Ralph R
"Vivarium" is one of those movies that pulls you in with an interesting concept but leaves you questioning everything, especially the choices the characters make. The story follows a couple who find themselves trapped in a seemingly endless suburban neighborhood, forced into a bizarre and unsettling routine. The mystery keeps you engaged, but the characters’ decisions often feel frustrating. Not in a "bad script" way, but in a way that makes you wonder if they were written to be this passive on purpose. The pacing leans toward slow-burn horror, relying more on psychological unease than traditional scares.
The directing does a solid job of maintaining tension, making the whole thing feel claustrophobic and surreal. The cinematography enhances this with sterile, repetitive visuals that emphasize the artificiality of their world. Acting-wise, Imogen Poots delivers a strong performance, while Jesse Eisenberg brings his usual style, which sometimes works but occasionally feels forced. The real standout is the child actor, his unsettling presence adds a lot to the film’s eerie atmosphere. There’s a lot of subtlety in how he moves and reacts, making you wonder whether his voice was altered or dubbed over in post.
The script keeps things cryptic, and while that works for the tone, it also leaves some moments feeling underdeveloped. The lack of clear explanations may frustrate some viewers, but it’s clear that the movie is more about the experience than the answers. The sound design plays a big role in the tension, using unsettling audio cues to make certain scenes even more uncomfortable. Overall, Vivarium is a strange, thought-provoking film that raises more questions than it answers. If you like psychological horror with a heavy dose of surrealism, it’s worth a watch. Just don’t expect everything to make sense.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/18/25
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Zintkala O
Started of as a potentially good film, the couple wear kind of pathetic and lacked imagination in attempting to escape.
The film didn't explain much, such as are they being drugged to be weaker, etc.
You don't learn much about their abuducters/aliens and fizzles out into a morbid boring end where you wished you hadn't watched this far...
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
02/16/25
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David S
It took two hours of near constant irritation before the ending. A very unsatisfactory ending, too.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/16/25
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Sherry R
I watched this movie alone. The first thing I did when the movie was over was google the themes explained. In a way it is not deep and in some places long. That said, I am still thinking about it more than a week later. This would be best, IMO, watched with a group of friends and breaking at least twice in the movie to discuss what is going on. This is clearly meant to make viewers think about modern sex roles, social expectations, the randomness of nature and maybe even the meaning of death in life. Those are big themes and the movie is unsettling, thought provoking and slow moving enough to force the viewer to think about it. Questions are not answered. If you like that, this is the film for you.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/12/25
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Zander S
Literally the worst movie i’ve ever seen. Complete waste of an hour and 30 minutes. The entire main plot is figured out after about 20-30 minutes. The movie is incredibly slow paced, which usually I don’t mind, but after close to two hours of watching the same regurgitated scenes over and over again, getting to the end of the movie, only to find out the end shows you what you knew all along, is pointless for a film. This could’ve easily been made a 30 minute short film, maybe then it would be worth a watch. Theres no reason I should be able to read a 1 paragraph summary of a movie, and have been able to visualize the entire 1 hour and 37 minute “film”.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/12/25
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Audience Member
I love this movie a lot to all you who don't you're weird and just don't understand it like me ahhh I really like it
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/15/25
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