin

Seeking shelter from a storm, a family find themselves trapped for days with no sign of rescue and untold evils lurking just beyond the walls in this wildly fun house-of-horrors thrill ride.

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We need to do something (2021) review, depending on your point of view, we need to do something, is either a horrible, incomplete shell or a brilliant, symbolic, intellectual study of the human psyche and family dynamics..

We Need To Do Something (2021) Review

Family – love them or hate them, one thing is certain…you're stuck with them.  Of course, I'm speaking metaphorically but what if you really were stuck with them?  Would you all be able to survive together in a small space without wanting to kill each other?  For some families, the answer is yes while for others there seems to be a much more grey area.  Combining that concept with some horror/supernatural elements, writer Max Booth III ( Satan His Own Self ) and, making his feature film directorial debut, Sean King O'Grady bring a unique look inside the typical family, who maybe isn't that typical after all.

Making its way around the film festival circuit, We Need to Do Something, starts off just like any other dysfunctional family taking shelter from a storm and possible tornado inside one of the bathrooms in their home.  However, the more we watch them, the more we realize there is much more going on underneath the surface.  The cast of characters includes Pat Healy ( Cheap Thrills ) as the father, Robert, Vinessa Shaw ( The Hills Have Eyes ) as the mother, Diane, Sierra McCormick ( Curb Your Enthusiasm ) as the rebellious teenage daughter, Melissa, and John James Cronin ( Mrs. Fletcher ) as their approximately ten-year-old son, Bobby.  

Just from an outsider's glance it is easy to tell dad has anger issues, among other problems, Mom has detached herself from her marriage, Melissa is very "alternative" in her fashion, thinking and has little desire to be with her family and Bobby is a nerdy bundle of energy.  When they all end up stuck together after a tree falls on their house, blocking the bathroom door, their family dynamic becomes much more interesting.  As does the world outside the confines of their bathroom.

For me, I have two different schools of thought about We Need to Do Something .  The first idea is that this is nothing more than a horror movie with supernatural forces working against the family.  The second, and certainly a more interesting idea, is that the bathroom is symbolic for the family being "stuck" in life and the threat on the other side of the bathroom door is the outside forces tearing their family apart.  

The second theory regarding the plot makes the movie much more metaphorical with ideas/symbols that could be analyzed to death in college film classes across the country.  The first theory is that it is simply a supernatural thriller about a family trying to survive. From a critical perspective, the second version is deep and thought-provoking, but the first version is just another stupid, non-sensical movie.  

The cast is strong, and they play off each other beautifully.  Healy has the jerk of a father role down pat and the audience would be hard-pressed to be sad if he died.  McCormick gives an excellent performance believing this is "all her fault".  Shaw is somewhat generic, and Cronin is really the only character out of the four that would evoke sympathy.  Lisette Alexis ( Waltz of the Angel s) as Melissa's girlfriend, Amy, is mysterious and intriguing, and mentally unstable.

Unfortunately, We Need to Do Something leaves the audience with a ton of unanswered questions, which is simply annoying.  In the end, there isn't any resolution and depending on how you interpret the movie, they are either screwed or they are going to try and face the "demons" lurking "outside".  

We Need to Do Something is either a horrible, incomplete shell of a horror movie or a brilliant, symbolic, intellectual study of the human psyche and family dynamics.  Sadly, it is hard to figure out which way the filmmakers were trying to go with it…and maybe I'm just reading too much into it.  At face value, it's not a great movie.

  • Sierra McCormick ,
  • Vinessa Shaw ,
  • Pat Healy ,
  • Lisette Alexis ,
  • John James Cronin ,
  • Ozzy Osbourne ,
  • Logan Kearney ,
  • Dan John Miller
  • Sean King O'Grady

Stream from Amazon Prime

For more information about We Need To Do Something visit the FlickDirect Movie Database . For more reviews by Allison Rose please click here.

We Need To Do Something images are courtesy of IFC Midnight. All Rights Reserved.

FlickDirect, Allison   Rose

Allison Rose, a Senior Correspondent and Critic at FlickDirect, is a dynamic presence in the entertainment industry with a communications degree from Hofstra University. She brings her film expertise to KRMS News/Talk 97.5 FM and broadcast television, and is recognized as a Tomatometer-Approved Critic . Her role as an adept event moderator in various entertainment industry forums underscores her versatility. Her affiliations with SEFCA, the Florida Film Critics Circle, and the Online Film Critics Society highlight her as an influential figure in film criticism and media.

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We Need To Do Something Review: A Horror Movie With Hits & Misses

We Need To Do Something is an intriguing horror movie with some parts that really work, and some that really don’t.

we need to do something

We Need To Do Something starts off slow and vague, but does eventually get into a decent horror story. After a storm traps a family inside their bathroom, the majority of the movie takes place inside this one room, where things start to completely unravel. With an unsatisfactory ending though, this movie will make most viewers wonder why they even bothered.

When a storm hits, a family of four goes into their bathroom to be protected from it. However, there is complete destruction and a tree blocks the door, causing them to be trapped for several days. Things get crazier and crazier as they are attacked by a snake, a dog, and area haunted by unexplainable noises. Melissa, the teenage daughter, starts to think these events might have been caused by something her and her girlfriend Amy did.

The movie is carried by a pretty decent cast, and some fun and gruesome effects. Yes, they are very much C horror effects, but they still help bring something interesting to the story. The plot itself is enough to keep the audience engaged for the most part, Unfortunately it does dip here and there, caused by the fact that there is a lot going on, maybe too much, going on.

The majority of the film takes place in that one room, with flashback explanations to a handful of other places. These mostly detail what Melissa has been up to with Amy. If We Need To Do Something played out in order, at least for the most part, instead of flashing back and forth, things might have been a bit more clear, which in turn would have made it a better movie.

As secrets and situations are revealed, the story itself only gets more and more crazy, causing viewers to come up with their own theories. There is one major issue though — the ending. It is extremely vague, seems to happen abruptly, and leaves viewers wondering what actually even just happened. What was the point of it all?

That being said, the majority of the journey is heart-poundingly intense, making it worth checking it out, if this is your sort of thing.

we need to do something

About We Need To Do Something

After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm, they become trapped. With no sign of rescue, hours turn to days and Melissa comes to realize that she and her girlfriend Amy might have something to do with the horrors that threaten to tear her family – and the entire world – apart.

We Need to Do Something opens in theaters, Digital, and VOD on September 3, 2021.

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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.

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We Need to Do Something

Where to watch

We need to do something.

Directed by Sean King O'Grady

It’s not just a storm. It’s something far more sinister.

Seeking shelter from a storm, a family finds themselves trapped in a bathroom for days with no sign of rescue and untold evils lurking just beyond the walls.

