Tag: film review

Dolly (2025) Film Review: A Texas Chainsaw Massacre Wannabe

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Have you ever wanted to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) but much worse? If your answer is yes, then Dolly (2025) might just be for you.

Director: Rod Blackhurst

Running Time: 83 minutes

Rating: 🌟

Description

Dolly (2025) follows couple Chase and Macy as they go on a hike in a secluded wooded area. Chase intends to propose so he leaves his daughter Evy with her aunt. While he drops her off, Macy is in the car discussing her doubts on the phone. She is confident Chase is proposing but is unsure whether or not he’s right for her since she didn’t want to be a mother.

Once out in the woods, the pair stumble across a swathe of creepy dolls strewn across the floor and pinned to surrounding trees. Macy remains light-hearted and jokes about how the dolls look like herself and Chase. However, Chase fails to see the funny side and presses on further into the woods.

Eventually, they reach the viewpoint which is where Chase wants to propose. Just as he takes the ring out to bend on one knee, a mysterious tune emanates from inside the woods. Of course, Chase has to check it out since what else would you do if you heard a creepy noise coming from a creepy forest?

While looking for the noise, Chase finds a woman wearing a porcelain mask sobbing over a hole in the ground. He understandably asks her if she’s alright but comes to regret it when “Dolly” proves not to be friendly.

Later, when Macy eventually finds Chase, Dolly decides the hiker will make a good addition to her doll collection. What ensues is a twisted rollercoaster of cruel and tortuous scenes that fail to give the viewer a moment’s rest from the gore.

Time to leave or…? Image Source: Hooked on Horror

Review

I’m not sure what possessed Rod Blackhurst to make a film about women and motherhood but here it is. The two women we see throughout the majority of the film are horrific caricatures of female stereotypes. You have Dolly, who is supposed to be ugly and off-putting. She is compared with Macy who is beautiful but not very wise. This pitting of women against each other is uncomfortable to say the least.

Then you have the blatant ableism that’s present for the duration of the film. It seems clear that Dolly has some form of PTSD especially in the scenes with her father. However, there is no let up on the demonisation of her character. We get no backstory, no insight into how she became the way she is. She is one-dimensional and serves only one purpose – to beat the hell out of the other woman. I wasn’t sure why Dolly’s father was even there when he offers no further information about his daughter beyond that she’s a ‘monster’.

The decisions Chase and Macy make within the film are clearly to advance the plot and feel completely unrealistic. Would you go check out a random creepy noise in the middle of the woods you’ve just hiked through to propose to your partner? No, of course you wouldn’t. I don’t think anyone would, the decision is made purely so Macy can get kidnapped and spend the next hour being tortured.

Cruel torture is present through Dolly‘s entirety and I have to wonder whether this film is just poorly-hidden fetishism. There are several scenes where Macy is dressed up as a doll being beaten by various objects, including a paddle. I don’t see how you can read scenes like this in any other way. The violence is also completely gratuitous with no artistic flair or commentary on violence against women in general.

Pacing and structure are some other issues this film exhibits. Despite near constant action scenes, the eighty-three-minute runtime feels never-ending and I kept checking the time to see how long was left. Interspersed between the scenes of violence towards Macy are scenes of the somehow still alive Chase dragging himself through the woods. With the injuries he sustains, I imagine it would take longer than it does to reach the house Macy is kept in.

The film is on 16mm to mimic 1970s films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). In fact, it’s plain to see Blackhurst is desperate to go back in time and direct the notorious slasher. However, he doesn’t have the skills here to create something on the same level so it simply falls flat. Although I didn’t like Thrash (2026) either, it bewilders me that Dolly (2025) achieved a higher score on Letterboxd.

One of my main issues with Dolly is the ending, especially the twenty minutes leading up to it. For some reason, there is an Alice in Wonderland-type montage that is bizarrely out of place. It seems Blackhurst decides the solid hour of torture might border on too much for the average audience and starts trying to lighten the mood. Either that, or he is trying to add some last-minute style. Regardless, it doesn’t work and ends up just being somewhat confusing.

