101 reviews
Mary is one of those films that sets sail but has no real sense of direction. Its biggest short coming in my opinion is the premise is sound but the setting is wrong.
A modestly sized family yacht, simply doesn't provide enough physical space and as a consequence scope, to meet the expectations, this horror aspires to. Its as if, for example, Friday the 13th, was set in a phone booth. its far too constrained and has to fall back on drawn out physiological tension, in a vain attempt, to compensate.
The result is a slow, predictable and ultimately, rather anti climatic film, that takes the viewer nowhere interesting. That's in spite of a strong cast, quality acting and decent cinematography.
Marginally watchable but that said, there are far better horror films with a nautical bent on offer, like 80's classic, The Fog. 5/10 from me.
A modestly sized family yacht, simply doesn't provide enough physical space and as a consequence scope, to meet the expectations, this horror aspires to. Its as if, for example, Friday the 13th, was set in a phone booth. its far too constrained and has to fall back on drawn out physiological tension, in a vain attempt, to compensate.
The result is a slow, predictable and ultimately, rather anti climatic film, that takes the viewer nowhere interesting. That's in spite of a strong cast, quality acting and decent cinematography.
Marginally watchable but that said, there are far better horror films with a nautical bent on offer, like 80's classic, The Fog. 5/10 from me.
- bbretall-1
- Oct 17, 2019
- Permalink
Greetings from Lithuania.
"Mary" (2019) is a disappointing horror flick, even if i did not expected anyting from it. I saw at the movie theater, without knowing anything about it, were it was shown without any advertisement or anything like that - and i do understand why - because it was so poor.
Although it has an OK premise which could have turned into a good movie, unfortunately it was the writing which derailed this flick. It even stars Gary Oldman in a "give me that paycheck" role, and he was good in this film, given the material.
Overall, a nice premise couldn't save this flick from being blow average. Its not terrible, but its a poor one.
"Mary" (2019) is a disappointing horror flick, even if i did not expected anyting from it. I saw at the movie theater, without knowing anything about it, were it was shown without any advertisement or anything like that - and i do understand why - because it was so poor.
Although it has an OK premise which could have turned into a good movie, unfortunately it was the writing which derailed this flick. It even stars Gary Oldman in a "give me that paycheck" role, and he was good in this film, given the material.
Overall, a nice premise couldn't save this flick from being blow average. Its not terrible, but its a poor one.
Trapped on the open sea in a haunted boat is an oft-seen horror movie scenario, but rarely has it been used with as little imagination as in Mary. In telling his nautical tale of terror, director Michael Goi employs so many hackneyed techniques that even the talents of Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer cannot prevent the film from being a colossal waste of time.
Introducing his film at Frightfest, Goi claimed to have over 18,000 films in his collection, so one wonders why he directs like he's only ever seen a handful, and bad ones at that. One might think that with such a wealth of inspiration, he could have come up with something a little more creative... something that didn't rely so heavily on obvious supernatural jump scares accompanied by obligatory loud noises. The scenes intended to have me throwing my popcorn in the air in fright actually had me holding my head in dismay: this is about as basic as horror movies get.
3/10. I imagine that It'll be a case of abandon ship for many who dare to sail these treacherous waters.
Introducing his film at Frightfest, Goi claimed to have over 18,000 films in his collection, so one wonders why he directs like he's only ever seen a handful, and bad ones at that. One might think that with such a wealth of inspiration, he could have come up with something a little more creative... something that didn't rely so heavily on obvious supernatural jump scares accompanied by obligatory loud noises. The scenes intended to have me throwing my popcorn in the air in fright actually had me holding my head in dismay: this is about as basic as horror movies get.
3/10. I imagine that It'll be a case of abandon ship for many who dare to sail these treacherous waters.
- BA_Harrison
- Aug 24, 2019
- Permalink
It's actually not so much the ability of the actors to act (I don't think anybody will see Gary Oldman and doubt he can act), but it is the script and the horror movie cliches/tropes that will likely get you quite upset. To say the least. And you also have other people in here (Emily Mortimer), who are way above anything in depth, that the movie can offer them.
Having said all that and all the things that are predictable, the movie can still be enjoyable to a certain degree/level. You have to be a fan and not mind the flaws that are littered throughout the running time.
Having said all that and all the things that are predictable, the movie can still be enjoyable to a certain degree/level. You have to be a fan and not mind the flaws that are littered throughout the running time.
What on earth is Gary Oldman doing in this very low budget and formulaic ghost story? Apart from a few cheap jump scares this is very slow and boring. It has been done better loads of times before and has very little originality.
- nigelmacdonald
- Oct 12, 2019
- Permalink
It's one of those movies you'll go and check on IMDb to see the ratings, see 1 star, OMG! Cringe. Keep scrolling and find allot of negitive reviews, but you'll see the odd one or two that say it's a good or average movie, I go with the latter, I thought the acting was above board and the idea and setting were good, as is the background of the ship in question, it touches on the Bermuda triangle and such, it's not an amazing film, and it won't win any awards, but its one that'll Keep your attention, just go into it with an open mind and you'll enjoy it!!
