Patrick Wilson took the director's chair and had a great debut. Yes, he did not forget to play the supporting role, returning to his character from the previous parts, and it turned out quite well. I like that we got another post-horror, moving away from the 'classic' segment, than the first three parts were exactly (the fourth wore something out of my head quickly).
So-so. Let’s say I like what Blumhouse does. It's either post-meta or acute-social about buzzers. The good news is that all films take place in the same universe and can sometimes influence each other. That’s exactly what Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith do. “Astral” is still a horror, so we should evaluate it as a horror. As a result, I liked how it was done and what was told.
The guiding principle is “violence begets violence.” Also, the movie does not forget to talk about the topic of “household”. Once again, the question of the “furious bati” is raised, who nightmares both his wife and children, only here it is wrapped in the guise of an obsession with entities from the other world. Why not? They say, at least in our parts, that sometimes can be "confused". It's the same here. I like Wilson’s way of saying that someone who had a childhood nightmare in his family is raving, so the principle of succession of generations works. As if promising to end everything on yourself, nothing in the end you can not finish.
I like the way the movie is made: in the spirit of the previous parts, you could say. Good camera work, many close-ups, minimal lighting and constant suspense. At the same time, I can note quite an excellent editing: the movie is fascinating and tries to be as audience friendly as possible. Acting work liked: Wilson, Byrne and Simpsons - all worked out their fees perfectly. It was nice to see Lin Shay, the business card of the series and the modern "Queen" of horror. Good post-production and lipsin.
Astral 5: Red Door is a movie that clearly rhymes with Netflix’s The Devil Is Always Here, only scarier in meaning and better in form. Yes, it's silly to compare post-horror and crime thriller, but we're talking about the controlling idea, and it's the same here and there. If you, like me, sometimes like to “vacuum” all the new “horrors”, then it is worth reading this work. I can't say you're going to get a lot of adrenaline in your blood. After all, this is a post-modern work and a metaphor for domestic violence. I would say it is not stupid and relevant at any time and generation of viewers. Enjoy your visit.
This is clearly the worst movie in the franchise and one of the biggest disappointments of 2023, in terms of the horror genre. What does this part give us? Absolutely nothing at all. This is the most useless and unnecessary film in the franchise. The decision to release something about the Lamberts again after 10 years is just a squalid attempt to play on the nostalgia of the audience. Well, if this return to roots brought some new ideas, moves. But then they returned not only the characters, but also rolled back to the old storyline about the Red Demon. Despite the fact that this line (like the demon himself) and in 1 film, it looked boring and banal, and returning to this is a doubly bad idea.
By the way, part 1 was clearly bad, but it can not be called useless. It at least became the prologue to the exciting story about the “Old Man in Black” from Astral 2. Does Part 5 lead to anything? Nothing at all. Here even the ending was filmed on exactly the same patterns as before. Fantasy and creativity are zero.
Eventually, you could bring back the Lamberts if you wanted to, but come up with a new story about some new astral evil. You see, the movie would play with colors. But alas, all the possibilities and chances of the creators of this masterpiece were successfully flushed down the toilet. Watching this film you understand that part 4 was not bad, and in 1 more or less has at least some sense.
2 out of 10
Astral appeared back in 2010 and immediately established itself as a potentially strong horror franchise. At that time, the film managed to scare both viewers and film critics in the most literal sense. The absolute majority loved the same demon, and then he even began to visit someone in nightmares.
Unfortunately, all the good things come to an end quickly: the series managed to keep the level for only the first three films. Well, then the self-copying machine started, which simply is not able to give the previous level.
Astral 5: Red Door is more like a horror scenario than a melodrama or even a soap opera. Look for yourself. Josh (Patrick Wilson) and his son (Tay Simpsons) completely forget about the events of previous films, as they both were put a block in the memory so that they did not awaken the same evil.