The reluctance to be a wife and mother that Macy displays at the beginning also goes out of the window at the first hint of trouble. This feels weirdly propagandistic, as though we are only going to avoid trauma if we go ahead and start making babies.

Soured milk leaves a sour taste. Source Image: Pop Horror

Recommendation or Regret?

I need to stop picking random films on Shudder, don’t I? Honestly sometimes they’re so good and then I end up getting two or three duds in a row and feel like never watching a horror film again. That’s obviously an exaggeration but Dolly is truly a terrible film.

I’m not entirely sure who I would recommend it to besides people who share Rod Blackhurst’s fetishes. The pacing, character choices, extreme violence and poor editing leave a sour taste in my mouth (not to mention the sour milk scene).

Let’s leave The Texas Chainsaw Massacre alone and try to come up with something original and exciting next time, please. The homages to seventies horror classics might have a time and place but this is certainly not it. Overall, a wannabe with little substance, disturbing fetishisation and some of the most absurd character decisions of all time.

If you’d like to check out more horror film reviews, try Bodycam (2025) and Thrash (2026).

18th May 2026
Bodycam (2025) Film Review

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Bodycam (2025) is a found footage film that pairs cops and demons with a horrifying result. But, is it a decent entry in the genre or one of the worst found footage films of all time?

Director: Brandon Christensen

Running Time: 75 minutes

Rating: 🌟1/2

Description

Two police officers go to a domestic incident at a house in the suburbs. They assume it’s what they consider to be a run-of-the-mill incident involving addicted people. However, once they arrive, things quickly get out of hand and carnage ensues.

Upon entering the house, they find a couple who appear to be under the influence of a substance. The mother is covered in blood and the father attempts to get help for his baby. Bryce, one of the police officers, mistakes this attempt and fatally shoots both the father and his baby.

Subsequently, Bryce pleads with Jackson to cover the incident up. His wife is pregnant with their first child and he doesn’t want to lose everything he’s been working for. Jackson is understandably reluctant and there are conversations about trust and duty.

A strange symbol in drawn in the house and in various places around the neighbourhood, often in blood. The suburb is reminiscent of LA’s ‘Skid Row’ with users and tents lined up down the pavements. Because of this, Bryce assumes these symbols are the product of someone’s high.

Local hacker Esposito agrees to erase the bodycam footage for Bryce. When she hears the mother in the footage mention ‘The Underman’ though, she changes her mind. She wants nothing to do with it and refuses to erase the camera, running out and leaving the pair to fend for themselves.

What follows is a battle of spirit between the police officers and ‘The Underman’. There is also some input from Jackson’s mother who is a priestess of the light. Despite her attempts to help, bloody scenes unfold and the ending is equal parts gross and disorienting.

Review

Initially, it seems that the film is critiquing police officers, which makes sense given the sheer amount of deaths they cause, especially in the USA. Yet, the jarring ending and descent into chaos pulls away from any possible commentary that might have been there.

Found footage films can be so incredibly hit-or-miss. This one starts off as something unique but devolves into one of the worst ones I’ve seen for some time. The sole use of bodycam and dashcam footage is fairly interesting. Yet, by the end, its sole purpose is to deliver one corny jump scare after another which ruins its effectivity.

There is a decent story in there but it loses against the supernatural storyline. The atrocious acting from some of the cast members also removed me from the setting. It made me all too aware I was watching a questionable found footage film I found on Shudder.

The low budget is plain to see, especially at the end with the makeup. Clearly, they have taken some inspiration from Slenderman in terms of story and costume. The result of this is just a bit weird. Rather than being a unique tale with its own quirks and intrigues, it’s riffing off a different folktale and it doesn’t even do it better.

Jackson’s mother, the priestess of the light, is the most interesting character. There seems to be an intersection between ‘The Underman’ and drug use. She talks about how Jackson scared the former because of his refusal to inject drugs, presumably heroin, into his veins.

Catherine’s daughter passed away due to addiction so she now spends her time trying to help other young addicted people to ‘see the light’. This could have been an interesting point but they don’t explore it in much depth. ‘The Underman’ apparently wanted Catherine because of her work against him but the story ends up being overly bland instead of reaching its full potential.

