The Astral. Reviews: Pros and Cons

James Van (Malaysian who chose to resideAustralia) at one time made a breakthrough and became famous, first removing the short film “Saw”, and then developing this theme in a full-length movie. And recently, the director has taken a great interest in other experiments, releasing several works at once, in which spirits and ghosts have appeared. This is the "Astral". Reviews of the film Van received a wide variety - from frankly abusive to enthusiastic.

When spirits let loose

The essence of the thriller comes down to the fact that those who moved toNew home spouses Lambert and their three children worried incomprehensible and strange incident. As if things themselves choose where they lie, every now and then inhabitants are frightened by various sounds, and their source is unknown. After the son of Rene and Josh Dalton falls into a coma as a result of a fall from the attic stairs, the parents turn to the help of psychics. It turned out that the boy was not at all in a coma, his spirit simply left the body (as the paranormal specialist Alice explained) and went to the astral plane. Josh's comments on such a statement were the most skeptical. But in the end he had to believe and, in order to return the child, to go himself into the dangerous “flight of the soul”. The cunning director interrupted the thread of the story in the most interesting place, making the final open.

In search of truth

Two years later, the long-awaited"Astral-2", the reviews about the film again differed greatly. Someone got bored with the playing techniques of “intimidating” the auditorium. Someone was annoyed that the sequel begins almost from the same moment on which the prequel stopped. It turns out that if you did not watch the first part, you will not understand anything in the second. And someone was glad that in the "Astral-2" the authors shed light on the many "dark spots" with which Astral sinned. Responses met also that supposedly action rolled down to "shkubidushnyany" and frank farce. Yes, in search of the truth in the sequel, the friend of the deceased Alice and the mother of Josh Lorain joined in. And Rene lost her head completely, wondering why there was no peace from a bored poltergeist in her mother-in-law’s house (where the family had once again moved). Meanwhile, in the body of the head of the family, it seems, something nasty and malicious has settled. It only pretends to be a loving husband and father, assuring others that there is no reason for panic.

Winning acting ensemble

Некоторые зрители после просмотра творений Вана they frankly admitted that they had not thought about the meaning of the word "astral" before. Their reviews were the most laudatory. Separate warm words deserved artists who played great in both parts of the film. First of all, this is Josh Patrick Wilson (one of the favorite actors of James Wan, if you watch their general filmography). Appearing in the Phantom of the Opera, Wilson was remembered for the role of one of the superheroes in The Keepers, for the complex ambiguous image he created in Candy, for his work in the wonderful film How Little Children. His wife Rene played an actress from Australia Rose Byrne. Her intrigue Alex in "Obsession", Scarlet in the zombie thriller "28 weeks later" proved that this is a talented performer. The role of Lorain Lambert went to the famous actress Barbara Hershey. From the early masterpieces in which she starred, we can recall the film by Woody Allen's “Hannah and her sisters”, from the later ones - “The Black Swan” by Aronofsky (Barbara played the main character's mother there).

This is it, the Astral Dilogy. Reviews are testimonials, but it’s better to look at and compose your own opinion about James Wan's film making