User reviews

After he moves his new girlfriend in, a family finds a series of strange events occurring around them that convinces everyone something supernatural is plaguing the house and forces them to confront a deadly truth from their past in order to escape from the menace.

This here turned out to be quite the decent enough offering. One of the more enjoyable features here is the fact that there's an incredibly strong and engaging central storyline at the heart of the film. The concept of the family unit, struggling after the weight of their mother's death and now having the new girlfriend moving in while they're clearly still adjusting to the loss is quite a fine starting point here, which is built upon here with the way this one slowly moves into the supernatural from this original setup. Basing the exploits around the house on the mother seeking revenge and not on the new woman coming into their lives which all manages to give this one a rather fun start here with the start of the supernatural coming into focus in the second half. These hauntings, ranging from the simple scenes of the ghostly figure wandering around in the background to the expected scenes of ghostly visions and flashes coming across which really gives this one quite a fun finale that comes across with all the rather enjoyable supernatural antics possible here with the with the arrival of the ghost and the full-on twist featured here that really inverts the whole rest of the film in a fine manner. That picks up the pace considerably with some absolutely fun confrontations that pack in the final half which really ends this on a high note. These here manage to hold this one up over it's few issues. The biggest problem with the film is the overall pacing, which is just rather harsh on this one. The opening drama here does take so long to get going with the drama- like feel of the material involving the adjustment to the new mother that interrupts the family dynamic to a large degree so this one has such a dour pace to start off with. That keeps the supernatural antics to a distressingly small portion of time overall here due to this buildup that it at times can feel like not even being a horror film for most of this section. Most of these are crammed into such a small section of the film that it really doesn't maintain that tone for a large portion of time and that really does hold this one down for the most part. That goes along with the last flaw here in that the film's attempts at jump-scares aren't all that impressive here as it dwells on a series of predictable scenes here, from cats jumping out of the darkness and the flash visions of the ghosts popping out of nowhere which really makes what happens quite redundant. Overall, though, it still has some decent moments though.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

Really generic and stupid horror that thinks it appeals to hip teens.

Cheap scares, visions of figures in halloween makeup that then disappear and a slow and bland plot make this one of those write-off movies.

I sort of like how it ends though but I'm not sure it's worth the wait.

The actors did a great job from what I could tell. The director, Marcel Sarmiento, is well known for Deadgirl, which I have not seen but many where hopeful he would top. Although Marcel is credited for writing the story, the story and screenplay was written by Evan Dickson, of which it is Evan's first feature film.

The movie starts off with an interesting premise and held my attention the first half. The cinematography is fine but later it becomes obvious they were working with a limited budget.

Two-thirds into the movie things start to go awry and although the pace picks up I felt the story gets more unbelievable not just in decisions that are made but with distractions that make it obvious there might have been editing issues.

The saving grace is there is a twist at the end that most people would not have seen coming but it was not enough for me to say it is a must see unless you are a fan of the actors or the director.

Slow,poorly written and tiring. And that's just the first few scenes. It gets worse from there...

Father moves his emotionally needy girlfriend in with his two daughters and things go to hell from there. This was like a bad episode of a Lifetime drama series, except for it lacking drama or cohesion. It just gets worse as the minutes drag by.

Not going to spoil the "twist"...but let's just when you get there you wonder what took so long. It's a surprise; however, it's like winning the lottery when you are 90. It could have happened earlier and you'd have been more pleased if it had.

Dull film. Silly premise. Not worth the 96 minute run time.

Saw 'Totem', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'Totem' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'Totem' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

'Totem' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue.

Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected, and the music, which not the most memorable in the world, didn't detract from the atmosphere.

The setting is effectively spooky and some of the lead acting at times was not bad. There are spooky and suspenseful moments and it isn't dull. The direction doesn't feel phoned in and the storytelling in the first half does intrigue.

However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.

Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense, scares could have been more consistent and some weren't surprising enough.

Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a bit of cheese going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. The support acting is even more problematic than the second half's storytelling, at best it was poor and too often terrible.

