Wounds

Wounds is a visceral, disturbing descent into the destruction of a man that hits all of the conventional horror notes with sadistic joy taking viewers on a ride straight to hell.

Anvari has set out to make a mood piece that succeeds in scaring the audience senseless.

Armie Hammer’s Will is definitely hollow at the core. Like a lot of protagonists of horror films, it is his overall weakness as a human being that makes him so vulnerable to the nightmare that unfolds in his life.

Ultimately, it’s hard to figure out exactly what movie Anvari was trying to make.

Hammer’s character, Will, is an empty vessel, no more than an updated model of the jerkwad boyfriend in every ’80s slasher.

Once the wounds have healed, Anvari may wish to make a film with the strength and distinctiveness of his debut.

The performers are left with very little to work with and while Hammer does find away of making the most of his haunted alcoholic, Johnson and Zazie Beetz, two wonderful actors, are stranded with hopelessly one-dimensional roles.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Although boasting an unnerving atmosphere and some disturbing visuals, the average horror aficionado will likely find little to no interest here. There's just not enough to invest in, outside of Armie Hammer's decent lead performance. While the callbacks to H.P. Lovecraft are here, the narrative infrastructure falls apart under the weight of shoddy pacing and an ending that doesn't deliver the payoff needed to make it even worth a simple watch.

The premise wasn't bad but the execution was never adequate. It has some interesting moments but in total it's quite irregular. The rhythm and atmosphere failed to catch my interest beyond the most basic of its plot elements. The actors give it a little more strength and that helps this not to be completely lost but just not enough to justify your full attention. You'll watch it in the moment, you'll forget it easily afterwards.

Good actors, depressing movie that ends at the wrong point, leaving the audience hanging. This is not a conversation starter, as the film makers aimed for, just a let down. It feels like they didn't know where else to go with it, so after deliberating just thought, ahh, WTH, just finish it there.

Einfach nur ein inhaltsloser Film. Ab und zu war es mal spannend, aber das hat alles zu nichts geführt. Entäuschung am Ende vorprogrammiert. Schade um meine Zeit.