Film Review: Séance (2021)

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SYNOPSIS:

Camille, a young woman who arrives at the Fairfield Academy following one the student’s untimely and violent death.

REVIEW:

Séance was directed and written by Simon Barrett. Simon wrote two, well, three of my favorite films. You’re Next, The Guest, and V/H/S. If you haven’t seen any of these films, I recommend you watch them after watching Séance of course. Nothing is as it seems.

Simon gave us Erin played by Sharni Vinson and the killers that took things to the next level. L.C. Holt wearing the lamb mask, Simon Barrett himself in the Tiger mask, Lane Hughes in the fox mask. In You’re Next we also had the amazing Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden.

The Guest starred Dan Stevens, he played “David”. Lance Reddick playing a super serious agent, Leland Orser playing this over worked, trying to get ahead dad, Maika Monroe as Anna, Brendan Meyer played her brother Luke. The Guest was sort of totally unexpected. We got an awesome Ethan Embry moment.

The soundtrack to The Guest was also great. “Haunted When the Minutes Drag” performed by Love and Rockets and Hocico’s “I Want to go to Hell”. I digress, the soundtrack is great. It was sort of reminscinant to The Hitcher (1986). John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) had no reason really to cause all the chaos he causes in The Hitcher (1986).

I got slightly distracting thinking about The Guest soundtrack and wound up listening to a few of the songs.

I am pretty excited to watch Séance to find out what kind of sorcery Simon Barrett has conjured up.

The film opens with Yvonne, Kerrie, Bethany, Alice, Helina, Lenora, and Rosalind performing a candlelit séance. Kerrie doesn’t do too well. The girls think it’s another academy prank. Beautiful music, haunting images, and the arrival of Camille (Suki Waterhouse). Camille arrives at the Edelvine Academy and Lenora (Jade Michael) shows her to her room.

Camille is already targeted by the mean girl group. They don’t know Camille though.  Camille is doing what some folks do to annoy obnoxious people, she’s killing them with kindness and sarcasm.

Alice (Inanna Sarkis) is the leader of this group. Women should build each other up. Life is too short for all of this. She is reminded that she “took Kerrie’s place” and that set the girls off right away. There is an “altercation” between the girls and it’s clear that Camille isn’t taking shit from no one.

Simon Barrett gives us these characters. You aren’t quite sure what they will truly be like. It’s not the stereotypical characters.

There is tension, fear, you aren’t quite sure what will happen but you get an idea and the film barely started. Camille is sent to see the head mistress of the academy.

The group of girls are played by: Kerrie (Megan Best), Bethany (Madisen Beaty), Yvonne (Stephanie Sy), Alice (Inanna Sarkis), Helina (Ella-Rae Smith), Lenora (Jade Michael), Rosalind (Djouliet Amara).

Camille has her first strange experience in her academy dorm. We also meet Trevor (Seamus Patterson). He is the guy on-campus who fixes stuff and keeps things in line. He seems nice, Camille seems to like him. His mother is the head mistress. Trevor also points out that the academy is haunted.

There is no one to blame for the altercation so the girls have to go to detention together. Helina is genuinely being friendly to Camille (we hope.). What do the girls do during detention? (It’s not The Breakfast Club.) I’ll give you a hint… you need a planchette… and you may want to say another prayer, grab some rosary beads.

They do a séance, Camille tells Helina to play along and be nonchalant. They think it’s another prank. If someone is killing people off, is it the head mistress or her son? Is it a tormented student? Simon Barrett doesn’t give us sleepy characters.

Lenora goes missing after being texted by a mystery man. The girls start looking in to what happened to the original girl. Camille gets Trevor to open Lenora’s door. They do find something.

Another one of the girls dies. The head mistress is unbothered to the highest degree. Helina decides to hang out with Camille. Shit gets real, real fast. Simon drops a PLOT TWIST! It’s a wild, unexpected rollercoaster of a movie. Make sure to check out Séance.

SEANCE is In Theaters and On Digital and On Demand May 21, 2021.