Sierra McCormick Vinessa Shaw Pat Healy John James Cronin Lisette Olivera Ozzy Osbourne Logan Kearney Dan John Miller

Director Director

Sean King O'Grady

Producers Producers

Ryan Lewis Josh Malerman Peter Block William Stertz Colin Duerr Dave Krieger John Malerman Bill Stertz

Writer Writer

Max Booth III

Original Writer Original Writer

Editor editor.

Shane Patrick Ford

Cinematography Cinematography

Jean-Philippe Bernier

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Michael Donald Bryant Kathryn Postema

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Lauren Hantz John Hantz Max Booth III Donovan Leitch Katherine Waddell

Lighting Lighting

Justin Ward

Production Design Production Design

Amy Williams

Art Direction Art Direction

Angie Hartley

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Katherine Akiko Day Jack Schmier

Special Effects Special Effects

Tina Zinski

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Patrick Longstreth

Stunts Stunts

Ele Bardha Dan Lemieux

Composer Composer

David Chapdelaine

Sound Sound

Colin Alexander Stefan Fraticelli Cruce Grammatico Justin Helle

Costume Design Costume Design

Makeup makeup.

Stein TD Anna Haduck Heather Galipo

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Heather Galipo

Atlas Industries Spin a Black Yarn Hantz Motion Pictures

Releases by Date

10 jun 2021, 13 oct 2021, theatrical limited, 03 sep 2021, 25 oct 2021, 28 apr 2023, releases by country.

  • Physical 16
  • Premiere Sitges Film Festival
  • Premiere Tribeca Film Festival
  • Theatrical limited NR

97 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Steph_h

Review by Steph_h ★½ 11

The thing that needs to be done is writing a better movie…

Anthony

Review by Anthony ★½ 3

It can’t be that hard to break down a door

MaxBoothIII

Review by MaxBoothIII 13

yo fuck this movie

what kind of bathroom has a door that opens OUTWARD? jesus christ talk about a PLOTHOLE

also the title is too long and starts on the wrong end of the alphabet

allie bug 𖦹⭒

Review by allie bug 𖦹⭒ ★★★★ 2

you make a movie about a lesbian witchy couple and give me the token grunge gf and bubblegum pink gf and expect me not to eat that shit up???? i’ve been waiting for this my whole life

Rosie

Review by Rosie ★★ 4

This is a psychological horror that takes place in a confined space, going from thrilling to annoying. Sierra McCormick stars as Melissa, a teenager trapped with her family in a bathroom after seeking shelter from a storm. With no indication of any rescue after some time had passed, they realized there’s something more terrifying is waiting outside their walls. We watched as each member of the family struggled with sensory overload generated by feeling trapped, which made me feel claustrophobic. It got intense at times. But the family was tropey and inept, it was hard to be invested in these characters. There were stock sound effects that were distracting. The film tried to be funny and serious, the tone and pacing were all over the place. And the reveal was lame. I don't know about this one.

theblairbitch

Review by theblairbitch ★★ 1

girl, what the fuck are you talking about?

colin...

Review by colin... ★★★ 2

I'm dealing with a constant fluctuation between being in complete awe of this movie and being incredibly frustrated.

There are two distinct parts to this film.

There is an incredibly tense and insane contained thriller about a family completely breaking down. It is genuinely some of the most terrifying stuff I've seen this year and, watching it at 2 AM, it was pretty effective. And when it climaxes, it doesn't disappoint. The dynamics are interesting to watch. The constant fear of what's going to happen next is gripping. The performances by everyone are amazing, especially McCormick, who after seeing in this and The Vast of Night is a complete star, and Pat Healy. It's breathtaking.

And then there's the second…

Ryan

Review by Ryan ★★★ 5

Simultaneously ridiculous, strangely believable, overdone, original, predictable, and surprising. Dread-inducing, completely claustrophobic, and unsettling without being bone-chilling or terrifying. Impressively ambiguous yet strikingly on-the-nose. Interestingly contradictory. 

Inaction, passivity, confusion, desperation, and exhaustion breed horror.  Time transforms, terrifies, and perplexes; an endless and constant stream of pain, anxiety, and perseverance.

aaron

Review by aaron ½ 1

the only redeeming quality was the beautiful bathroom

aaron

Review by aaron ★★½ 3

"Okay this is interesting..." ... "Okay this is American Horror Stories: Rubber Woman (pt 2)." ... "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK OH GOD OH GOD." ... "Ehhh that was okay? I guess?"

lucy

Review by lucy ★★ 2

2015 tumblr if it was a movie

Ian West

Review by Ian West ★★★ 1

Went in totally blind because of that poster art and liked this Claustrophobic psychological weirdo horror more than I thought I would. Elevated by Pat Healy (most things are).

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Reviews by someone who's seen the movie

The family in the dark

We Need to Do Something

There’s something of three different movie genres in We Need to Do Something . It’s an out and out supernatural horror movie featuring demonic creatures, a bit. An “escape room” thriller about the perils of not co-operating, a bit. And a fraught drama about a marriage collapsing, also a bit. Taken individually none of these genre strands does anything staggeringly original, technically remarkable or drivingly tense, but you’ve got to admire the way writer Max Booth III and director Sean King O’Grady stitch the parts together.

A family retires to a bathroom convinced a tornado is coming. It is, and within minutes of screen time the storm is howling all around them, eventually uprooting a tree outside, which topples and blocks their exit to the outside world. They can open the thick oak door a crack but nothing more. How many bathrooms give out onto the outside world? Not a question to ask right now.

Inside are Diane (Vinessa Shaw) and Robert (Pat Healy), parents to teenage pink-haired gothlet Melissa (Sierra McCormick) and her young brother Bobby (John James Cronin). In flashbacks we meet Melissa’s even more goth-like friend Amy (Lisette Alexis) – studs, crucifixes, tattoos and the self-harm scarring that comes from being a “cutter”. Also on the cast list, if you look at the IMDb, are Logan Kearney as Joe, a stalkery guy glimpsed once vaguely, Dan John Miller as the Voice at the Door, a fleeting beacon of hope, and Ozzy Osbourne as Good Boy. Don’t rent the film to watch on the strength of Osbourne, it’s a voice-only role and his contribution lasts maybe four/five words, but his name gives some idea of the territory we’re in.

I mention the other names really to point out that this is the four of them locked in the room, plus Amy briefly in flashback, but it really is four people in a room for the most of it. The electrical power tends to come and go and the family has water, but no food. Here beginneth the tormenting, and it comes at them from three different directions: outside, inside and… who knows?… below?

Dad begins to go nuts

From outside there are manifestations of the disrupted eco-system – snakes, mostly, the sort that rattle and bite, and a distinct lack of neighbourly assistance. From inside there’s the increasingly fraught relationship between Robert and Diane. From fragments of conversation we can gather that she might have been conducting an affair, on account of Robert being unbearable. From the supernatural realm there are menacing noises, a creature of some monstrousness at the door (the one with Ozzy’s voice) and the increasing realisation by Melissa that this might all be her fault. She’s been playing teenage voodoo – we see in flashback with Amy – and now the (headless) chickens have come home to roost.

