Amulet (film)
Amulet is a 2020 British horror film written and directed by Romola Garai (in her directorial debut) and starring Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton and Alec Secareanu. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on July 24, 2020.
Amulet | |
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Official promotional poster | |
Directed by | Romola Garai |
Produced by |
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Written by | Romola Garai |
Starring | |
Music by | Sarah Angliss |
Cinematography | Laura Bellingham |
Edited by | Alastair Reid |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | 99 minutes[3] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Premise
A homeless ex-soldier in London is offered a place to stay at a decaying house, inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother, and begins to suspect something unnatural is living there, too.
Cast
- Carla Juri as Magda
- Alec Secareanu as Tomaz
- Angeliki Papoulia as Miriam
- Imelda Staunton as Sister Claire
- Anah Ruddin as Mother
Production
The film was announced in April 2018, along with the cast. Production began in Autumn 2018, with the original title of Outside.[4] Matthew James Wilkinson, the film's producer, called it "feminist horror" and that Garai "definitely wanted to take a look at what is happening in terms of recent gender politics and stand it on its head."[5]
Release
Amulet premiered in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, and will be released in the United States on July 24, 2020 in limited theaters and on-demand by Magnolia Pictures' horror department, Magnet Releasing.[6]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 6.32/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "If its chilly sense of dread never quite becomes spine-tingling terror, Amulet remains smart, solidly disquieting fun for genre fans seeking slow-building horror."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "smart and stylish" and wrote: "Garai steadily builds suspense while keeping her intentions enigmatic until quite late in the action. She eventually folds together mysteries of the past with terrors of the present in an out-there final act that goes full-throttle Dario Argento, mixing digital and hand-made effects in a sea of garish reds and bizarre pagan visions."[6] Justin Chang of Fresh Air called the film an "intensely creepy supernatural freakout" and praised the "strikingly assured" writing and direction of Garai.[9]
References
- "Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Romola Garai – "Amulet"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- "Film News Roundup: Sundance Horror Movie 'Amulet' Bought By Magnet for July Release". 29 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Amulet (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Wiseman, Andreas (2018-04-18). "Romola Garai Directorial Debut 'Outside' To Star Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton, Alec Secareanu". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
- "'Yesterday' Producer on New Comedy 'Bagnold Summer' and His Next Projects". Variety. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- David Rooney (June 1, 2020). "'Amulet': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- "Amulet (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Amulet Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- "Terrific New Thrillers 'Amulet' And 'Relic' Explore Terrors Lurking Within The Home". NPR.org. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-24.