But this idea doesn't work very well. First of all, their relationship has seriously deteriorated (they seem to have played together with demons in the past). Secondly, that the father, the son still periodically see some hallucinations, but somehow do not attach all this horror importance.
Watching this drama is not particularly interesting. It seems that the author tried this time to speak about the eternal problem of fathers-children, domestic violence, psychological trauma and related problems, but ... the viewer goes to the Astral not for this. There are other beautiful socially oriented horror films for these kinds of statements. To do this, it is better to immediately turn on “Ma” or “Two, three, the demon come!”
And because of the inclusion of unusual franchise themes from the movie excluded critically important elements of suspense, which are not felt here at all. There are only a couple of good jumpscape moments. For a once iconic franchise, this looks like a natural disgrace.
A fan of the series will definitely be disappointed in such a toothless sequel, a casual lover of horror films is also unlikely to appreciate a mediocre game with social overtones against the background of a weak horror component. Conclusion: You can watch, but is it worth it? .
Black paint solves all problems - a very stupid idea that spoils the film (and what if the paint runs out and the store is closed?). A black girl deserves a role in a very scary movie. I can't recommend it, although the first Astrals are well remembered.
Weary of Dahlia, or the Tale of how Dalton drew the door, and with Dad did not want to put up with
"Astral" is one of the cult modern franchises of the genre "horror" along with "Saw" and "Spell". It is noteworthy that at the helm of "Saw" and "Astral" are professionals in their field James Wan and Lee Wannell, and Wang, without the participation of Wannell, subsequently brought the series of "Spells" to an unattainable level of quality for most colleagues in the workshop, riveting secondary horror films with a rather banal set of cliches and stamps.
But back to the Astral. The first two parts, made directly by Wang himself, are a unified concept about the Lambert family, which had to face otherworldly forces when moving to a new house, and about the three peculiar “ghost hunters” who came to rescue them. The authors have twice broken common patterns. First, the house was not a source of trouble, but a kind of ephemeral space, where each character risked losing the fight against demons and staying there forever. Secondly, the story only at first seemed quite a standard tale about a father, mother and sons forced to endure bullying from terrible unknown bugs, and soon revealed as a parable of domestic violence, plus that violence can only be resisted by love, forgiveness and self-sacrifice.
The events of the third and fourth parts, filmed by Lee Wannell and later by a certain Adam Robitel, chronologically unfolded to the central epic and told about how the brave psychic aunt Alice and a couple of eccentric assistants first met each other and assembled a group of fighters with evil spirits, as well as about what turned out to be the return of Alice to her father’s home. The prequels, despite some controversial moments, together being clearly weaker than their predecessors, still well expanded both the world of the Astral, so taken as a basis theme: the conductors of evil were adults turned on cruelty, while they were controlled by certain entities from other dimensions.
The fifth part, unfortunately, will not please fans with anything sensational and will testify to two disappointing truths.
The first is that you should not milk a cow before it is killed. The crisis of ideas can overtake even the most advanced masters. With the Lamberts, everything was successfully resolved long ago, so the direct development of their plot promised at least self-repeats in the presentation and the possible splitting of the genre vector from horror to drama. And so it turned out: “Red Door” extremely weakly operates the best of the franchise’s instruments and extremely boringly tries to tell about family problems, surprises of silenced memory and the charms of post-traumatic syndrome.
The second truth: It is important to understand who is given the director's chair this time, and not to experiment too much with the smear (and mix) of the workers' workshops. The performer of the role of his father Patrick Wilson, admitted to the production of “Red Door”, is still more an actor than a director: he has a lot of horror projects on his account, close cooperation with Van and Wannell for many years, but of the minuses – a complete lack of directorial experience and the knowingly predictable difficulty of simultaneously making a debut and playing in the debut. The result could not have been brilliant.
