Review of Shelley (2016) by Jacob R — 27 Jun 2017

This film was certainly well-made. If it sought to tell the story through atmosphere and mood, then it was a job well done. As you've no doubt read in other reviews, the plot and script were severely lacking.

I'm normally fine with unanswered questions or a "you decide how it ends" sort of situation. But this one simply had no ending. Imagine if Rosemary's Baby ended with the baby being born, the parents taking it out of the room, and then the credits rolling.

And there were no neighbors. This one didn't have those particular absences per se, but it certainly lacked any hints or supporting information or events to even help form a viewer-determined conclusion.

There were a few symbolic dreams and...visions? But nothing that could lend any sort of road map to a proper end. The tagline reads: Inside, and evil grows. What kind of evil? Why did it grow? Where did it come from? Now what? All are left unanswered and with no hints.

The mood and atmosphere were engaging. I didn't lose interest at any point. But I think the expertly crafted atmospheric tension was like a carrot on a string held just out of reach. And at the end, I realized there was no carrot at all.