The whole thing was shot during the Covid pandemic, and though it’s never referenced explicity, there is that life-in-a-time-of-affliction aspect hanging there for the taking, and family members forced into too-close proximity in a confined space is a kind of horror scenario a lot of people can buy into right now.

The flashback scenes – shot all woozily soft, shallow of focus, pastel of hue – provide a bit of relief from these four lock-ins. That’s when Melissa and Amy do their goth-bonding, plus the bit of gape-mouthed kissing that’s spotted by stalkery Joe and recorded on his phone, for wider dissemination later, prompting them to take supernatural action against him. Blood, wax, a bit of dessicated tongue, some Latin incantation… Joe’s in trouble.

But the main source of the trouble for the incarcerated family is Robert, who starts out in Big Dad mode – his joshing banter too personal, his dad-jokes too unfunny – and gets bigger and bigger, slurping mouthwash, sucking the alcohol wipes dry and over the days working himself into a frenzy of wild accusation – his wife’s a bitch, his daughter’s a witch etc etc, while DP Jean-Philippe Bernier ramps up the lurid horror lighting and director O’Grady ups the pace until… 

Pat Healy does a lovely job as the initially peevish, eventually monstrous Robert, for whom it does not end well. But one of the most satisfying aspects of the film is that it itself really does end well. It goes out on a high, still insisting that it’s a horror, a thriller and a drama all rolled into one and still, somehow, managing to pull it off.

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[imdb]tt13363828[/imdb]

Nightmarish Conjurings

[Movie Review] WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING

[Movie Review] WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING

  • August 31, 2021
  • Tom Milligan

[Movie Review] WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING

Of course, if you already are a horror fan, you’ll know that we’ve been seeing these already, with indies such as Rob Savage’s Host launching on Shudder last year to critical acclaim (though I had plenty of issues with the film myself). Borrowing from the playbook of “online” horror films such as Unfriended , Host is a ghost story for the COVID-19 era. Utilizing a Zoom interface, Host became a positive example of striking while the iron is hot, capitalizing on trends, activities, and the collective emotions we faced during the early quarantine stages of the pandemic.

Whereas movies like Host are set during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sean King O’Grady’s WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING serves as an allegory for the trauma of isolation that folks around the globe are now unfortunately all-too-familiar with.

Kicking things off with ominous dark clouds looming over small-town America, we’re introduced to a family of four as they take shelter in their bathroom during a tornado. Siblings Melissa ( Sierra McCormick ) and Bobby (John James Cronin) share a quotidian bickering relationship for a brother and sister with a wide age gap. Husband and wife Robert and Diane (Pat Healy and Vinessa Shaw) are bitter and resentful toward one another, with the former frequently exploding at the family due to blatant anger issues and alcohol dependency. When a tree crashes through the roof and blocks the door from the outside, they soon realize that their options are limited aside from simply waiting for someone to come and rescue them. As time goes by, strange happenings begin to occur and the family begins to wonder if the outside world is no longer what they once knew.

movie review we need to do something

I’m not certain if I cared about these characters more than I was interested in seeing what was in store for them, but the cast works well amongst each other despite some occasionally forced dialogue. Pat Healy is no stranger to playing scummy characters and, well, let’s just say Robert is the type of dad who’s unlikely to bring home any “Father of the Year” awards. Melissa, early on, is the one who delivers the (sort of, not quite) title of the film in a plea for proactive measures to be taken. They’re also a family that knows how to take a joke despite the dire nature of their circumstances. It’s welcome when a horror film knows not to take things too seriously, but attempts at humor can be hit or miss.

Structurally, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING won’t feel out of place for Twilight Zone fans, with its genre trappings and real-world allegory. Based on a novella by Max Booth III (who also adapted it into the film’s screenplay), it doesn’t feel so much like a film about the coronavirus pandemic as it evokes the grim, sad reality of sheltering in an isolated location for prolonged periods.

Economically produced, the majority of the film is set in the bathroom, but what we’re presented comes across as professional and deliberate rather than cheap. Occurrences outside of the bathroom are left to the audience’s imagination, which some will undoubtedly find frustrating, but it largely succeeds at maintaining an air of mystery that’s essential for creating tension. Flashbacks are intermittently spread throughout, revealing nuggets of information to help the story coast along to the finish line at a brisk 97 minute-long runtime. It’s nothing particularly new, nor does it build up to any dramatic reveals per se, but it weaves the tale at its own pace with a clear destination in mind.

movie review we need to do something

It’s a bit of a bummer, as it does feel as though the film lays the groundwork for some form of surprise ending or emotional catharsis. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of bleakness or chaos to be found, but I wish it were all featured in a film that had a bit more to say.

What can be said about WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING is that it delivers one of the best scares of the year. Seasoned horror vets may think they know what to expect, but it managed to drop my jaw with its WTF weirdness and ace sound design (the film also sports an interesting metal-inspired score that provides a deafening backdrop for what’s otherwise a low-key setting).

And yet, it also feels like the film peaks somewhat early with this genuinely inspired moment of shock. What comes after should likely satisfy gore fans, but it left me yearning to have taken away something deeper from the experience. What’s here is sufficient as entertainment; it’s just missing something to make me want to revisit this family’s apocalyptic ordeal in such tight quarters, especially after a year of being trapped inside my little one-bedroom apartment.

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021 and will be released in theaters, Digital, and VOD on Friday, September 3, 2021, from IFC Midnight .

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, what you wish for.

movie review we need to do something

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The issue of the spoiler remains a critical one in cinematic discourse. At this moment, it weighs on this reviewer particularly heavily. “What You Wish For,” a picture written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay and starring Nick Stahl , is one that I went into relatively cold, and that contributed significantly to my enjoyment of the thriller that moves into horror territory (is that a spoiler already?).

So, my intention here is to recommend the movie, which is anchored by a consistently understated performance by Stahl. While only in his mid-40s, his character here, Ryan, looks like he’s had a bumpy ride through maybe more than one dissolute lifetime. His facial features seem to have been sculpted by nicotine and alcohol. After he gets off a plane that’s deposited him in an unnamed South or Central American country, he looks at his phone, expresses silent distress at a text message from a party named “Rabbit,” and naively waves a ten-dollar bill at some locals hoping for a ride into a rain forest. He’s eager to disappear. To his surprise, he’s greeted by a driver who whisks him into the mountains. He is, as it happens, expected. His bro buddy Jack ( Brian Groh ) is roosting in a gorgeous house, and he’s invited Ryan to hang with him a bit. Both Ryan and Jack are high-end chefs, and Jack’s got himself a high-end private dining gig while Ryan is on the run from gamblers—repped by the aforementioned “Rabbit”—who eventually start threatening Ryan’s mom.