Some reviews have claimed Bodycam is also socially tone deaf and inappropriate considering the rhetoric surrounding ICE and police officers in the USA at the moment. I can understand this. Beside the couple of conversations the pair have about informing control, Bryce’s behaviour is not necessarily criticised in a concrete, human way. There is an incident with ‘The Underman’ towards the end of the film but this is supernatural rather than reality so the story doesn’t punish him in a way viewers can relate to.

The film’s sound is one aspect that is effective. Throughout, you only hear situational sounds, like talking, moving around the house and doors closing. However, when Bryce rushes home to try and protect his wife and unborn child, his wedding song plays. It then plays during a couple of integral points later in the film which amps up the atmosphere and makes it clear something unnerving is about to happen.

Recommendation or Regret?

I do think this found footage film had potential but it never managed to realise it. Rather, it is one of the worst found footage films I’ve seen and it’s unfortunate. Despite having a low budget, there’s more that could have been explored in terms of story, especially if they redirected the makeup budget which was not very well spent.

Although the film is only seventy-five minutes in length, it feels much longer as it begins to drag in the latter half. Found footage films are generally unpolished so I find it’s better if they’re pacy and efficient, which this one sadly wasn’t for the most part.

From time to time, I do watch random films on streaming services like Shudder and I don’t necessarily regret doing that. However, on this occasion, I regret the film I chose.

If you’re on a masochistic mission to watch every found footage film there is, then by all means, watch this one. On the other hand, if you’re a regular film viewer though, you can probably give it a miss.

If you want to read about more horror films, you can read my post on Upcoming Horror Releases for May 2026.

17th May 2026
Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) Review

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Director: Olivia Newman

Running Time: 114 minutes

Rating: 🌟🌟1/2

Description

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) is a film based on the hit novel of the same name by Shelby van Pelt from 2022. It sees Marcellus the octopus, voiced by Alfred Molina, create a bond with aquarium cleaner, Tova. He senses there is a ‘hole’ in her heart that he wishes to fix. The only way he can do this is by solving a mystery that surrounds her and newcomer, Cameron.

Tova has been grieving her husband and son, finding solace in Marcellus’s company. She loves her home but feels isolated because of the rumours that have hounded her since the incident that claimed her son.

Meanwhile, Cameron, a young man who has recently lost his mum, comes to the bay to find his long lost father. He meets Tova and her fellow town residents, quickly becoming part of the local community.

At the end, with Marcellus’s help, Tova makes a miraculous discovery that will change their lives.

Tova is a sucker for Marcellus’s intelligent charm. Image Source: Slug Magazine

Review

Although sweet, the film didn’t resonate with me as much as it seems to have for many other people. The shots and imagery have the generic feel of your average Netflix original film. This almost ascribes a Hallmark feeling to it that isn’t what I’m seeking from new releases. Usually, if I want Hallmark standard films, it’s solely at Christmas after a snowball or two. It’s not when I’m watching something that’s reviewed highly and recommended by thousands of people.

The dialogue is the main issue I have with Remarkably Bright Creatures. It flip-flops from being overly sentimental to being too on-the-nose. The film has a mysterious element but everything is spoken aloud for us without chance to read between the lines. Did the creators make it simply to be a feel-good film you can put on in the background while you conduct your Sunday chores?

There were elements that pulled at my heartstrings but these were minority moments. Throughout most of the film, events felt too convenient and well put together. I also found the setting strange. It was trying too hard to portray a Stars Hollow-style community but the characters were too separate for this to be achieved. Rather than having a small town vibe, it felt like a set that had been built for a film – not so immersive.

I did wonder whether I’m the target market for this but most of the reviews I’ve seen say it’s a film for people of all ages so it should have something for me too. However, I can’t say that it does. For a film that has emotional twists and turns, I felt surprisingly little. Maybe I just have a heart of stone but I recently watched The Farewell (2019) and that had me sobbing for hours.