But he didn't look good. The prefix "nedo" (nedo compressed, not to twisted, underdevelopeddeveloped) here can be applied to literally everything. Scrimmers, where they are, do not scare because of the lack of ingenuity at least in the construction of the temporite (not counting the scene with MRI), but only seem to be a parody of fan fiction (like the whole scenario - fan fiction ) on previously used special effects. Where they are not, they ask fervently, remaining ignored by a parody of suspense. The creators are inherent in the misconception, for example, that a set of text messages in the car, while someone's silhouette is approaching from behind, teasing the viewer, in itself evokes creepiness exponentially, and that there is supposedly no need to prolong the intrigue to a paranoid state or shoot a random sonic "bug" (yes, at least a branch that fell on the roof of the car could save the situation). No, the silhouette will disappear silently, in a second, as if you, sorry, seemed; as if the viewer is being held for a fool.
Beyond the warped details, the film's overall potential is pulverized. Growing up, Dalton goes to college, and college in American horror films, as we know, is a golden field for sinister incidents. Before any such thing happens, there will be a lot of time wasted on stupid dialogue, feminist-gay jokes and fussy movements in an attempt to bring together old and new characters.
And we will also draw: artistic efforts at least aesthetically pleasing to the eye and give a special style to the narrative, but, again, the essence as such will be attached only as an auxiliary function. The drawings are given a kind of passage into other dimensions or their mirror image, but Wilson lacks the imagination and skill to introduce visual tricks that can in a frightening form distort reality in order to bring together the obvious and dreamy. The astral world, so painstakingly floating through the fog of darkness of the preceding parts, was previously presented as a labyrinth, where traveling is deadly dangerous, and liberation has a bitter price; immediately it is a rather compressed territory, which can be traversed one or two times without severe losses. Terrible creatures from his lands are present in the form of rare episodic triggers, allowing the authors to delve into the relationships of the characters, but no sensible immersion occurs. The sluggish and anxious Lamberts quietly hurl insults at each other, at every step depicting chthoning, depression, renunciation and, in the case of Dalton, sometimes indulging in their fears or creative fever, which will later lead to a very dull result: the drama sucked out of the finger will suck back, placing the crumpled dots in the right places.
Here we also add to the oak collapsed episodes, trying to dilute the longing with facepalm humor (as at a party of the student fraternity) or hint at a certain possibility of the emergence of either a friendly or a love line, also devoid of meaning. The private and very personal pain of the Lamberts with the arrival of third parties loses its individual value, because what needs to be dealt with alone becomes subject to external influence: who is interested in a person’s fight against evil, if he can be saved at any moment by the “machine god” of a roommate’s dash emerging from the scenario air? But it's easier! But easier does not mean better.
The final third of the picture reveals unsolicited secrets and chaotically piles tests on the Lamberts, turning back from the drama to the horror. Only now the answers to the questions are too fast, simplifying the idea of domestic violence to three-kopeck conclusions, and the horror suddenly slides into such a sweet melodrama that with the franchise at its end I want to say goodbye forever. It can be seen that the authors themselves also craved this, just in case they collected some more money at the box office and lazily put an end - as if checking themselves, whether they really peed. Yeah, yeah.
“Astral 5: Red Door” is a fat cross on the beloved series and with grief in half tortured proof that the “milk cows” sooner or later die, losing in the process everything that was valuable to the audience, turning into their own pathetic likeness, fading in the wind of change.
To leave alone is a weighty benefit: after all, corpses do not give milk.
3 out of 10
Was the story of the Lambert family, to which the first two Astral parts were dedicated, needed to be continued? I guess not. They could have been left alone with the happy ending they deserved.
On the other hand, the Lamberts have not yet had time to catch up, as in the 3rd and 4th parts did not appear. Therefore, the information that the plot of the fifth part will revolve around them did not cause rejection. Plus, it was interesting how to cope with a new role for himself - the role of director - Patrick Wilson, who simultaneously performed one of the main roles in the 1st, 2nd and now the 5th Astral.