Jack has to drive into town—he’s bought a junk car, deliberately, for obscure reasons (at least at first) to conduct his shopping trips with—and Ryan idly looks at Jack’s laptop and discovers the guy’s got a relatively massive bank account. He asks his buddy about the gig he’s on, and he offers his services as a sous-chef. Jack shrugs that off and later complains that he’s working for “the worst people in the world.” This confounds Ryan a little bit. With this kind of money, in these kinds of settings, what can be wrong?

Well, Ryan finds out, and this is where this reviewer encounters a quandary. Now, if you’re keen on guessing the deal, it might be easy—a friend did it at lunch the other day. The thing was, he was joking. The revelation may strike some as slightly risible, at least. One of the things that makes the movie work is that it acknowledges this fact but then makes the premise terrifyingly credible. The movie’s title, “What You Wish For,” adapted from a familiar adage, implies a variation of a “Talented Mr. Ripley.” Ryan envies Jack’s circumstances without first appreciating that their origins are in something far gnarlier than a patrician trust fund. Once the realization sets in, Ryan’s terror turns to desperation and, even scarier, resignation.

Stahl’s acting has always had a quiet power, communicating roiling emotional distress under an often vaguely menacing stillness. This gives a fresh perspective to Ryan’s eventual impotence as he negotiates his new identity—because Jack indeed leaves the picture about a quarter into the film—and tries to please his very particular clients, fronted by the ever-so-polite Imogene ( Tamsin Topolski ).

Again, without overtly giving too much away, because this is the choice I have made, much of the movie has the kind of suspense reminiscent of the scene in Hitchcock’s “Psycho” in which Norman Bates is dumping Marion Crane’s car, with her dead body in the trunk, into the swamp behind the Bates Motel. It sinks steadily for a while, then stalls, and we gasp. And we wonder, why are we gasping? We shouldn’t really be rooting for Norman here, but we do. So it is with Stahl’s Ryan. Who, the movie continues to insist throughout, happens to be a damn deft chef.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film Credits

What You Wish For movie poster

What You Wish For (0024)

101 minutes

Nick Stahl as Ryan

Tamsin Topolski as Imogene

Randy Vasquez as Detective Ruiz

Penelope Mitchell as Alice

Juan Carlos Messier as Maurice

Brian Groh as Jack

  • Nicholas Tomnay

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In the mystery ‘Eric,’ desperation and decline manifest into a life-size monster puppet

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The most idiosyncratic and striking moment on TV this summer? It could be Benedict Cumberbatch as a father running through the streets of New York in a giant, fuzzy blue monster puppet getup amid a desperate attempt to reconnect with his son.

It may sound like some sweet magical adventure, but that’s not the style of British screenwriter Abi Morgan, who created “Eric” for Netflix. She isn’t afraid to tackle big subjects and her body of work — including “Shame” (2011), which tackles sex addiction; “Suffragette” (2015), about women’s suffrage in the U.K.; and TV dramas “The Hour” and “The Split” — often leaves viewers emotionally strung out in its intense examination of human behavior, internal battles and broken systems. And “Eric” is just as visceral.

Set in 1980s New York City, the initial episode of the limited series finds Cumberbatch’s Vincent Anderson, a puppeteer and creator of a “Sesame Street”-esque children’s show “Good Day Sunshine,” exasperated by work demands and his floundering marriage to Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann). The couple’s troubles intensify when their 9-year old son, Edgar (Ivan Howe), goes missing on his walk to school. Torn up by guilt, Vincent is convinced if he turns his son’s drawing of a blue monster, Eric, into a life-size puppet on TV, Edgar will come home. And tasked with investigating the boy’s disappearance is Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III), a Black and queer detective whose closeted identity becomes an obstacle at work as he pursues the case.

A life-size monster puppet walking behind a man on a subway platform.

Morgan started with a simple idea: Can we live in a world where a kid can walk to school and come home safely? In exploring that question, the series weaves a lot of issues that plagued the city at the time: rising crime rates, a forgotten underclass, the AIDS epidemic, endemic racism, as well as government mismanagement and corruption.

“There were parallel themes that just became very apparent to me,” Morgan said during a press day with the cast in Los Angeles. “We’re looking at a world where the parents become children and the children become parents in some ways. And the notion of what is a family beyond the nuclear family of the Andersons? There’s a wider family of our city. Who looks after us in the city? Can we trust those parents — be that government, local council or our police force? And when those systems break down and expose themselves, where do we find our new boundaries of trust?”

A group of people posing for a photograph.

Morgan sees the show as a way for audiences to ask themselves those questions through Vincent’s journey. And the city’s many issues presented in the series, inspired by Morgan’s time spent in New York in the ‘80s, added another dimension to the inciting mystery. “There was this dark underbelly. It hadn’t had that cleanup,” she said. “There was something very particular about the ‘80s — it was a melting pot and a point of change, a point of shifting sands, filled with fear and hope, and moments of great freedom and moments of really pushing down that freedom. It felt like a really rich fabric and tapestry in which to set ‘Eric.’”

With no shortage of real and existential horror lurking outside, Morgan knew from the beginning she wanted to bridge the story with a space that provided safety and comfort. Influenced by her own childhood spent backstage with her theater director father, observing how sets were created and the way costumes came to life, she saw “Good Day Sunshine” as a contrast to the city’s roughness and a way to dig deeper into how Vincent, who begins the series already on shaky ground before his mental health declines further, copes with his reality.

“He’s trying to re-create his childhood and idealizing something that was less than ideal,” Cumberbatch said. “His mental health crisis was brushed under the carpet with pharmaceuticals and very cold, cut-off, loveless parenting ... he’s invested so much of himself in that show from a need that was never satisfied in his childhood.”

Morgan added that “Good Day Sunshine” is a world that Vincent can control, unlike his own, and that the puppets give life to his voices as he struggles with his mental health and alcoholism. It’s also a way to signal the value of pursuing a creative life, which stands in contrast to that of his estranged parents, particularly his father, a wealthy developer.

Puppets and puppeteers on the set of children's show.

”That creativity is a way to liberate, heal, manage and help understand ourselves,” Morgan said. “Vincent’s desire to create a world of good, is probably one of the healthier things he has done.”

As a show within the show, “Good Day Sunshine” features an assortment of puppet characters — a mix of animals, inanimate objects and people — including one operated and voiced by Vincent, putting Cumberbatch’s chameleon voice work into practice (his eclectic credits include the dragon Smaug in “The Hobbit” trilogy and the Grinch in the eponymous 2018 animated film). Before he goes missing, Edgar observes his father at work from the sidelines and, later, watches as Vincent becomes agitated with notes from network bosses, demanding that the show broaden its appeal to get viewership numbers up, with a new puppet as a possible solution. On the subway ride home, Edgar suggests his idea for the puppet, Eric, to little fanfare from his dad.

