Son (2021)

Streaming Services: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Son (2021)
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 98 minutes
Rating: NR
Production/Distribution: Belladonna Productions, Elastic Film, Park Films, RLJE Films, Shudder
Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Writer: Ivan Kavanagh
Actors: Andi Matichak, Emile Hirsch, Luke David Blumm, Cranston Johnson, Blaine Maye, J. Robert Spencer, Rocco Sisto, Kristine Nielsen, Erin Bradley Dangar, Adam Stephenson, David Kallaway, Ethan McDowell
 
Blurb from IMDb: When a young boy contracts a mysterious illness, his mother must decide how far she will go to protect him from terrifying forces in her past.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
I’m on the fence about Son.
 
In the beginning, it had me. The scares were effective – to say the least. I normally watch my horrors in a completely dark room, but I felt the need to turn on the light for this one. I’m not one to get caught by jump-scares in movies, either. I watch so many horror films, that those kinds of scares tend to be predictable for me. So, for it to catch me in a way that made me as uncomfortable as it did… that was a feat.
 
Needless to say, my expectations sky-rocketed at that point. If the very beginning of the flick was that scary, then I was certain the rest of it would be on the good side of insane.
 
Not so much.
 
Son took a weird turn. The subtle creepiness turned into something a little more ‘in-your-face’ – which took away what made the beginning so terrifying.
 

I wound up predicting the ending about a half-hour in. After that, there were no surprises. I knew what the mom would do, I knew what the kid would do, I knew what the cops would do. It was as if the movie had it’s very own fated ending – and no one stepped off their path.
 
What could have become an instant classic – fell back to the tropes.
 
I can’t say it was a terrible movie. It still has one of the best beginnings in horror movies from this year. The rest wasn’t exactly painful to watch. It’s not something I would steer people toward, but I wouldn’t warn them against it either.
 
It’s alright. It’s a little upsetting that it wasn’t better, because all the components were there. It could have been a game-changer… it just needed a different twist.
 
Son will appear on Shudder, July 8. If you have the subscription, check it out. Let us know how you feel.
 

Cat’s Point of View:
As the credits rolled for Son, I found myself torn.
 
On one hand, the story seemed to follow a decent progression and was generally fine all-around. Nothing was egregiously bad. On the other hand, I didn’t find myself on the edge of my seat at all.
 
Son just felt long and predictable – to a point. There was a twist I didn’t see coming. I have to give props for that.
 
I had a hard time connecting with the mother character. That’s a rough one for me, since her plight is really the focal point of the film. I was on board at the very beginning, but at some point, things just seemed to unravel – at least as far as my attention span went.
 

There was a little more expectation from a movie with Emile Hirsch (Ten Thousand Saints, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, The Comeback Trail), but I guess sometimes that’s just the way it goes.
 
I’d say that Son was generally a decent movie for its genre. Perhaps in the wake of something as amazing as our last film, this one just pales in comparison. 

My experience could have also been colored by exhaustion.
 
You can always check it out for yourself on Shudder, later this week!
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 72%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 48%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.5/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R
 
Movie Trailer: