Seance – A Popcorn Slasher Flick

Shudder is one of those platforms that is constantly getting the best exclusives that are just popcorn fun horror movies. Seance directed by Simon Barrett is no different and is a blissful watch. With this film, Barrett, who also wrote or co-wrote V/H/S and The Guest, shows his strong background within in the horror genre. The story follows a girl named Camille (Waterhouse) who arrives at the Fairfield Academy, where one of the students just passed away under mysterious circumstances. The events that unfold for the first and second half seem like a typical séance ghost story. These girls end up doing a séance and tragedy soon follows. When the third act hits, the film shifts into a whole new story thanks to a twist that works very well. While there are some issues with the delivery of said twist using a unfavorite trope, overall, the direction it took at the very end helped redeem it. There are some great scares, amazing costume design and gore, so much gore. Some of it was over the top, but it made perfect sense for the tone the movie was going for.

Waterhouse as Camille was a total badass and it’s exciting to see where she can take roles like this. Her character was very well established and will shock a lot of viewers. Barrett was clearly having a blast and that energy translated on screen. Meanwhile, the score was reminiscent of The Guest and the tone was also similar to that film. Fans of his earlier work are sure to enjoy this one for what it is. Seance is truly a popcorn slasher flick offering a new perspective on the genre and the most fun experience in recent memory. However, some of the dialogue falls a little flat and some of the characters weren’t explored nearly enough. It was difficult to ever feel too emotionally attached to anyone, but Camille.

That being said, Seance was still a blast. There are a lot of horror elements that worked very well and for the most part, the film will make a lot of viewers happy. Check this one out on Shudder and for those who don’t yet have the service, you should!

still courtesy of HanWay Films

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Frederick Nuti