I don’t think the acting is terrible, I simply think the script and direction weren’t strong enough for the actors to give their all. The result for me is a one-dimensional, quasi-emotional film that appeals to the masses but fails to deliver once you dig beneath the surface.

Tova laughs before destroying the ancient relic that is Ethan’s Grateful Dead t-shirt. Image Source: Screen Hub

Recommendation or Regret

If I’m completely honest, I do regret watching Remarkably Bright Creatures because I didn’t understand the hype surrounding it. I wanted to be in on the cosy conversation and unfortunately, I’m having to be the grumpy reviewer who dislikes something everyone else enjoys.

On the other hand, I can’t blanket recommend this when many of my readers are like myself. Therefore, I’d recommend this film only if you’ve enjoyed similar ones or films with these actors in in the past.

If you’d like to see a film I consider to pack an emotional punch, I’d recommend The Farewell (2019).

13th May 2026
The Farewell (2019) Review

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

I’m currently on a mission to watch every single film on my Letterboxd watchlist. That’s a pretty miraculous feat since a) it’s over 1000 films long and b) I keep adding to it. However, I still think it’s doable and I’d like to attack it from three different perspectives.

Firstly, I’m going to work through the new releases on my watchlist. These are usually the 2026 films that I’d like to see in the cinema. I have a fun habit of committing to see new films on release and subsequently not seeing them until a random afternoon six years later.

Secondly, I’m going to use the shuffle function on Letterboxd and choose random films to watch on occasion. This may be something I film for reels, I haven’t quite decided yet.

Finally, I will be watching the oldest films on my watchlist in the order I initially added them. This film review is the beginning of this series. When I checked my watchlist, it was actually Parasite (2019) that is the oldest but there’s a Bong Joon-ho boxset I’d like to get my hands on next month and it’s in there so I opted to watch the second oldest, which was The Farewell (2019).

Director: Lulu Wang

Running Time: 100 minutes

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

Description

The Farewell has been on my watchlist, I believe, since its original release in 2019. Lulu Wang directs the film which is based on Wang’s personal life experiences involving her own Nai Nai. It follows Billi and her family as they grapple with the news her grandmother is dying of lung cancer.

The family’s instinct is to keep the information from the matriarch of the family, which is a regular occurrence within many Chinese families. However, as Billi and her parents live in New York, they have adopted some American values. This leads to debates between themselves and their family members who still live in China. They question what the ‘right’ thing to do is, if there can ever be such a thing in a terminal situation such as this.

Awkwafina stars as Billi, a writer struggling to get a fellowship in New York. She realises there’s something off in her father’s demeanour and when she questions it, her parents reveal that her beloved grandmother is dying. They have a close relationship despite the thousands of miles between them and it hits Billi hard.

The family decide to hold a wedding for Billi’s cousin as an excuse to gather together for what might be the final time. Despite being asked to remain at home because she is too emotional and easy to read, Billi uses her credit card to fly out for the celebration/possible goodbye.

I come from a complicated family and am no contact with several family members. This included my grandparents. When they passed away, I was extremely confused and wondered if I had done the right thing by excluding them from my life. I felt guilty and there was a small voice in the back of my mind telling me I was going to regret it for the rest of my life. However, several years later, I still feel sad that I didn’t get to see them but I have accepted there was nothing I could do because they weren’t willing to change their abusive behaviours. These emotions meant The Farewell was quite difficult for me to watch and there were many many tears shed.

Billi spending precious quality time with her Nai Nai. Image Source: The Guardian

Review

Lulu Wang is extraordinarily talented at filming faces in their subtle movements. She can say so much with her shots that the characters might not themselves be able to say out loud. Pictures of grief pass across the screen, recognisable and relatable to most people in the audience. She captures the micro gestures between relatives and shows us rather than telling us how everyone is feeling.

The scene where Nai Nai is waving her family goodbye as they start travelling home is devastating. You have the grandmother herself who is trying to keep everything together for the sake of her family when all she wants is them by her side in China. Then, you have the quiet anticipatory grief of those leaving her behind. Family is the most complex societal dynamic we have and each family has its own structure, feelings and complications. There is no such thing as a perfect family and this film embodies that perfectly.

