We Got This Covered
Regression is not just a bad movie. With its supremely patchy script, misguided direction and agonizingly idiotic – not to mention illogical – conclusion, it barely feels like one at all.
AVClub: One can make a creepy demonic horror movie, or one can make a sorrowful exposé about a real-world phenomenon that destroyed multiple families, but it’s exceedingly difficult to make both at the same time. Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar (The Others, The Sea Inside) gives it his best shot with Regression, which he both wrote and directed, and comes up woefully short on both sides of the ledger. The film poses as horror for most of its running time, but only viewers who are completely ignorant about “satanic ritual abuse” will find the movie even remotely scary or thrilling, as everyone else will just be waiting for the inevitable but long-delayed “twist.” When the shoe finally drops, however, it does so in a way that makes a mockery of the very real pain that the victims suffered, and even inadvertently (one hopes) provides ammunition for hateful cretins seeking to discredit those who claim to have been abused. Throw in a top-notch cast encouraged to ham it up shamelessly, and you have an early contender for worst of the year.
Joblo
When the other shoe drops, we find out why. Amenábar isn't really trying to make a horror movie, he's trying to deliver a more contemplative message. I won't spoil exactly what he's aiming for, but his revelation at the end lands with a thud; it's the kind of conclusion that leaves you shrugging your shoulders and wondering, "So why was I just watching that? Thanks for nothing." It's a shame, because Amenábar is a talented director, as he's proven with films like The Others, Open You Eyes and The Sea Inside. Here he's able to entice us even though he's not at the top of his game, but entice is all he does. There's no delivery of requested goods.
THR:
TWC-Dimension will release the pic in 2015; FilmNation is handling international sales.
Emma Watson has been cast opposite Ethan Hawke in thriller Regression.
Alejandro Amenabar (The Others) wrote and will direct the film, which will be released in 2015 by The Weinstein Company's Dimension. Filmnation Entertainment is handling international sales.
