Directed by:
Lorcan FinneganScreenplay:
Garret ShanleyCinematography:
MacGregorComposer:
Kristian Eidnes AndersenCast:
Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Molly McCann, Olga Wehrly, Senan Jennings, Danielle Ryan, Eanna HardwickeVOD (2)
Plots(1)
Young couple, Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) want to purchase a house. They visit a strange estate agent, Martin, who tells them of a new development called Yonder. Gemma and Tom drive out to the development with Martin. The houses in Yonder are identical, suburban homes the place is silent, empty and otherworldly. Martin shows the couple around house number nine and then vanishes. Gemma and Tom attempt to leave Yonder but become lost every route and no matter what they try, returns them to number nine. Their physical and emotional well-being takes a toll as they desperately try to escape. (Umbrella Entertainment)
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Reviews (7)
Vivarium feels like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone, and that's where the film stumbles. It starts off strong, with an opening sequence that's funny and perfectly sets up a bizarre atmosphere that grows increasingly unsettling with each passing moment. However, the story soon begins to feel stretched-out. For over an hour, the plot doesn't progress much and starts to drag. It only picks up again towards the end, culminating in a decent twist that you can probably guess halfway through. The story wraps up nicely and everything falls into place, but it doesn’t deliver anything particularly surprising.
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The hopeful start to this movie, the brisk introduction to the storyline, spiced up with some weird humor drew me in - I said to myself that I hoped it would not get bogged down and monotonous too soon, which, unfortunately, did happen here. The screenplay and its objective could have been made into a short film with a running time of thirty minutes. However, in the 97-minute version, everything starts to get very repetitive very quickly, and at the end, it gets slightly annoying. The central mystery is presented in a way to make it end simply according to its cyclical narrative, however, that does not leave the audience much room to think, and does not offer possibilities for more powerful moments within the plot, which would have made Vivarium worth remembering. [Sitges 2019]
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Nobody probably expected an Oscar contender, just like nobody probably expected an objectively "good movie" and we all more or less watched Vivarium for another wtf mindfuck idea, but even that is so pointlessly stupid here that it hurts. Because that one single idea, which could be summed up in one single sentence, is the entirety of the film, and the form of its delivery is disastrously bland and tedious, the execution completely mediocre and uninviting, and there simply isn't anything else in the film. Because what's the point of having a basic idea when the whole process of translating it into film form looks as if they had absolutely no idea what they wanted to make, but more importantly, to "somehow" make it. It's a tedious hell that differs from other genre films in that it doesn't actually have a final twist or any kind of tease that would resonate with the viewer and make them remember it even after a week. Rubbish.
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Excellent bizarre thing that gave me the chills several times. Vivarium can be funny in its black humour, when we detachedly watch the main characters trying to solve the unsolvable situation that they got into through no fault of their own, while at the same time, it can get on your nerves when you discover that this mad world has full control over the heroes and any attempt to fight against its (il)logic can be cruelly repaid. In a nutshell, an imaginative prank, ideal for these times of quarantine, and criminally underrated.
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An unusual mystery mindfuck that has a fine idea and premise, but hits a slower pace. Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots have another joint role after The Art of Self-Defense, and once again their performances are very good and likeable. The main characters find themselves in a labyrinthine suburban sprawl from which there is no escape, and they also have to raise a strange child. The film moves at a slower pace, as I mentioned, but it manages to disturb and even chill a few times, and I consider the finale to be very good with a good twist. All in all, decent, but I don't need to see it again. Story****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment***, Music***, Visual***, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6/10.
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