Movie
Name/Year: Eli
(2019)
Genre: Horror
Length: 98 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Netflix, Paramount Pictures,
Intrepid Pictures, Bellevue Productions
Director: Ciarán Foy
Writers: David Chirchirillo, Ian
Goldberg, Richard Naing
Actors: Charlie Shotwell, Lili Taylor,
Max Martini, Sadie Sink, Kelly Reilly, Deneen Tyler, Katia Gomez, Parker
Lovein, Austin Foxx, Kailia Posey, Lou Beatty Jr.
Blurb from IMDb: A boy receiving treatment
for his auto-immune disorder discovers that the house he's living in isn't as
safe as he thought.
Cat’s
Point of View:
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by Eli.
On the surface, it gels as a strained family trying to seek treatment
for the son’s mysterious illness. There are clearly more layers to the
situation than meets the eye, I think this really came through well in the cast’s
performances.
I can certainly relate to the son, who appears to be quite literally
allergic to the world. When I was younger, my allergist once called me his ‘poster
child.’ My propensity to get sick at the drop of the hat hasn’t gotten much
better now that, as an adult, I have this crazy auto-immune disease. (MS) While
my friends and I joke that I belong in a bubble; I’m not quite THAT bad off.
Even so, I get nervous about the germ-carrying public and tote around a medical
mask as if I was dodging SARS – just in case. Too many people don’t understand
the whole ‘cover your cough’ thing. I digress…
The desperation to find a cure is palpable and makes the stay in the
spooky mansion-turned-medical facility fairly understandable.
Needless to say, I got sucked into the story. From the various scores
I’ve seen for the film, I’m not sure that it’s as immersive for everyone. I do
have a rebuttal for quite a few of the negative points that have been thrown out
there – but, alas, spoilers. I’m pretty much stuck with imploring the audience
to overlook, for the moment, the whole ‘that doesn’t fit protocol for a
clean-room’ thing. That actually plays into the story.
The twist here was so mind-blowing for me that I don’t even want to
give even the slightest hint of it away. I really want anyone who is watching
for the first time to get that feeling that comes with a Sixth Sense (1999) level reveal. There are shades of a horror
classic dancing at the corners of perception, just begging you to connect the
dots from their breadcrumb trail of hints.
I’d definitely say that Eli is a solid offering for the genre and a great film to enjoy during this month of all things spooky, thrilling, and
chilling.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score –
47%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – None
Metacritic
User Score –
4/10
IMDB
Score –
5.9/10
CinemaScore – None
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5
Movie
Trailer:
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