Morgan credits series director Lucy Forbes with being a key architect behind the 7-foot monster puppet, which took roughly four weeks to perfect. Eric is a manifestation and an amalgamation of details in Edgar’s mind — a tail that mimics his cat and fur that matches the chevron of his grandmother’s mink. Vincent becomes convinced that bringing Eric to life could help bring Edgar back, and as he begins to mold the puppet from foam, Vincent also begins to hallucinate Eric, a manifestation of his inner voice, into existence in his quest to find the boy.

Cumberbatch felt the exploration of the imagined other — a device done before, including in films like “Harvey” (1950) and “Ted” — in the larger context of the story was intriguing. And bringing depth to the surreal is familiar territory for the actor, who has done green screen and motion-capture acting and understands the commitment required to make it believable. Still, as Cumberbatch tells it, acting opposite puppeteer Olly Taylor in a plush, furry costume as his character Vincent was falling apart was a surprisingly grounded experience.

“I’d often do line runs with Olly, who’s a really brilliant actor and incredibly capable puppeteer,” he said. “I tried the [Eric] voice out, I’d often read lines and sometimes not; he just got it and the rhythm was the only way it could be for Eric in that moment. It was all about trying to remind ourselves what the purpose of Eric was in relation to [Vincent’s] state of mind. At one point, I tried on the [puppet] headgear and I cried. I just had this wave of empathy for Olly and the performance he had to give in that contraption. It’s a miraculous skill.”

A couple at a table with microphones looking at a crowd of reporters.

The puppet element helped soften some of the script elements for Hoffmann. As a mother of two children, the actor said she was initially hesitant about the heavy subject matter, but grew eager about its singular dynamic and the way the series explores the various breakdowns of systems, small and large. The series first captures the unraveling of a social institution — marriage — as Vincent and Cassie veer in opposite directions, and examines how their behavior negatively affects the parent-child dynamic.

“Vincent and Cassie are two very different people who are dealing with the world in two very different ways,” she said. “But I think that Cassie hasn’t been active in an honest way, on behalf of her son, for a while now — and on behalf of herself. I think that she knew that she needed to leave the marriage, and that it wasn’t a healthy environment for [Edgar]. As we come to find out, she has secrets and is in some denial. She’s not as deeply in it, and she’s not as avoidant and terrified of her emotions as Vincent is, or distracting herself with as many substances, but the disappearance... she definitely feels a sense of responsibility.”

When Morgan started to incorporate Ledroit into the story, she was determined not to make him a secondary character. She wanted Ledroit to go on his own journey, informed by his identity, and coming up against all the institutions — the precinct where he works or the gay nightclubs he used to visit — that are making him question his identity similar to Vincent. Playing a Black queer detective who is challenging the norm in the ‘80s, Belcher understood that sense of duty and purpose.

“In a story like this, it would be very easy for him to just turn into a cop that comes to work and deal with the information and solving the case. But it’s really exciting as a Black queer man, to show up with all the baggage that Ledroit would be carrying in the ‘80s, to wrestle with stuff, but to leave him in a place of action that is going to be the change.”

A man in a shirt and blazer stands in a nightclub.

Belcher also acknowledged that though the Black community isn’t a monolith, they have a complicated relationship with law enforcement. He sees his character as an instrument of change within the institution.

“I think over the course of the six episodes, that’s a place he lands on: Oh, this is what’s required for us to do what we’re really here for. And it means I must call out injustice; it means I must be intolerant of corner cutting; it means I have to own who I am and stand firmly in that and stand up as a man and say ‘no,‘” he said.

The various threads in the series take some time to come together, making for a premise that can take some finesse in distilling. But that’s what the team behind the series hopes sets it apart.

“You felt held by an imagination that contained worlds within the worlds of the story,” Cumberbatch said. “It felt fresh and new — trying to explain it to people was interesting. I’ve never really heard of anything quite like this before.”

It’s why all these months later, cozy on a sofa with Hoffmann, Cumberbatch can’t help but chuckle wistfully while recalling a moment in the series that had him, as Vincent, wearing the fuzzy Eric costume and running through the streets.

“Running and running and running and running,” Cumberbatch said. “It’s the knife-edge thing with this drama; it is very f— funny, but also weirdly heroic and desperately sad and poignant.”

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Young woman and the sea review: daisy ridley stars in heartfelt, genuine biopic about daring swimmer.

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Where To Watch Young Woman And The Sea: Showtimes & Streaming Status

10 biggest details young woman & the sea leaves out & changes about trudy ederle's true story, daisy ridley's new disney movie continues her rotten tomatoes rebound.

  • Young Woman and the Sea isn't overly sensational in its true story adaptation.
  • Trudy Ederle's grounded story focuses on her relationship with her sister Margaret.
  • The great cast, led by Daisy Ridley, elevates the heartfelt and sincere film.

As they’re both based on real-life swimmers, I couldn’t help but immediately think of last year’s Nyad while watching Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea . But while the former is a film I did not enjoy because it lacked a personal slant, Young Woman and the Sea , directed by Joachim Rønning from a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, effectively infuses heart and connection into its story. It’s what instantly elevates it from being a by-the-numbers true story adaptation , based on the book Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout.

Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England.  

  • Young Woman and the Sea isn't overly sensational in its true story retelling
  • The film centers a grounded story that showcases Trudy's relationship with her sister
  • Daisy Ridley and the rest of the cast do a great job in their roles
  • Certain swimming rules are unclear, and the end is a bit too heightened

Young Woman And The Sea Is A Grounded Story

Trudy Ederle (Daisy Ridley) managed to survive the measles as a child, so nothing much fazes her as an adult. Despite her father’s (Kim Bodnia) attempts to keep to tradition (and maintain a sexist status quo), Trudy’s mother (Jeannette Hain) encourages her and older sister Margaret (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) to take swimming lessons after hearing about several women who burned to death on a boat because they couldn’t swim to safety. Young Woman and the Sea boasts everything we’ve come to expect from a true story film, but it avoids outright sensationalism for a grounded tale that speaks to the heart.

What ultimately keeps the film afloat is Trudy’s relationship with her sister Margaret, and the story juxtaposes their circumstances in ways that elevate Trudy’s swimming attempts.

Young Woman and the Sea doesn’t lose sight of its main story, which sees Trudy attempting to swim across the English Channel in 1926 , but it also knows when to add in humor. Life, after all, isn’t serious all the time and this film remembers that. Hain is especially good at speaking with her eyes and her moments are filled with a lightheartedness even as she worries about her daughter’s survival. What ultimately keeps the film afloat is Trudy’s relationship with her sister Margaret, and the story juxtaposes their circumstances in ways that elevate Trudy’s swimming attempts.

Daisy Ridley plays Trudy Ederle in Young Woman and the Sea, and there are different options for where to watch the true story in theaters or at home.