Overall, better than expected but not great still. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Kellie (Kerris Dorsey) is a 17 year old who spends her energy taking care of her father James (James Tupper) and younger sister Abby. Despite her objection, James invites longtime girlfriend Robin (Ahna O'Reilly) to live with them. Abby has not been sleeping. Kellie grows frustrated with newcomer Robin as she seeks solace from boyfriend Todd.

This is another Blumhouse product. They take a scatter gun approach to financing these small scale horrors. This one simply lacks intensity. It's a slow grinding horror. It has no particular atmosphere other than the suburban home vibe. There are all the traditional jump scares and the Poltergeist moves but nothing is new. Tupper and O'Reilly are not particularly special. I only know Dorsey as a child actress in Brothers & Sisters. She's mostly fine and does her transformation well. Most of this movie is a waiting game and it's an impatient wait. The motion detectors are almost interesting. The movie grinds on until the last act. The twist works well enough but it isn't enough. This needs more.

It could have been a good nice simple ghost story.... But the twists and character reactions are ludicrous at best. The 3rd act is stupid decision after stupid decision, with a script that seems written by a 3 year old...

My review has nothing to do with budget or acting, which, given the poor writing, it's not that bad. It's just a ridiculous story, full of plot holes and hollow dialogues. I don't mind cliches and stock characters that we've seen a thousand times, as long as they make some sort of sense. These here make none.

When I see something this bad I genuinely wonder how did a script this bad get greenlit for production.

Avoid at all cost.

Folks, this is a decent horror flick. Its no Academy Award winner, but it doesn't suck either.

I saw TOTEM on Saturday 11/18/17 on HBO when it was rated as 4.3/10 and I'm glad I watched it despite the questionably low rating. Its got a good plot, some good scares, a cool plot-twist at the end, and is overall a decent horror flick.

Now I'll be the first to admit I watch movies for enjoyment - I'm not pretentious nor do I study a flick for tone, cinematography, screen writing, editing, lighting, sound, etc.

Albeit obvious, I'm an American conservative guy, and my favorite genre's are Horror/Suspense, Action/Adventure, Westerns, Crime/Legal, War/Military, etc. ... and I tend to keep my movie "reviews" simple.

I either:

1) Loved it - awesome

2) Liked it - not too bad, or

3) Hated it - it sucked

If you like horror movies and aren't bent on a movie being perfect, you'll like it - and yes it is worth the 90 minute investment in time, and the Red Box fee (if any). I almost gave it a 7 (its a very high 6).

Again, its no 10, but certainly is no 4 ...

Starts off like a U rated Disney film, is consistently annoying, and doesn't get any better with nothing happening throughout.

A cat is seemingly in jeopardy when a bookcase falls on him.

Simultaneously sickening and boring with really annoying characters and acting. Best avoided.

Eldest daughter gets jealous when her dad brings a new woman into the family 5 years after her mother dies. Since she's moved in something supernatural is happening and it isn't friendly. The eldest daughter is very protective of her dead mother's necklace, but something else clings to it too and it trying to warn the family of danger. The ending has a nice twist to it. Worth waiting for. Loved this mystery/thriller.

I don't normally write reviews, but felt that Totem was getting way to many bad comments. Totem ain't a great 'must see' movie, but it's not a bad movie. A solid scary flick with a few jumpy moments and a nice twist in the tales tail. Give it a watch👍

Totem doesn't really work. It fails at almost everything it tries to achieve and if it didn't exist we wouldn't lose much.

All I knew about this 2017 movie when I sat down to watch it in 2020 was that it was a horror movie. And that is, in itself, more than sufficient to make me have an interest in watching a movie.

I hadn't even heard about director Marcel Sarmiento's movie "Totem" before 2020 when I happened to stumble upon it by random chance.

I must say that the movie had potential, and it definitely scores some points for being different, whereas it could very easily just have followed that classic how-to-make-a-horror movie formula. But while the movie does differ in its contents than most other horror movies of the same type, the movie just failed to deliver on the entertainment bits. Sure, the movie was watchable, but when the movie can to an end, I was left with a feeling of 'was that really it?'.

