I went to watch this movie expecting something absolutely horrendous, but fortunately I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was great, the directing was absolutely stunning and the plot was so unique. Or it may not have been, I wouldn't know, I'm not one for horror movies. But I absolutely loved it. There were enough horror elements in it, but not too many for it to be unwatchable. One thing that ruined it for me was the conclusion. Let me clarify what I mean: there was the end, where you found out what happens to everything and everyone and then there was the conclusion, where you found out how these people went on living their lives. I was okay with the ending, but the conclusion felt just sick for me really. I kind of ignored it to be honest. That didn't ruin the whole movie for me, so I definitely recommend it. One of the best (and few) horror movies I have watched.

'The Secret Of Marrowbone (2018)' is full of good ideas, most of which are unfortunately executed slightly poorly. It isn't until the flick's finale that any of these ideas conflate into something worthwhile, something that provokes a genuine - and even guttural - reaction when it occurs, but even this is marred by a certain feeling of unoriginality, if not quite predictability, and an incredibly silly conceit, the absurdity of which is especially evident in retrospect and takes away from the initial proper horror of certain elements involving it. The eponymous 'secret' also falls apart slightly because of its representation and, to a degree, the execution of its reveal, as opposed to its concept or even necessarily its wider implications. To be fair, it does liven up proceedings - essentially paying you back for your previous 'good faith' during the piece's duller moments. It adds another layer to a picture that constantly toes the line of being too generic to stand apart from the crowd, giving it that special something to compound its 'worth' and make it feel like it was, at least, worth your time. Ironically, it makes it seem like it's trying to ape a certain subsection of its genre (one filled with many better, and inevitably more original, films) in the process, though. Some moments of the feature also fail to live up to scrutiny in retrospect and the final message is mixed, to say the least, even if the movie would have you believe it is an entirely positive one. Still, at least the picture is interesting. 6/10

Marrowbone, or - The Secret of Marrowbone, seems confused. Difficult in fact to call it a Horror film, as the only scares in the film come from sudden slamming of doors or jittery movements of rodents. The film gets too excited by its own twists and turns by the end of the film, leaving you confused and unsure whether what you have seen and learnt has had any value at all. The film has some nice cinematography as well as some decent performances from all of the main cast - not including the youngest child in the family, 'Sam', who is dreadful. Nothing exceptional in Marrowbone, but nothing offensively bad either, and after seeing creative and ambitious horror films such as 'Hereditary', it just seems flat by comparison.

The Secret Of Marrowbone: A family flees to the US leaving behind a dark past. They arrive at Marrowbone, the isolated ancestral home of the mother. The mother dies shortly afterwards and her death must be kept secret until Jack (George MacKay) is 21 or the family will be split up. Sam (Matthew Stagg) who is 8, sees ghosts, Billy (Charlie Heaton) 17, undertakes dangerous tasks and Jane (Mia Goth) 16 mediates between Jack and Billy on what to do as well as tutoring Sam; Jack goes to the local town for supplies.There are several secrets of Marrowbone, the past the family fled, the walled up room in the attic, the stain on the ceiling, the strange noises. The house itself is a star of this Gothic Horror/Mystery, in a state of partial dereliction, creaky boards, rats and raccoons in the walls. A strange mansion which was just made to contain dark secrets. The mirrors are covered so that Sam won't see ghosts, they have a makeshift hide to which they retreat when ghosts appear. Jack has fallen in love with Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy) a librarian who lives on a nearby farm. A local lawyer, Tom (Kyle Soller) is also interested in Allie and things get complicated as he handles the family's legal affairs.Some great shots especially of Billy on the roof and of the eerie interior of the house, filmed largely in washed out tones for internal shots. A complicated script by director Sergio G. Sánchez with some flashbacks and plot twists demands careful attention but in the end supplies a coherent narrative. The Secret Of Marrowbone mixes several Horror styles and tropes and is up to the standard of The Orphanage, also written bt Sánchez. 8.5/10