The settings chosen also highlight both the differences and similarities between New York and Changchun. Billi feels home in both places, informing a hotel worker who asks which she prefers, that they are just different. There is a longstanding competitiveness and animosity between the two nations that often sees Chinese American people stuck between two cultures. The Farewell shows this in detail.

The film was nominated for, and won, several awards in the months following its release and I can see why. As a beautifully introspective and poignant look into family and culture, it certainly deserves these and more. Lulu Wang has since directed Expats (2024) which, compared with The Farewell, flopped somewhat.

She did say in an interview that both Chinese and American investors wanted a ‘prominent white character’ in the mix which may be what happened for us to get Nicole Kidman in Hong Kong not speaking any Cantonese, according to the reviews. If this is true, it’s incredibly sad because Wang is talented and if she could direct more features like The Farewell, I think she’d have a sustained, successful career.

Grief is written on the faces of Nai Nai’s family members. Image Source: A24

Recommendation or Regret?

The Farewell is always going to be a recommendation. It’s one of the most touching films I’ve seen on family and it deserves the accolades it’s achieved. If you haven’t watched this already, I recommend doing so, especially if you need a good cry.

If you want to read more about media with complex family dynamics, read my review of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (2026).

12th May 2026
Junji Ito Film Adaptations Double Bill

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

This post marks the beginning of a new series I’m calling ‘Double Bill’ where I watch a duo of films that relate to each other. I’m not talking ‘horror films’ but rather a category that’s a little more focused. Today, we’re talking about two Junji Ito film adaptations that will have your head spinning, maybe literally.

Tomie

Director: Ataru Oikawa

Running Time: 95 minutes

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

The first film in this double bill, Tomie (1998), follows Tsukiko, a photography student, who is attempting to recover some forgotten memories associated with repressed trauma. During her visits with a psychiatrist, she uncovers the name of her former best friend. A name that may allow her to remember everything. That name is Tomie.

Meanwhile, Tomie’s head is regrowing a body in the custody of a recently escaped psychiatric hospital patient. Little does Tsukiko know that Tomie is growing fast and she’s out for revenge for an incident that occurred while the pair were at school together.

Later in the film, we meet a dodgy detective who is investigating Tomie and her seemingly supernatural nature. According to him, she is immortal and has lived several lives, causing men to fall dangerously in love with her. In the past, the detective says she has driven several of her classmates to suicide.

When Tsukiko and Tomie eventually meet once again, there are revelations which culminate in the finale. While she has been portrayed as an evil succubus who wants to use men for her own purposes, you could say Tomie is just your average high school student. She is self-conscious and curious but the Japanese educational and societal landscape does not allow for this in this time period.

With an excellent score and dreamlike images, Tomie feels like a relic, like an old home video lost to time. Although very much reminiscent of late 90s J-horror, it also possesses its own charm despite the tropes. The ending can also be read from a feminist perspective which is not necessarily what I expected but which I appreciated.

Don’t you just hate it when you turn into a spiral? Image Source: The Asian Cinema Critic

Uzumaki

Director: Higuchinsky

Running Time: 90 minutes

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Uzumaki (2000) is another film made in the late 90s/early 2000s J-horror period and based on a popular manga by Junji Ito. This one follows a town that has been cursed by spirals, causing people to become obsessed with the shape. Some people want to rid their bodies of spiral-shaped anatomical structures, some people want to collect spirals and some people become spirals themselves.

A pair of high school students resist the urge to run away to try and save the other inhabitants, including their parents. When this doesn’t go to plan, the spirals quickly take over, causing havoc and mayhem across the town.

While Uzumaki still has a fantastic score, dreamlike pacing and unique shots, it’s not quite as good as Tomie. The special effects are fun but also borderline laugh-out-loud and my eyebrows were raised for large portions of the film. It just didn’t have the same eeriness despite arguably being about a much more terrifying scenario. I certainly don’t know anyone who wants to become a spiral.