Alas, he did poorly. Back in the film's debut, there were some alarm bells, such as a rather mediocre cemetery scene, a faint episode of the father-son conflict, and so on. But when it turned out that the director chose a student campus as the main location, there were already serious doubts about whether Wilson understood what franchise fell into his hands. However, here, of course, questions not only to the director, but also to the writers, one of whom again became an experienced Wannell. He should know that the student dorm is a great place for slashers or zombie horror, but not for the measured thriller that the Astral tries to seem.
The fears were confirmed. I’m not a fan of the franchise: I scored the first part at 6, the second and fourth at 7, and the third at 5. Some parts I reproached for self-repeating, some for cheap and inappropriate screamers. But I could not even imagine that by the fifth part of the Astral will come to a scene in which a dead man throws up on the main character. And soon one of the characters releases the joke "You're not dick, you're shit" (in the original joke contains rhyme, but it does not become less primitive from this) and beats the guy in the balls. What is the atmosphere of a serious thriller here can we talk about?
The fifth part is nothing new. It's all the same screamers, all the same wandering outside the body, all the same languishing waiting for the moment when you will be scared. Even the antagonist was driven from one of the previous parts (and chose the most fearless). We tried to reverse the father-son conflict, but in the end we let him down on the brakes, not reaching the level of drama even to the average. The only bright moments for me personally were cameos of Specks characters, Tucker (both pretty wide, by the way) and Alice, who, on the contrary, got prettier.
It's a shame that the Lamberts' story ended with such a weak film. It is a shame that the series, which took a kind of interesting and new course in the fourth part, again rolled back to the boring techniques, which also suffered in quality. I think it’s time for Van and Wannell to finally let go of the obviously tired franchise and do something new.
4 out of 10
The astral projection of the father came out for bread.
I haven't seen any Astral. I started the first one, but was alone at home, after 10 minutes it became scary and turned off.
I went to the cinema on the Red Door! And I didn't regret it!
The main actor looks like a young Villa Valo, the vocalist of HIM. And his "father" - Patrick Wilson not only combined the roles of the actor and director, this film, but also sang the final song in the credits! This is indeed a man-orchestra.
The black neighbor organically fit into the general outline and did not cause a drop of irritation (which very often happens in modern American cinema, when ethnic actors are put simply for the sake of observing formalities).
Details! The film can literally be viewed under a magnifying glass, like a canvas of a great artist. And absolutely every little thing in it is perfect: combinations of colors, interior design, play of light and shadow, perspective of shooting, architecture of buildings and tombstones, faces of actors, makeup, clothes of characters (son's t-shirt and costumes at a student party). That's what Hollywood means! Unattainable height for 'our cinema'.
Conclusion. Beautiful actors, art, aesthetics, humor, fear and, which is also important, the most powerful touching storyline of fathers and sons. And even the element of cognitive - yes, I mean the painting by Francisco Goya! I never thought that a horror film would expand my artistic horizons.
This is a very personal movie for Patrick Wilson. Thank you for the wonderful sincere work and aesthetic pleasure.
I was preparing for the release of this film in advance, reviewing all parts of the universe and studying its creators. In advance, it was curious first of all how their main character, Patrick Wilson, will debut as a director. In my opinion, the debut is extremely successful.
This is not a typical passing film for the box office, there are no typical bad signs.
Astral 5 has a certain harmony between Astral 1 and Astral 4. It was like Van was filming a picture, but in a romantic mood. Although Wilson is still looking for his style. From the notable, these are appropriate scenes of silence, musicality, and a fraction of the traditions of the Cannes festivals of recent years (that is, scripted and editing audacity).
Heroes don't act stupid. And if the characters behave routinely - this is immediately justified by editing or joking.
At first, it might seem like the pop stars of the Astral universe aren't here because of the budget, for example. But that's just another story. The story of the Lambert family. Astral-3 says hello. . .
