Followers may have noticed that I'm posting this a day late. Although I was too busy to post a review, I did manage to watch a film.
I squeezed The Shelter in-between my day-to-day life and my monthly Horror, Hops, and Helping fundraiser, and walked away grateful I didn't have time to write up a review until a day later. I needed some time to think about this one.
Although an overall a visually stunning film, I wouldn't call it an entertaining film. I loved the cinematography, but I did not enjoy the writing or dialog. I saw where it was going and what it wanted to be, and appreciated the work that went into this feature, but - as all artists struggle with (speaking from experience) - one of our greatest struggles is knowing when to stop.
This film felt heavy when it should have been light and dreamy. It simply felt like there was too much (action, events, people, words) crammed into too little of space. There was too much, too much, too much. Although I'm not a film maker, I come from a family of artists in all mediums (film making being one of them) and I try my damnedest to both appreciate the work/be supportive, while also being positively critical where I can see growth.
I see a lot of growth here even though I didn't really like this movie in particular. A moralistic tale with religious and social commentary undertones, this is a film that has a lot to say and many ways in which it speaks. I didn't particularly care for the entirety (the last 20 minutes is pretty great) of this movie but I think the message is apt, heartfelt, and crucial - even if the method of conversation is clumsy/new/awkward. In all, this is a difficult movie to watch for many reasons, but keep going.
Pairs with patience, hard liquor, leftovers from the fridge, and watch alone.
I watched this film on Hulu or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to locate where else you can find this feature.
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