A Cure for Wellness commits a common sin of 'horror' films post the reguvination of the genre: it isn't actually a horror film. That is not a criticism of the quality of what the film is, but going in with expectations of a horror film is immediately going to leave many uncomfortable with what they see as it doesn't fulfil that niche.
What it is instead is a slowly building psychological thriller where the protoganist slowly begins to lose his grip on what is going on, which builds to a confrontation at the end. Unfortunately the film seems to think towards the end that we buy into the explanation offered in universe to dimiss their concerns. I am not sure if it is just a tonal mismatch as their story is so obviously a lie while filmed as if it could be real, but it sort of falls flat.
However, the actual story, hidden behind two and a half hours of wandering through a sanitarium, is a really interesting concept. It's genuinely neat, and that aspect of the film is worthy of a film. It is just a shame that the film it got was not able to do true justice to the idea. A well crafted film, which shows a lot of skill in lots of places, but really could've done with a significant script overhaul and edit for time, that doesn't quite reach the heights that are tantalising close.
Review by AudiowormVIP 7BlockedParent2020-08-06T08:00:48Z
A Cure for Wellness commits a common sin of 'horror' films post the reguvination of the genre: it isn't actually a horror film. That is not a criticism of the quality of what the film is, but going in with expectations of a horror film is immediately going to leave many uncomfortable with what they see as it doesn't fulfil that niche.
What it is instead is a slowly building psychological thriller where the protoganist slowly begins to lose his grip on what is going on, which builds to a confrontation at the end. Unfortunately the film seems to think towards the end that we buy into the explanation offered in universe to dimiss their concerns. I am not sure if it is just a tonal mismatch as their story is so obviously a lie while filmed as if it could be real, but it sort of falls flat.
However, the actual story, hidden behind two and a half hours of wandering through a sanitarium, is a really interesting concept. It's genuinely neat, and that aspect of the film is worthy of a film. It is just a shame that the film it got was not able to do true justice to the idea. A well crafted film, which shows a lot of skill in lots of places, but really could've done with a significant script overhaul and edit for time, that doesn't quite reach the heights that are tantalising close.