The big question is this: Why do we need this movie?
I mean, Astral-1 is a masterpiece, no questions asked. Astral 2 is a natural and very terrible sequel. Astral 3 and Astral 4 are just the opening of the universe. Was it worth continuing the successful Lambert family story, and for what?
Have we seen something fundamentally new? Nope. Not really.
Something even slightly unique from the point of view of the universe, any clue? 100% is not.
Perhaps, this film is a beautiful touch from the main character-director for all who fell in love with his beautiful family over the years.
This is probably the case when: Thank you! No shame, no shame. Very well, actually.
I remember seeing the original Astral by James Wan. I love horror, but it’s hard to scare me, and this movie did it. The history of the Lambert family was tense and really scary. The second film was less intimidating, but the brand held, and then, together with Van, other people came to the post of director and the franchise began to weaken in artistic terms. So by the fifth part, I did not expect anything special from the franchise, but it still pleased and there are reasons for this.
The main characters, as in the first two parts, were members of the Lambert family. However, the head of the family Josh played by Patrick Wilson took a back seat to skip ahead of Dolton, who in the first part got into the astral world. This time it all begins with the fact that Dolton went to college, where he again begins to come sinister visions, which he has long forgotten.
Something terrible causes him to draw a blood-red door and the more accurately he draws it, the more horrors he causes around him. Dolton eventually learned to leave the body and mentally travel through the astral world. Well, the entities that live there want to use it for their own purposes. and then again in the case will take part in the head of the family, Josh, who also remembered everything and must protect the family from a new disaster.
Interestingly, the film was directed by none other than Patrick Wilson, who played the role of Josh Lambert. Wilson always felt a certain understatement after the first two parts and persuaded the producers, James Wan, Oren Peley and Jason Bloom that the fifth Astral should be the final part of the franchise and should return the Lambert family to the screen. And in my opinion, Wilson made a good movie.
I will not say that the new film turned out to be extremely scary, but some moments from it really frightened and made me seriously strain. but most of all I liked how the family of main characters showed here. After all, the dramatic relationship between father and son became the decoration of the production and you really care about the guys until the final.
Astral 5 was a pleasant surprise that literally resurrected the franchise. Moreover, the film became the highest grossing in the series. Maybe this is not completely fair, but it is not difficult to understand the audience’s interest here.
7 out of 10
So it's been five years since a couple of my favorite explorers closed the ghost gestalt of Lin Shane's past. It would seem that from the franchise squeezed everything possible. Anneth.
Lee Wannell once again begins to expand the Astral universe. Why not? After all, the franchise is essentially the hallmark of Wonnell, and Miss Lin Shane, and Mr. Patrick Wilson. Let's be honest, the third and fourth parts were extremely mediocre, but still, largely due to the Spex-Tucker tandem, and Alice's patronage over them, very caretakers. That's what I say.
The new part was entrusted to Patrick Wilson himself. That's a wise move. Patrick ate the dog in the field of commercially successful horror films, and therefore perfectly knows how to show fear with all aperitifs. The new story continues the theme of the family, only now the son has grown up, and has grown, thanks to the upbringing of Wilson, into a typically creative personality. What to expect, and thank goodness I'm not a drug addict. The guy goes to college, where suddenly, with the help of a tumultuous student life, and the simple influence of the teacher, he reveals the same talent for astral travel. Naturally, this entails no adventures, but the infantile nature of the heir, and a complete misunderstanding of the situation only aggravate what is happening. And our old friend, the one behind the red door, is gradually gaining strength and power, for dark matter remembers everything and forgets nothing.
