Spook Out! Day 16 ~ Pyewacket (2017)

Hulu Says...
"When you're dealing with demons, be careful what you wish for... A teenager's death curse plunges her into an unholy occult nightmare."

I Say...
I wish I'd been more careful and chosen NOT to watch this movie.

Horror Type...
Occult

Main Players...
Nicole Muñoz as Leah (Jerk Teen)
Laurie Holden as Mrs. Reyes (Jerk Mom)
Chloe Rose as Janice (Teen BFF and the only person of interest in this hot mess)

I liked...

• the aforementioned BFF, Janice, who was the only one to talk sense and do anything worthwhile and I wish the movie'd featured more of her bc then it might've been tolerable
• some of the tunes from the soundtrack

The Meh...
So much. Leah and her mom are grieving the death of Mr. Reyes, and I know folks in mourning aren't at their best and are struggling to cope. But these two gals...ugh. They're entirely self-absorbed, unlikeable, and do some stupid shit--very unlike the mom and daughter from the movie I reviewed yesterday, who are also still in mourning for their lost husband/father, but have smarts, empathy, and agency. I'm amazed Pyewacket did so well with critics who, I suspect, were either paid to write glowing reviews or high when they watched it. So many referred to this as a "slow-burn"--this was more of a "forgot to turn on the stovetop." It was a boring, tedious watch, with more atmosphere than scares and, I'm sorry, if you're going to have a supernatural entity with a fabulous name like Pyewacket, then you'd better bloody-well show us more of it than just a shadow and a few seconds from a distance.

Would I recommend it...?

No, sir. Didn't like it. Resent that I lost an hour and a half of my life to it.

Miscellany...

• In a 17th C pamphlet, The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins, a Pyewacket is named as a witch's familiar
• You may be more familiar with Pyewacket the cat from Bell, Book, and Candle

Ratings...
My Grade: D (but only bc of Janice, otherwise it'd be an F)
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=84%, Audience Score=58%

Details, Schmeetails...

I Watched Pyewacket on Hulu (the Rotten Tomatoes page linked above provides links to other host sites)

Pyewacket's IMDb Page

Pyewacket's Wikipedia Page (Contains Spoilers)

This concludes day 16 of