Seance

Name: Seance
Director: Simon Barrett
Released: 2021

Simon Barrett

2021

2.00

Synopsis

At an elite boarding school for girls, six friends jokingly engage in a late night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. Before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened.

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Recommendations

70
Paste Magazine
Well-known for penning the scripts for Adam Wingard films like You’re Next and The Guest among other recent horror-thrillers, Barrett retains the essence of his previous writing collaborations in his directorial debut while paying constant homage to the films that inspire this specific project.
63
Slant Magazine
Simon Barrett imbues his narrative with a purplish emotionality that the Urban Legend movies didn’t even think to bother with.
58
The A.V. Club
When it comes to shock and delight, Seance doesn’t quite live up to Barrett’s work with other directors. It’s tough being a legacy.
58
IndieWire
Seance doesn’t just grow more mysterious, gory, and spiky as it goes on, it also grows more convoluted. Yes, many things can be true at once, but “Seance” might benefit from being pared to a more streamlined story.
50
The Film Stage
Only by the climax, which features a couple of outrageous images and ridiculous twists, does Seance seem to really be taking any pleasure in being a genre movie.
50
The New York Times
Seance meanders for most of its running time, wavering between tones and styles. It’s both self-aware and overly serious. It tries to be a murder mystery, a slasher, a coming-of-age tale and a haunted house flick all at once.
38
RogerEbert.com
With leaden performances and puzzling camerawork, it’s hard to feel in tune with the movie’s frights outside of the occasional jump scare.
33
The Playlist
Though Séance is mercifully brief, it’s also painfully forgettable, hopefully, nothing more than a fleeting, disposable misfire in Barrett’s otherwise strong filmography.