Ignore the low rating if you like creepy, slow burn, deep and dark horror movies.
The low ratings are posted mostly by people who don't understand what's happening in this movie. Some complain about loose ends, of which there are none if you can follow a story that is below the surface of the plot. If the viewer is attentive there are no loose ends and everything makes perfect sense.
Others complain that it is boring or slow. Those reviews are posted by people who don't understand how to experience suspense and the methodical buildup of story and character. Predictably, some reviewers complain about what they perceive as preachiness.
So, the first two kinds of low reviews are easily dismissed, since they are written by people who are just not very sophisticated movie watchers in the first place. That's not the movie's fault.
The third kind of low reviews, written by viewers who complain about the preachiness, are more interesting, if wrong-headed. The screenwriter/director made a conscious decision to not be subtle about the movie's messages and themes, and to literally speak them out loud. One of the most fascinating elements of Master of is that, despite the lantern that is hung on the themes and the messages, the movie itself is so very subtle with its use of symbolism, enigmatic-but-meaningful story and plot elements, and a complex cast of characters who represent numerous facets of racism: from sloppy, overt racism to the maddening racism of white liberals who think they are not racist, but whose lack of awareness of their own privilege makes them full contributors to systemic racism and the related insidiousness of self-satisfied denial. This movie is uncommonly deep and complex in its depiction of themes and characters, all the more impressive given that, as some have noted (while completely misunderstanding the point), the messages and the themes are almost literally shouted from the rooftops.
In addition to the above sophisticated and compelling aspects of the movie, Master stands on its own as a superb horror movie. A sense foreboding intention permeates every frame from the opening seconds. In addition, there are numerous moments of sheer creepiness, and, it would appear, more than a hint of Dario Argento in the cinematography. In fact, if you've seen argento's Suspiria you'll recognize Master's direct visual homage to the scene in which a character lying in bed hears an old woman moaning from the other side of a red backlit curtain. (Oh, and Argento's maggots make an appearance.)
Master is a very good horror movie in its own right, and the sophisticated way in which it develops and shares its story, characters, and themes, makes it one of the best American horror movies of the last several years.
The low ratings are posted mostly by people who don't understand what's happening in this movie. Some complain about loose ends, of which there are none if you can follow a story that is below the surface of the plot. If the viewer is attentive there are no loose ends and everything makes perfect sense.
Others complain that it is boring or slow. Those reviews are posted by people who don't understand how to experience suspense and the methodical buildup of story and character. Predictably, some reviewers complain about what they perceive as preachiness.
So, the first two kinds of low reviews are easily dismissed, since they are written by people who are just not very sophisticated movie watchers in the first place. That's not the movie's fault.
The third kind of low reviews, written by viewers who complain about the preachiness, are more interesting, if wrong-headed. The screenwriter/director made a conscious decision to not be subtle about the movie's messages and themes, and to literally speak them out loud. One of the most fascinating elements of Master of is that, despite the lantern that is hung on the themes and the messages, the movie itself is so very subtle with its use of symbolism, enigmatic-but-meaningful story and plot elements, and a complex cast of characters who represent numerous facets of racism: from sloppy, overt racism to the maddening racism of white liberals who think they are not racist, but whose lack of awareness of their own privilege makes them full contributors to systemic racism and the related insidiousness of self-satisfied denial. This movie is uncommonly deep and complex in its depiction of themes and characters, all the more impressive given that, as some have noted (while completely misunderstanding the point), the messages and the themes are almost literally shouted from the rooftops.
In addition to the above sophisticated and compelling aspects of the movie, Master stands on its own as a superb horror movie. A sense foreboding intention permeates every frame from the opening seconds. In addition, there are numerous moments of sheer creepiness, and, it would appear, more than a hint of Dario Argento in the cinematography. In fact, if you've seen argento's Suspiria you'll recognize Master's direct visual homage to the scene in which a character lying in bed hears an old woman moaning from the other side of a red backlit curtain. (Oh, and Argento's maggots make an appearance.)
Master is a very good horror movie in its own right, and the sophisticated way in which it develops and shares its story, characters, and themes, makes it one of the best American horror movies of the last several years.