The acting in the movie was good, and for me it is always nice to see new talents on the screen, and I can't claim to have been familiar with anyone starring or acting in "Totem", so that also does count for something.

For a horror movie, then "Totem" wasn't overly impressive. It was more of a thriller than it was a horror movie. I sat down to watch "Totem" with the expectation of it being a horror movie, so I was somewhat disappointed in that aspect.

The movie makes little use of CGI, so this wasn't a movie that was heavily reliant on CGI effects to bedazzle the audience. There was some, and they were actually good enough for the movie.

"Totem", however, just felt incomplete, as if something very crucial to the mixture was missing. I can't say what it was, but I feel like the movie came in short. It felt like director Marcel Sarmiento set out to want to accomplish a bit too many things all at the same time, but managing to deliver only on a handful of them. And that is why I am rating it four out of ten stars.

Don't waste your time. It's not BAD, but it's not good. Get some fresh air instead <3

But I liked the silly twist ending. A 50 year old man moves his 29 year old girlfriend(who knows jack about kids or being a family) in with him, his 17 year old daughter,and 5-7 year old kid. I have no clue why he just couldn't wait for the 17 y/o to go off to college. You know what happens when you put two females together(one who wants to be grown and one that wants to just party before she hit 30). This never will end well.

How and why rubbish like this get made at all is beyond me. Absolutely no referming qualities wharsoever!

I didn't see some of it coming, but yuck... conflicted. Well acted but pretty horrible in every regard.

Sure, it's not the best horror flick ever, but I still liked it. The premise is fine (after a widowed father invites his new girlfriend to live with him and his two young daughters, strange supernatural things begin to happen in the house), there is a fine sinister atmosphere, with plenty of jump-scares, and surprisingly good acting, especially by Kerris Dorsey who plays main character Kellie. There's a major plot twist towards the last part of the movie that I hadn't seen coming at all, and although this became the start of a rather over-the-top climax it still kept me entertained and on the edge of my chair.

What a diamond in the rough ...with heavy emphasis on the 'rough'. Not the most obvious 'Wish Upon'-style garbage, but for the true connoisseur, there's plenty of weirdness to find just under the surface of this unsuspecting """psychological""" horror picture.

At first glance, "Totem" looks like your (below) average horror flick, but becomes gradually more bizzare in its editing and pacing, as the well hidden directorial incompetence slowly sneaks up on you.

At a certain point, it dips its toe in an on-the-nose, almost Poltergeist-inspired tone, only to subsequently reveal its true colours, and crescendo into some of the worst edited, most confusing cinema the Anglosphere has to offer.

Like a charismatic middle manager obfuscating his ineptitude with corporate jargon, this movie tries really hard to mask its incompetence with jump cuts and dreamy sequences. Thankfully, the wizards behind the curtain reveals himself in the last act, where nonsensical reaction shots, out-of-place dialogue, medically inaccurate surrealism and steep and sudden (and utterly hilarious) drops in momentum spills uncontrollably out at the viewer; like spaghetti out of an autistic child's pockets.

Had this film simply kept its act up for another 30 mins., I would've considered it forgettable 3.5-star schlock, and moved on. I'm forever thankful it didn't. Truly one of the movies of all time, although it requires you to sit patiently through the first half, wondering whether that reverse shot was an "interesting choice" or simply you, the viewer, having a stroke, when really it's option C: Bafflingly bad filmmaking.

The film starts with a stepmom moving in to a tightly knit family unit where a responsible older sister and somewhat weak-willed but competent father protect an introverted little sister.

The horror elements are a nice metaphor for communication problems that ensue even if all parties do their best to play the right moves to fit in while standing ground in their own legitimate interests.

The ending was very difficult to understand because some persons were deceiving others by pretending.

A good drama script could achieve the same level of horror without any supernatural elements. New age stepmom healing ghastly accidents wounds with crystals instead of medical care, elder sister mobilizing her violent boyfriend for protection, etc.