Cool concept but terrible, terrible writing.
None of the characters behaves in a believable way, it all feels staged (you know those lines that just happen in movies but just don't feel right in real life? Like "there's no time to explain, just follow me" or "we've got company"), even at the beginning at the resort, before the supernatural part kicks in, like a series of scenes almost unrelated one to the other and patched together, each with the precise purpose to stimulate a feeling in the audience or to get the plot ahead. Characters falling as flies like in predictable horror movies.
Some unexplicable sloppy screenplay moments:
The ending was the best and more naturally progressing part of the movie
some things of note because i've made it a habit to point out things that half-assed critiques get wrong before saying what i actually think about a film:
this was not directed by jordan peele. he produced it. nia da costa directed it, and it has very much the same feel as her overall body of work. comparing this to get out and us is unfair to both peele and da costa.
the original candyman was a social commentary as well. a lot of slasher flicks are social commentaries with regard to topics aside from historical racism like disabilities, socioeconomic disparity, and mental illness. if you don't like social commentary in your horror? your horror options are pretty limited.
my advice is always this: if you can't enjoy a movie because it tackles subjects of inequality and oppression, then that's a you problem. it's a problem worth working through, all the same.
anyway, i loved this. so glad it was my first movie in theaters again since the pandemic started, it was highly worth it. the score was unsettling and stressful in just the right way, and fuck if the progression of the bee sting wasn't the most disgusting thing i'd ever seen. also: those of you who get really grossed out by trypophobia might want to avert your eyes a little in the church scene. the pattern is uniform, not irregular, but it's still real fucking weird.
From a production standpoint this season is great and I even like the futuristic world more than the old western setting. Especially the score got even better and I can't wait to listen to the whole thing on it's own.
The story of the season on the other hand is lacking a lot of what made season 1 so great. And I am not only talking about this season being more straight-forward in terms of story-telling but what is most lacking is just great character moments. There are a few in the earlier episodes and a big one in the last episode but most of the time they were removed in favor of action-sequences. This sequences are a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but they are not what I originally came for with this series. Bernard always has been my favorite character and I love how he emotionally reacted to the things that happen to him and the things he finally made happen in season 2. But here not a lot of theses moments happen. Not to Bernard and not to any of the other characters.
Speaking of characters: There are just too many at this point. We basically got two more main characters and a new supporting character this season while carrying over most of the main characters of the other seasons (we got rid of almost every side-character tho). This is just too many. With only 8 episodes this season this is not enough time to give everyone the screen-time they need to make their arcs believable. A few main characters a only in half the episodes and one character is in even less (or only shows up for one scene which doesn't advance the plot). The story feels rushed and they go over a lot of important things so fast you sometimes think you accidentally skipped a whole episode. In the end I really think we needed a lot more time. Maybe 13 episodes this season with a bit more transition between season 2 and the beginning of this season would have done the story, which from the core idea is actually really fun and interesting, would have been better.
But all this aside, the most important question is: Was it entertaining and was it fun to watch? And the answer is: Yes, definitely.
Was I annoyed by the story sometimes? - Yes I was.
Do I hate the show now because of it? - No, the presentation is so good and the ideas are still big and I really dig the themes it tries to tell.
Would I recommend it? - Yes, if you are a big fan of the show. If you had problems with the show before: Nah, watch something else.
Will I be back in season 4? - Oh, hell yeah.