Whereas Margaret feels like she can’t escape her life and the marriage her father arranges, Trudy envisions a different future for herself. She had the bravery to do so, perhaps because no one expected the same from her as her sister. Despite the fact that they end up leading different lives, the sisters’ relationship is compelling and heartwarming. You really grasp what they mean to each other, and it keeps Young Woman and the Sea focused while wearing its heart on its sleeve. The closeness of the sisters is one of the biggest strengths of the film.

Young Woman and the Sea

Young woman and the sea has a great cast, led by daisy ridley, who elevates the material.

Rønning’s film is sincere; it’s not forcing us to feel something as the story unfolds. We do feel, though, thanks to the writing and the actors’ performances. Ridley continues to take on intriguing and challenging projects in her post- Star Wars life. Young Woman and the Sea doesn’t give her too much to work with, but she embodies the physicality of the role. In the quieter moments, Ridley’s Trudy observes the world around her, as though taking it in so she can then use it as fuel for her biggest swimming challenge. The actress is versatile, bringing the emotion when needed.

The film keeps things simple, but it shines like a lighthouse in the darkness nonetheless.

Bodnia and Hain are especially good, with the latter portraying so much with her facial expressions. Christopher Eccleston is quietly disconcerting as Mr. Wolffe, a man who failed to cross the English Channel and whose resentment while working with Trudy is quite clear. Every member of the principal cast, including the charismatic Alexander Karim as Trudy’s friend and fellow swimmer, puts in a memorable performance. They, along with Ridley, elevate the film. The score by Amelia Warner is also fantastic, underscoring every heartbreak and triumph in Trudy’s life.

The film keeps things simple, but it shines like a lighthouse in the darkness nonetheless. There are aspects of the swimming itself that aren’t always clear, but the filmmakers understand that they’re also not the most fascinating parts of the story. Young Woman and the Sea may follow the chronological order of events in Trudy’s life, but it avoids treating her story as an expository exercise. She is portrayed as a fully formed person, and though there are moments that are heightened so that we more deeply feel the impact of her triumph, it doesn’t distract from the core story.

Young Woman and the Sea is playing in limited theaters beginning May 31. The film is 129 minutes long and rated PG for thematic elements, some language and partial nudity.

Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

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John bradley hopes that ‘3 body problem’ will help him break out of his ‘game of thrones’ “character bracket”.

“Hopefully it’ll be a bit of a reset in terms of how I’m seen by people and being able to play more confident characters,” the 'Game of Thrones' alum tells THR.

By Beatrice Verhoeven

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Jess Hong and John Bradley on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem

Before John Bradley was cast as the brash yet lovable Jack Rooney in David Benioff, Dan Weiss and Alexander Woo’s 3 Body Problem , the actor felt that he was limited in terms of the roles being offered to him after his turn as Samwell Tarly on Benioff and Weiss’ Game of Thrones .

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In fact, Benioff and Weiss wrote Rooney specifically for — and based on — Bradley, without telling him much more about the series other than that it was a sci-fi project. “It was a ‘yes’ from the second I picked up that call,” says Bradley of the January 2021 conversation. When he learned of the showrunners’ “massive undertaking,” Bradley got a copy of the Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, on which the series would be based. 

“I just thought, they really did not take it easy on themselves with this adaptation — they picked a source material that’s probably even harder to adapt than Game of Thrones ,” says Bradley. “I just have to take my hat off to them for their bravery and for their courage and the parapet that they were sticking their head over in terms of what could happen if this went so badly wrong. All credit to them.”

“When you think about all those deaths in Game of Thrones — the Red Wedding and Jon dying early — they’re completely unexpected,” Bradley notes. “I realized that it’s quite flattering to be given one, especially such a violent one and such a memorable one that comes prematurely. You don’t expect a character that is all over promotional materials, all over the posters and stuff, to go so early. It’s playing around with people’s expectations and the rules of writing TV and throwing them out the window and shocking people. I hoped that [the audience] was going to have a visceral reaction to it. It was only when I saw it in ADR that I thought, ‘I think people are gonna be really sad about this!’ ”

The death scene in which Rooney is murdered by assassin Tatiana Haas (Marlo Kelly) in the comfort of his own home was actually a medley of three separate takes, shot during the course of nine months. “The scene as you watch it now is a composite between April 2022, August 2022 and February 2023,” explains Bradley. “In the scene, Jack’s mask slips off and you see how vulnerable he is and how scared he is. And the line where he says, ‘You said I was free to go,’ I wanted the quiver in his voice to come at exactly the right moment, and it’s in this that you see he’s just a boy who is really, really scared.”

“The scene that I was most determined to get right was the scene with Will [one of the Oxford Five played by Alex Sharp] on the bench where Will tells Jack about his illness,” says Bradley. “Because what I’ve always liked about them is the fact their relationship is so important.

“But even though they’re best friends, we don’t get a lot of screen time to explore their relationship. Jack’s a bit of a dick, and he’ll say the wrong thing at the wrong time at some sense of devilment, and you think, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t have expected him to react like this to this news.’ The idea that he’s not only getting so upset at that moment, but he actually gets really angry, is a completely credible response to somebody who wants to give up on their life. They chose to show a much deeper, more caring side of Jack, a guy who really loves his friends. And in that scene, you just learn so much more about him.”

Bradley hopes that his work on  3 Body Problem will show audiences his wider range of acting chops.

“Hopefully it’ll be a bit of a reset in terms of how I’m seen by people and being able to play more confident characters,” says Bradley. “David and Dan, it feels like they kick-started the entire first act of my career with G ame of Thrones . And they kicked off the entire second [act] with this.”

This story first appeared in a May standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

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'Mad Max: Furiosa' Has Screened, And There's Two Words That Are Sticking Out The Most: 'Windsurfing Bombers'

Posted: May 31, 2024 | Last updated: May 31, 2024

What a day, dear readers! What a lovely day! The first reactions for director George Miller’s 2024 movie "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" have come to light, and it looks like we’ve got a lot to be excited about. While full reviews won’t be available for a little while longer. And I think we need to take two words from all of the buzz close to heart: "windsurfing bombers." It’s a pretty big occasion when the prequel to the best action movies makes itself known. But when Mr. Miller is on hand to not only introduce such a film, but also to mill about with the attendees, you know it’s something to be proud of.

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‘The Beach Boys’ Review: How to Make Good Vibrations

This Disney documentary looks at the family ties and sweet harmonies that turned a California band into a popular treasure.

On a stage, five men wearing matching striped shirts and white pants perform.

By Nicolas Rapold

The wholesome ocean-breeze look of the Beach Boys could make the group a punchline if it weren’t for their sweet sunshine sound. The origins of their intricate harmonies undergird “The Beach Boys,” a Disney documentary directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny that notes obstacles in the band’s career but mostly tries to keep the good vibrations going.

Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson grew up in a musical household in Hawthorne, Calif., and eventually pooled their ample talents with a cousin, Mike Love, and a friend, Al Jardine. As told through a patchwork of polite interviews and mostly mundane clips from performances, the rise of their music was fueled by four-part harmonies, surf culture and entrancing orchestration not unlike Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound .

