Now, I sat down to watch the 2023 horror movie "The Piper" solely because it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, much less actually being familiar with.
But what a surprise I was in for here, I didn't know that the movie was starring Julian Sands. So when he showed up on the screen, imagine my surprise to see my favorite actor popping up on the screen unbeknownst to me. And with "The Piper" being one of the last movies that he worked on before his disappearance and death, that just makes sitting through this 2023 movie from writer and director Erlingur Thoroddsen all the more special.
The narrative in the movie was okay. I mean, it wasn't a particularly overly scary storyline. But writer Erlingur Thoroddsen put together a fairly entertaining script for the movie, based on the classic tale "The Flautist of Hamelin", but of course in an updated and modern setting. The ending of the movie was, somewhat anti-climatic and felt rather rushed, and that sort of took away from the overall impression of "The Piper".
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble, aside from Julian Sands, but I will say that they had an interesting and talented cast ensemble for the various roles and characters in the movie. I had not stumbled upon Charlotte Hope before this movie, but she certainly carried the movie quite nicely with her performance.
Visually then "The Piper" was okay. It was not a movie that relied heavily on an abundance of special effects, which in itself was a good thing. But the special effects that were utilized in the movie worked out well enough, and certainly brought flavor to the overall impression of the movie. However, personally I wished that the Piper creature would have been given more on-screen time, because it was just a shame that it was hardly in the movie. But of course that is a matter of preference, whether or not you want an abundance of screen time for a creature in a movie or not; needless to say that I do enjoy that.
The music throughout the course of the movie was good. And the concerto music that the movie revolved around certainly was haunting and memorable.
I found that "The Piper" was a good attempt at recreating a take on the classic tale, however, the movie ended up being somewhat bland and rather forgettable.
My rating of "The Piper" lands on a five out of ten stars.