- McCulloch-Eliza
- Nov 13, 2019
- Permalink
I am a horror movie fanatic. I have seen every worth while horror film and then some not so worth while & this was definitely worth watching. Acting is good ,believable , story was horrific & this was something different that we really enjoyed. If you enjoy ghost stories & well produced horror films this is a must watch! I can't understand how it only has a 4 star rating I almost gave it a 10 !
- haleylynn87
- Oct 20, 2019
- Permalink
Okay, so there's nothing new here, or particularly original, but from the get go at least there are characters on display and they are behaving believably. Makes you a little more vested in the situation as it unfolds. I don't know that the flashback structure of it helped any, but what most folks want to know is "was it scary?" or "was it stupid?" For my tastes it was involving enough, with a few creepy vibes but nothing really exceptional. I could have done without the lazy go to of repeated nightmares in order to have something unnerving happen. Make the shocks part of the story! Make them part of the situation! We lose investment if we expect every unusual occurrence to just be a harmless dream. But that being said, at least it wasn't stupid the rest of the time and I never had the urge to fast forward thru it. Entirely acceptable. But I doubt I'll ever watch it again.
There needs to be an option with the streaming services between "liked" and "disliked".
- sellranger
- Oct 13, 2020
- Permalink
Even Nicolas "I will take any acting job for money" Cage passed this one.
That should say enough.
The movie is boring and takes too long building up the characters and story.
And when it finally should take off, it never really does.
It's not scary, not exciting and no fun.
Calling this "horror" is a complete joke.
- baunacholi-86159
- Feb 6, 2022
- Permalink
Boring, pointless film with an empty concept and awful, awful acting by Emily Mortimer.
- bangel3322
- Oct 23, 2019
- Permalink
- songod-95003
- Nov 6, 2019
- Permalink
Mary is an unscary in-your-face horror that tries to be intelligent. It features the talent of Gary Oldman, and strong performances by Emily Mortimer, but even their dedication could not save this movie from sinking. There is a weak climax, and the lack of subtlety makes the story dull. It could have been more subtle by making it seem like one person is losing his or her mind, or focusing on how the characters descend to madness and culminate in a horrific climax. However, the story is weak and even the shots are done poorly. It fails to create claustrophobia or dread. The movie does deliver decent jump scares but its over reliance on this technique shows that it is not a scary story at all. If you are expecting a tense psychological horror on par with The Shallows, you will be sorely disappointed. If you are expecting a haunted house on water, it still fails. Don't waste time if you want to see it for itself. But if you want to see people screaming at the jump scares, you would probably enjoy it.
- sophaljonesy
- Sep 29, 2019
- Permalink
This movie has an excellent story and setting. It manages to create a claustrophobic environment in a ocean environment. The acting is solid and the direction/cinematography are wonderful! There are several beautiful shots of coastlines and wide open water.
The only thing that took me out of the movie a bit was the framing device that was used. It's not that it was badly done. It's just that by cutting back and forth between the story and the framing it made the movie feel like a TV show at times.
Overall it's a good movie that is worth checking out. Especially if you are looking for a horror movie that has a different setting than your typical haunted house.
The only thing that took me out of the movie a bit was the framing device that was used. It's not that it was badly done. It's just that by cutting back and forth between the story and the framing it made the movie feel like a TV show at times.
Overall it's a good movie that is worth checking out. Especially if you are looking for a horror movie that has a different setting than your typical haunted house.
- bradsturgis2010
- Jan 14, 2020
- Permalink
Don't listen to the negative reviews. This isn't going to be in your top 10 horror films but it's still a decent movie. The story is engaging enough to keep you watching to see what happens. It's not particularly scary or super original but seeing a ghost movie contained to a sailboat made it feel a bit fresh.
The acting was good. The characters felt real & made logical decisions for the most part. The story had enough wind in its sails to keep pushing forward. It just needed a proper budget. So don't go in expecting Ghost Ship, but trust me it's a decent film. Enjoy!
The acting was good. The characters felt real & made logical decisions for the most part. The story had enough wind in its sails to keep pushing forward. It just needed a proper budget. So don't go in expecting Ghost Ship, but trust me it's a decent film. Enjoy!
- stephenherman
- Feb 3, 2020
- Permalink
This movie is terrible, usually I'm all for these B grade horror but even this was too much for me. It skips along way too fast, doesn't explain anything, no character development. No redeeming qualities other than the lovely Yacht. It feels like half the film is missing. Only decent part was the last 15 seconds in the police station. Other than that skip it....you're definitely not missing anything.
- adamcomito
- Jun 3, 2021
- Permalink
I had a spare 90 mins to waste and boy did i waste them. Why oh why did someone think its a good idea to have the whole story given away before it even began.
This film was so amateur .
You might enjoy this film if it's the first one you have ever seen.
This film was so amateur .
You might enjoy this film if it's the first one you have ever seen.
- magmusconstruction
- Jun 16, 2021
- Permalink
This movie was utterly pointless. But I will still give it 2....the end.
- LordCommandar
- Oct 13, 2019
- Permalink