Brian, who hated touring, was the band’s homebody musical mastermind, and he could imbue their pop with an outsider’s moods, while the Wilsons’ father, Murry, put on the pressure as their manager. Snippets from “Pet Sounds,” their landmark 1966 album, never fail to rejuvenate the movie. But after a while, you get the sense of a band that stopped growing, though the movie traces a fruitful competitive streak with the Beatles.

Any deviations from the film’s obligatory timeline tour are very welcome, like a mortifying studio recording of Murry holding forth, and it’s a treat to hear the esteem for Brian among the Wrecking Crew , the storied group of session musicians. And for the pop romantics among us, the Beach Boys can still cast a spell with those four little words: Wouldn’t it be nice?

The Beach Boys Rated PG-13 for drug material and brief lapses into unsunny language. Running time: 1 hour 53 minutes. Watch on Disney+ .

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'What You Wish For' Review: Imagine 'The Bear' Was a Destination Horror Movie

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The Big Picture

  • What You Wish For lacks the bite to become a social thriller it gestures towards.
  • Nick Stahl's intense performance can't save the film from a scattered finale and lack of focus.
  • The movie's disappointing ending fails to give weight to its themes, leaving viewers wanting more.

If What You Wish For was a meal, it’d be one that you’d find occasionally filling in courses though ultimately forgettable. It’s a film without the kick to truly become the social thriller it's constantly emptily gesturing towards . While it makes an admirable attempt to put a horror twist on the portrait of what it means to a working-class chef à la The Bear , it is too narrow an experience to ever have any bite or revealing observations. Even as someone who was not impressed with 2022’s half-baked The Menu , which this is almost playing as an inverse of, I’d take the final burger that film serves up over this meandering meal any time. Though it assembles some of the right ingredients before laying them out before you, it never proceeds to arrange them in any particularly interesting or entertaining way.

This isn’t to say there aren’t some morsels worth biting into and committed performances to build around. Though not always the most in-demand actor out there, Nick Stahl has been great in other recent genre works, like 2021’s unsettling What Josiah Saw and the regrettably canceled recent series Let the Right One In . He brings a quiet intensity that can be a little hard to fully pin down, making the troubled characters he often plays more magnetic than they are on the page. Unfortunately, in this case, even he feels stranded by a script that can’t quite settle on what it wants to be before haphazardly building to a more scattered finale. It ensures that, while What You Wish For attempts to tackle how the wealthy of the world consume the poorest, it only ends up eating itself and any potential it may have had .

What You Wish For (2023)

Ryan, a struggling chef with a heavy gambling problem, seeks refuge in a luxurious Latin American villa owned by his friend Jack. Envying Jack's extravagant lifestyle, Ryan is unaware of the sinister secrets behind his friend's wealth. When Jack exits the picture, Ryan takes on his identity, only to uncover the perilous and illegal activities Jack engaged in to sustain his opulence.

What is 'What You Wish For' About?

The one preparing what is to be consumed is Ryan (Stahl) who is going to visit his friend and fellow chef Jack ( Brian Groh ) after what has been some time apart. When he arrives in the nondescript Latin American country, he is surprised to discover an almost absurdly beautiful home where the wealth oozing out of every corner of the compound contrasts with the poverty of the community surrounding it. This already seems to be weighing on Jack, but there is a sense that there is also something more going on as well. On top of that, we discover in pieces that Ryan has had a gambling problem and is now getting threatening texts trying to get him to cough up some cash. At one point, he even takes a peek on the computer at the massive amount of money in Jack’s bank account. How did he make all that money? Well, Ryan soon learns it’s doing more than just preparing ordinary meals that he will then have to take on himself when Jack is suddenly out of the picture. He’ll take on his identity, much like the far better recent film Influencer , but also all the baggage that comes with it .

There is a twist of sorts that comes, which won’t be spoiled here, but if you’ve ever seen a movie in your life, you will know what is coming. There are some darkly comedic moments where Ryan breaks into all of Jack’s accounts (giving the worst answers possible to every single question he is asked) and then must talk with the clients who have arrived for the big dinner he must prepare. The remainder of the movie lacks this sense of humor as it instead settles into being far more standard stuff that, save for one sinister self-serving monologue about how this company is not that bad compared to others, never raises the pulse.

Even when a police officer shows up at the dinner to investigate what is going on, the lengths to which the film goes to keep him around dissipates any lasting tension, as you can practically see the strings being pulled. The diners themselves are mostly cardboard cutouts, with only one feeling close to an actual character, which is just so he can provide a narrative reason for the cop to stay. It seems like What You Wish For wants to be some sort of confined thriller where it’s just about waiting for the shoe to drop on what we already know is going on, but it is largely tepid in this buildup before landing with a thud. The dialogue is often rather forced, with one moment where a character makes sure we see exactly where their phone is charging getting dropped in so unnaturally that it is almost comical.

'What You Wish For' Will Leave You Wishing for a Better Movie

This and many moments where the effects while driving look incomplete make it increasingly hard to get immersed in the film. However, all of this could be forgivable if the film got us invested in what is going on with Ryan pretending to be Jack and what he represents in the story. Unfortunately, he often fades into the background of his own film until he gets brought out for a closing that ends less with a bang and more with a whimper .

Just when it finally feels like the film is getting somewhere after throwing in empty escalation after empty escalation just to keep afloat, it abruptly downshifts to a more dull yet equally forced final scene. What it seems to be trying to hit on is that, when it all comes down to it, Ryan was ultimately willing to accept his lot in life even if it meant being complicit in cruelty to others. Sure, he made some extra cash in doing so, but the cost of selling your soul as well as those of others is the type of thing you’ll never be able to pay back. That this sounds like it could be a potent ending on paper only makes it all the more disappointing in execution .

There just wasn’t the heft given to any of these ideas leading up to the end and there certainly isn’t salvation to be found in the final series of scenes. No matter what it tries to serve up to you across a high number of courses, What You Wish For just leaves you wanting for the real meal to start rather than one that only pays lip service to its deeper ideas .

Despite Nick Stahl trying his darnedest, What You Wish For is a meal that is lacking in sustenance.

  • Nick Stahl is a strong performer that remains compelling even when the material on the page is not.
  • The film only gestures towards deeper ideas and never fully takes a bite out of them.
  • All of the tension quickly dissipates as everything is too confined to leave much of an impact.
  • The ending again tries to be more potent, but just ends up being a conclusion without any salvation to be found.

What You Wish For is now available to stream on VOD and is showing in theaters in the U.S. Click below for showtimes near you.

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What You Wish For (2023)

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COMMENTS

  1. We Need to Do Something

    While We Need to Do Something can feel as unfocused as its title, it offers eerily timely genre thrills, soaked in claustrophobic dread. After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm ...

