Review of Premonition (2007) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This movie is quite claustrophobic and seems somewhat confused, both using some disturbing/semi scary scenes, as well as including some comforting parts, like where Linda talks to a local priest, played by Jude Ciccolella (for 24 fans, you'll recognise him as having played Mike Novick on the show) looking for help as she tries to work out a way to change what she knows the future has in store.

Its a rather dark film, which has themes about belief and hope as well as destiny and of course the question of whether its possible to change somebody elses' fate. I won't give away the end of the movie but personally I felt somewhat cheated and dismayed by the ending, it felt like the movie was working up towards perhaps a Sixth Sense type of sudden unseen twist ending.

.. its that sort of movie, but yet it doesn't deliver that way. You can't help but feel during the movie that there's more to it than there ends up being, maybe I was a bit naive in that way but thats certainly how I felt.

It seems as if its trying to teach the audience something but I'm not sure that I really walked away having felt like I properly understood it or learnt anything really, I don't think it works properly.

There are some creepy/scary scenes but the movie itself isn't too horror-based, its rated 12 for containing one use of strong language and moderately distressing scenes, which is about right I feel, the scenes I mention are fairly distressing.

This is a pretty dark movie, that tries to explore the issues previously mentioned (belief, hope (to some extent, or desperation I suppose), destiny and fate), sometimes seemingly in a slightly childish way and in other parts of the movie in a more adult, mature way but personally I found it confusing, it couldn't seem to decide whether it was a movie about faith, fate and belief or more of a cheaper psychological thriller.

I guess its both really but it just didn't seem to work for me. I'd say if you like movies like Sixth Sense and possibly Unbreakable then this is somewhat similar. It works alright as a basic psychological thriller but it really lets itself down by the somewhat anti climatic ending, which I felt was a let down.