Although both adaptations lack some clarity, there’s a section in the middle of Uzumaki which is totally bizarre and doesn’t seem to make any sense. A detective goes to the library to research the spirals and a series of images relating to cults and symbols pop up on the screen. This is then presented as a huge and important finding. However, it doesn’t feel that revelatory and immediately loses any traction once that detective meets their spiral-related fate.

Horrifying film posters for Tomie and Uzumaki. Image Source: Wiki (Tomie) and Wiki (Uzumaki)

Recommendations or Regrets?

If I’d read the source materials, I think I may have harboured some disappointment because this seems to be the general theme amongst other people for whom Junji Ito is a favourite. However, because I watched these films with a separate perspective, I enjoyed them both for what they were.

While they are both somewhat cheesy and lacking in some clarity, they both feel like fever dreams that I’d want to keep returning to. The standout aspects of both were the scores and I’d quite happily listen to them both on their own without rewatching the films.

If you’re a fan of the 90s/early 2000s trends in J-horror, I’d recommend giving these two films a watch. Even if it’s just for the bizarre nature of them both, I think they’re worth adding to your watchlist.

11th May 2026
Apex (2026) Review

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Running Time: 96 minutes

Rating: 🌟1/2

Don’t you just hate it when you lose your boyfriend on a mountain and go to Australia only to be hunted by a terrifying man who likes to eat people?

Description

The film opens to a scene on Troll Wall in Norway. We meet Sasha and her boyfriend Tommy, two adventure climbers. They have been attempting to scale one particularly tricky part of the mountain with no luck. Tommy tells Sasha he believes his luck has run out in terms of their adrenaline-seeking activities. Later, a storm rolls in suddenly. As they are attempting to descend to safety, falling debris hits Tommy and Sasha must make a life-changing decision.

Later, Sasha makes a trip to Australia seeking out more adventure and closure. While there, she makes a horrifying discovery (and it’s not just the venomous snakes) and must fight for survival. A true adventure film, Apex is a solid ninety plus minutes of adrenaline and suspense.

Advanced rock climbing. Image Source: Empire

Review

I initially dismissed this as something I wouldn’t be interested in. It seemed to be your typical adventure film where someone goes a little too far following their adrenaline desires. However, Apex is all over social media at the moment and the fuss got to me. Last night, I’d finished watching the films I’d wanted to watch for the week and I gave this a chance.

The film does start as an ordinary adventure film and it’s easy to see what’s going to happen from the get-go. The pair are on a terrifying, sheer mountain wall when a storm hits, it seems obvious that something will go wrong and it does. If the predictability had ended there, I would likely have a higher rating. However, every step the film took, I was a few steps ahead. I knew what was happening the whole way through.

Many people have reported the ‘twist’ coming completely out of left field and surprising them but I have to ask, really? I imagined it was too easy to guess what was happening because the director wanted us to have the knowledge but feel helpless with it but now I’m wondering if this can possibly be the case.

Taron Egerton is excellent in Apex, he’s the standout in a sea of average. I’ve only seen him in comedies previously but he plays the villain all too well. His use of facial expressions combined with full body language and voice acting too. It’s a full combination that incites fear when you watch him and I almost forgot he’s ever been anything but a villain. Charlize Theron on the other hand was somewhat one-dimensional. I appreciate you would be rather flat if you blamed yourself for an adventure mishap but it’s too flat and meant I struggled to root for Sasha as much as I might have otherwise.

Extreme hide-and-seek. Image Source: Casey’s Movie Mania

The setting is beautiful with Australia’s dangerous beauty being displayed around every corner. I understand why certain stunts and shots might have been difficult to achieve, even with Theron’s raw athleticism but the special effects felt excessive. At some parts during the film, nothing felt real and that’s not the effect I’m looking for when watching something as it does tend to remove you from the plot.

In your typical adventure thriller, there’s usually one or two instances where you think, ‘how have they survived that, then?’. How many instances of this do you think there are in Apex? The answer is too many. When she starts white water rafting, she is wearing a helmet, the correct gear and is safe in her vessel. Later, she jumps into aerated water with no safety equipment. She bangs her head multiple times, she gets bashed against a mountain more times than I could count. She should not have survived longer than a third of the way in. This prevented my full immersion into the film because it essentially turned into a silly ways to die compilation without the actual deaths.

