Review of Thoroughbreds (2018) by Legitsalt — 17 Aug 2018

Anya and Anton played their usual indie film characters, but they fit really well into this setting. Anya has an especially intriguing character here that appears nearly 2-dimensional upon the first watch but really has some interesting developments and intricacies.

I really enjoyed the use of still shots and the persisting, almost dubstep score and sound design. The ambiguity of the shots, things happening off screen, really added to the suspense and helped build up the confusion of the viewer.

It is hard in this movie to distinguish truth from fiction, and many things are left ambiguous, is that our main characters are pathological liars. The film's portrayal of mental illness was an interesting perspective that is usually skipped over.

This aspect is that it can be hard to come to terms with one's condition it even identifies it in the first place. The acting was stellar from almost every member of the cast, and I have completely entertained the whole way through.

The use of background television and ambient audio offer quite the eerie vibe. The shot composition was relatively diverse and helped build upon the going paranoia of the characters. One of my main complaints is that Olivia Cooke's character really fell off at the end in terms of intellectual prowess.

The mother of Anya's character felt poorly written, almost feeling unnecessarily oblivious. I feel this movie could have been more subtle when it came to a few plot details, as the way it handled the audience changed drastically, sometimes clueing into things, while other times having direct assertion if what had been shown.

I would recommend this film to fans of horror films, dramas, or for people who enjoy Anton Yelchin, or Anya Taylor.