Hot Take: Awful.

I’m not one to go overboard about the evaluation of film quality via Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. However, when a movie is at 0% after receiving 18 out of 18 negative reviews, there’s something there. Shut In hasn’t fared much better from audiences, either. As of November 16th, the Audience Score sits at 23% liked. 

Shut In is a truly awful viewing experience. Laughing at the course of events or walking out are both viable options throughout the 91 minutes that feels closer to 3 hours. Naomi Watts does her best with what she has to work with but since that’s zero and anything times zero is zero, you get the idea. The ridiculous plot spirals toward the absurd and becomes less interesting during it’s spiral. In a year that hasn’t been particularly great for the horror genre, Shut In is the worst horror film of the year.

“Spoiler Free” Pros

  • Watts
    Even though the movie is terrible, Watts delivers an okay performance. Unfortunately, she has absolutely nothing to work with so her performance can’t elevate the movie.

“Spoiler Free” Cons

  • A Total Waste of Talent
    Beyond Watts, the movie also features Oliver Platt and Jacob Tremblay. Tremblay was the young actor who stole the show in last year’s best movie Room and Platt has been known to deliver in small supporting roles. It’s a shame these two (along with Watts) are stuck with this blemish on their resume.
  • Nothing Happens In the First Two Acts
    At least nothing worth remembering. Shut In finally gets going in the last act but by then who cares?
  • The Ever Changing Release Date
    Shut In was originally set to hit theaters in February. At the end of last year it was pushed back to June then pushed back to September in February. In May, the movie was finally moved to its eventual release date in November. This is usually a sign of a bad movie and this indicator holds true for Shut In.

3 Comments

  1. Other than being shut in, what is the conflict of the movie?

  2. Author

    Trying to make it through the hour and a half without committing self harm.

    Oh! You mean for the characters in the movie? A woman who is taking care of her paralyzed son in the middle of nowhere is haunted by a deaf kid who disappeared after being at her house for a few minutes and who was also a patient of hers. (She’s a psychologist or psychiatrist… I always get them confused.)

  3. Thanks. A psychiatrist can give you a piece of paper you can exchange for drugs.

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