![]() Her emotionless reactions and mumbled lines linger over scenes like a dark cloud, never raining or clearing, just hovering. The same goes for Waterhouse’s wooden performance, which much of “Seance” centers on. ![]() Inspired by so many suspenseful and original scripts from other directors, it’s strange that Barrett’s feature debut feels so hollow. Even the movie’s title and credit front brings to mind the pink scrolling type used for Sofia Coppola’s “ The Beguiled” remake. The movie even spends a few minutes in a haphazard dance class led by a stern teacher who could fit in with the coven of Dario Argento’s film. The academy itself seems like a sketch drawing of the dance academy in “Suspiria,” where young women also have a tendency of disappearing and meeting violent deaths. It later uses the masks in a somewhat similar fashion to the animal masks in “You’re Next.” The mysterious Camille also shares some similarities with Erin ( Sharni Vinson), the main character of “You’re Next,” in that she too can fight back against mysterious masked strangers. During “Seance,” the audience is treated to one class lecture to explain the girls’ fascination with Japanese Noh theater-inspired masks. ![]() Barrett, who broke out writing " The Guest" and incidentally " You're Next," either doesn’t mind or doesn’t think the audience can spot the similarities. ![]() The movie relies on referential and in this case self-referential callbacks. Its main characters are underdeveloped, reducing the school girls into mean girl tropes, being mean just for the sake of being mean. “Seance” channels the spirits of “ Suspiria,” “ Mean Girls,” and “You’re Next” but never seems to become a monster with its own identity. ![]()
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