Astral: Behind the red door is chic. Like a separate movie. It simply does not reach the level of the first two parts, but works harmoniously from them as a foundation. I liked the idea of the new characters, I liked the effects associated with the descent into the astral. Of course, you will be forced to compare everything that happens with the first film, but it is on the level. Patrick Wilson either deliberately did not want to follow in the footsteps of the first part, or knew perfectly well that years later the fan base would accept the film in any of its states, and therefore confidently closed the astral gestalt. pushed his hero back as much as possible, giving way to the "young". thereby the story received a rush of fresh blood, and the plot, although it looks like a youth horror movie, but catches at the expense of intrigue. And Wilson intrigued a lot, literally at each turn of the plot we are waiting for a new secret, and of course it will be accompanied by guests from the “that” side.
Among other things, this part is normally so crushed by the depressive undertones of the relationship between fathers and children, the presence of the understanding that not always surviving after an injury you will get a happy ending with all those due. And that most likely life without the participation of voracious ghosts will be like a fairy tale. Patrick Wilson played it perfectly, and at times it seemed like you were watching a family drama with a mystical meaning rather than a horror movie. Fortunately, such feelings did not last long, and the degree of domination of the dark forces quickly took the leading role. And then the already familiar darkness penetrated the optic nerve, and the notes performed by Tiny Tim sounded. Conclusion? It is time to put an end to the Astral universe, but, of course, this probability is extremely small, because even on the adventures of individual heroes, you can still make profit for a long time.
Well, it’s time to complete another long-running franchise, which thanks to the talents of Jason Bloom, James Wan and Lee Wannell for 13 years was able to become a real movie chicken, laying golden eggs. It’s easy to understand by just looking at the difference between spending and revenue for all five films. One organ senses that although Red Door is claimed to be the final part of the story, Jason Bloom and his partners may well gently or harshly restart the Astral. As it is now customary in Hollywood, you want a new profit - dust off already known projects. Therefore, it is important to note that viewers say goodbye to the Lambert family, but not to the BlumHouse franchise.
And it is worth noting that Astral: Red Door is a direct continuation of the first and second parts, released in 2010 and 2013, while the series has an additional 2 prequels of 2015 and 2018. But all that managed to come out in the Russian box office under the brand “Astral” in the interval between 2018 and 2023, should be considered completely separate horror parasites that proliferated Russian distributors. Here you can understand them, because you need to earn money. Write all this in a separate paragraph for those who may have really thought that all those other horrors directly relate to the universe of James Wan and Lee Wannell. It is better not to be confused.
Professional critics have already managed to tear apart the directorial debut of Patrick Wilson, while ordinary viewers reacted to the new hire much calmer. Yes, they agree with critics, the film is far from scary, but I liked the family drama, and especially the relationship between father and son. It’s one thing to sit with a beer, groan and wait for the screamers for 100 minutes, which can get boring, and it’s another thing to follow the characters’ development and how they interact with each other. Naturally, there will be those who will find all this “water” inappropriate, because of which there will be complaints about a small number of terrible moments. Who cares?
It is important to understand what you want before watching, then it will be easier to decide whether to watch or not. Perhaps the biggest drawback is in the end. Patrick Wilson failed. The planned climax is gaining too sharp speed, which makes all events sweep before your eyes in a remarkable whirlwind. The main villain is so criminally small, unfortunately. It is in the plot, lead to its appearance, it is still demonstrated, but there was a feeling that the creature did not care much about the screenwriter of the film. It seems that it was more important for him to combine the trilogy, good, they were not too lazy to add frames from the previous parts to the timekeeping. It seems amazing, but still not enough.
And so the depressive atmosphere of the story tunes more to drama than to a terrible horror, as dad and mom Lambert divorced, their new meeting happens at a funeral, the son leaves his native nest and quietly hates his father. A dark darkness that perfectly feeds the dark forces. Perhaps the absence of any emotionally positive waves also prevents you from being completely imbued with the Red Door. But still, the audience received almost a worthy farewell, albeit with reservations. By the way, Ty Simpsons is pretty. It needs to be removed more often, there is growth, a pretty face, masculinity in stock. Personally, we love the franchise, the first part is one of our favorite movies.