Sunday Movies: Spectral

I'll admit, I'm not the best person to have judge a Science-Fiction film as I find the genre played out and overdone. I didn't care for Star Wars beyond the first three films, and really only like the Alien franchise as I like creature features.

That being said... Spectral was surprisingly good. It was recommended to me by my favorite bartender at a local theater I frequent, and I decided to brave the frontier and check out this horror-thriller for myself.

Set in the not-too-distant future, battles in the war torn country of Moldova have had DARPA agent Dr. Mark Clyne called in to investigate some camera equipment he developed for the American military forces. They seem functional, but have been picking up what seem to be ghosts roaming the battlefields. Ghosts that have been killing soldiers.

Now, he must figure out what they could actually be while determining how to best deal with them. Are they victims of an unjust regime, aliens, or enemy soldiers with advanced cloaking technology? The budget for the film was a whopping $70 million, and you can tell! They have amazing graphics and CGI, top-notch sets, and great costumes and equipment. The acting is good, sometimes even great, and the story is original enough that you don't predict it halfway through. There really are no obvious weak spots, and they keep the techno-babble sci-fy movies are so renown for down to a minimum, so I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. The horror aspect is a slow build of tension and fear of the unknown, and I can't think of a single jump scare in the entire film. 8 out of 10 stars! Take a watch on Netflix tonight, and enjoy some quality horror!