  2. 'We Need to Do Something' Review: I Think I'll Stay In

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  3. We Need to Do Something (2021)

    We Need to Do Something: Directed by Sean King O'Grady. With Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, Lisette Olivera. After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm, they become trapped. With no sign of rescue, Melissa comes to realize that she and her girlfriend Amy might have something to do with the horrors that threaten her family.

  4. We Need to Do Something (2021)

    Actual tornadoes are far more terrifying than this movie is, and it's a pity that the film squanders that idea, The sky turns green, the air smells of ozone, the wind rages overhead, and the sirens scream. Typically, you sit with your family in a hot, unventilated bathroom (a tenth the size of the one in the movie) making jokes and trying to keep the kids quiet while praying you won't take a ...

  5. We Need to Do Something Review

    Verdict. We Need to Do Something isn't worth watching. The screenplay by Max Booth III has all the emotional depth of a toilet bowl. Director Sean King O'Grady shows little skill for crafting ...

  6. We Need to Do Something

    Summary After Melissa and her family seek shelter from a storm, they become trapped. With no sign of rescue, hours turn to days and Melissa comes to realize that she and her girlfriend Amy might have something to do with the horrors that threaten to tear her family - and the entire world, apart. Horror. Mystery. Directed By: Sean King O'Grady.

  7. 'We Need To Do Something' Review: Single-Room Horror Needs ...

    'We Need To Do Something' Review: A Single-Room Horror That Could Use More Air Reviewed online in Tribeca Film Festival (Midnight), June 15, 2021. Running time: 97 MIN.

  8. We Need To Do Something Review: Flashy & Diabolical Just For The Sake Of It

    Published Sep 3, 2021. Unpredictability being its lone strength, We Need To Do Something is an uneven survival horror that gets caught up in its own pretentious trappings. Confinement horror emerges as a greatly untapped genre in general, as it allows for the all too human fear for the unknown to bloom in unexpected ways.

  9. We Need to Do Something Movie Review

    The film's simplicity serves it well. That being said, it also feels grandiose in its narrative choices -- making it feel like the largest, scale self-contained horror movie ever made. Isolation is a relevant feeling in today's tumultuous times. Even though its script was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic began, We Need to Do Something ...

  10. We Need to Do Something

    We Need to Do Something is a 2021 American psychological horror film directed by Sean King O'Grady and starring Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Lisette Alexis, Pat Healy, and Ozzy Osbourne.Based on the novella of the same name, the film centers on a family trapped in their bathroom during a tornado.The film was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic and is the first film production from Spin a ...

  11. We Need To Do Something Review: Terror On The Tiles

    With all that in mind, it shouldn't be surprising that "We Need to Do Something" was filmed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and it also shouldn't be surprising that the film's tremendous sense of ...

  12. Movie Review

    We Need to Do Something, 2021. Directed by Sean King O'Grady. Starring Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, John James Cronin, Lisette Alexis, and Ozzy Osbourne. SYNOPSIS: After Melissa ...

  13. Film Review: We Need To Do Something (2021)

    REVIEW: Sean King O'Grady directed We Need To Do Something, and Max Booth III wrote it. It's based on the novella. The film opens with a stunning view of the town the family lives in, and we meet the family. Diane the mom portrayed by Vinessa Shaw, Melissa (Sierra McCormick), Robert the father (Pat Healy), and Bobby (John James Cronin ...

  14. We Need to Do Something

    Hell, there are even moments where a monologue (often a story told by a character) can be the most intense and scary thing in the entire movie. For We Need to Do Something, there are just too many lulls in the pacing. Also, the characters do stupid things and react in ways that are difficult to understand.

  15. We Need To Do Something (2021) Review

    We Need to Do Something is either a horrible, incomplete shell of a horror movie or a brilliant, symbolic, intellectual study of the human psyche and family dynamics. Sadly, it is hard to figure ...

  16. We Need To Do Something Review: A Horror Movie With Hits & Misses

    We Need To Do Something starts off slow and vague, but does eventually get into a decent horror story. After a storm traps a family inside their bathroom, the majority of the movie takes place inside this one room, where things start to completely unravel. With an unsatisfactory ending though, this movie will make most viewers wonder why they ...

  17. We Need To Do Something Ending Explained

    We Need To Do Something is an effective horror movie due to its sheer unpredictability. Offering a trapped room POV is no novelty in survival horror - brought beautifully to life in films such as Fermat's Room and the Canadian horror, Cube - but We Need To Do Something bends the rules of the game and introduces elements that appear discordant in terms of tone and visual style.

  18. We Need to Do Something

    Sierra McCormick Vinessa Shaw Pat Healy John James Cronin Lisette Olivera Ozzy Osbourne Logan Kearney Dan John Miller. 97 mins More at IMDb TMDb. Sign in to log, rate or review. Share. Ratings. 9 fans 2.5. ★. 665 half-★ ratings (6%) 1,158 ★ ratings (10%)

  19. Review

    Steve. 2022-11-03. 0. There's something of three different movie genres in We Need to Do Something. It's an out and out supernatural horror movie featuring demonic creatures, a bit. An "escape room" thriller about the perils of not co-operating, a bit. And a fraught drama about a marriage collapsing, also a bit.

  20. We Need to Do Something [Reviews]

    Summary. Melissa and her family become trapped while taking shelter from a dangerous storm. Distributors. IFC Midnight. Initial Release. Sep 3, 2021. Platforms. Genres. Horror.

  21. [Movie Review] WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING

    Structurally, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING won't feel out of place for Twilight Zone fans, with its genre trappings and real-world allegory. Based on a novella by Max Booth III (who also adapted it into the film's screenplay), it doesn't feel so much like a film about the coronavirus pandemic as it evokes the grim, sad reality of sheltering in ...

  22. We Need To Do Something : r/horror

    R/HORROR, known as Dreadit by our subscribers is the premier horror entertainment community on Reddit. For more than a decade /R/HORROR has been reddit.com's gateway to all things Horror: from movies & TV, to books & games. We Need To Do Something. The trailer for We Need To Do Something (2021) just popped up on Youtube for me a couple of days ...

  23. What You Wish For movie review (24)

    The thing was, he was joking. The revelation may strike some as slightly risible, at least. One of the things that makes the movie work is that it acknowledges this fact but then makes the premise terrifyingly credible. The movie's title, "What You Wish For," adapted from a familiar adage, implies a variation of a "Talented Mr. Ripley.".

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  28. 'The Beach Boys' Review: How to Make Good Vibrations

    The Beach Boys | Official Trailer. Watch on. Brian, who hated touring, was the band's homebody musical mastermind, and he could imbue their pop with an outsider's moods, while the Wilsons ...

  29. 'What You Wish For' Review

    The movie's disappointing ending fails to give weight to its themes, leaving viewers wanting more. If What You Wish For was a meal, it'd be one that you'd find occasionally filling in courses ...