Recommendation or Regret?

Sometimes listening to social media hype is not worth the effort and unfortunately, this is one of those occasions. If you don’t mind an overly predictable adventure thriller, I might recommend Apex just to witness another instance of Australia’s beauty but otherwise, I would suggest giving it a miss.

Want to read about another disappointing Netflix release? Try my review for Remarkably Bright Creatures next.

9th May 2026
Past Lives (2023)

Director: Celine Song

Running Time: 106 minutes

Star Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Description

In Celine Song’s debut film Past Lives (2023), Nora and Hae-sung explore their pasts, presents and futures with and without one another. Nora moves to the USA from South Korea when she is young, meaning she loses touch with her best friend and crush, Hae-sung. Twelve years later, she realises he’s been looking for her on social media and they become close again through online calls. Another twelve years pass and more changes have occurred with Nora married to Arthur and Hae-sung on a break with his on and off girlfriend. The right time for romance never seems to arrive for this ill-fated pair, as their yearning fails to solidify into anything more than knowing looks and smiles across the widening gap between them.

At the beginning, Nora pretends she doesn’t care about emigrating, refusing to allow her emotions out authentically and it is Nora again twelve years later who pushes Hae-sung away, worried that her feelings for him will distract her from her writing career in New York. However, in the final scenes, Nora seems at once grateful for her current life and regretful she never got to lead the life that would have brought her together with her childhood best friend.

The carousel in the background represents Nora and Hae-sung’s relationship with one another – as one becomes invested, the other jumps off. Image Source: IMDB

Review

There are many moments throughout this film that ought to feel awkward and slow but the chemistry between the two characters limits awkwardness and openly demonstrates the depth of feeling between them. Greta Lee’s range of facial expressions especially allow us inside Nora’s head without necessarily verbalising her emotions.

I’m sure most people can say they had a high school crush they lost contact with. You may not be at the level of yearning Nora is at in this film but I’m sure you’ve occasionally wondered what they’re doing now. It’s that curiosity and the generally unanswered questions that accompany it that make this film poignant and relatable.

The communication through Zoom calls also calls into mind the trials of the pandemic. In 2020, we had no choice but to call our loved ones over the internet if we wanted to see them. The inclusion of this physical distance pairs with Nora’s emotional distance as she attempts to figure out what she wants from her life. It also hearkens back to a time when communication was near impossible for all of us, regardless of romantic status.

The differences between the New York and Korean lifestyles is another aspect of Past Lives that I feel is explored extremely well. There are bars and drinking and neon signs in both cities but that doesn’t mean the cities’ inhabitants are the same. Nora recognises that Korea is her home but that New York has become her home too, and her relationship with Hae-sung could be viewed as a metaphor for this hybridity.

Nora is incredibly open about her confusion surrounding Hae-sung but Arthur remains by her side and offers her the time to understand what she wants. He is a patient and secure husband despite the concern he clearly feels during certain moments. The scene in the bar is heart-breaking from all three characters’ perspectives but somehow they get through it and continue living their respective lives.

Past Lives says something about the human condition, nostalgia and regret. That’s regret for leaving things unsaid, regret for not being in a certain place at a certain time and regret for leaving. It is a beautifully shot film with visuals from two major global cities and music that feels like we’re in a dreamscape.

Recommendation or Regret?

There are arguments that Nora is micro-cheating with Hae-sung and I think they are valid. It seems to me that Nora has not decided who she wants to spend her life with until the bar scene when she is sitting between Arthur and Hae-sung. In fact, based on the ending, it’s impossible to say whether she would even stay with her husband once things have settled down. Therefore, if you can’t bear to watch films with these themes of maybe infidelity, Past Lives will not be for you but I thought it explored some intriguing themes expertly.

It’s a quiet, meandering film that many would find slow and dull but I found it to be just the right pace for what it was trying to say. I would certainly recommend it, especially for people who enjoy films about humans being a bit messy.

30th April 2026