Pernicious Review

Source: IMDB

*Originally posted at Filmoria* 

It's commonplace within the horror genre for myths and legends to surface and plague the main characters in the fold. Bloody Mary is a name that instantly comes to mind, while films such as The Ring brought about darker stories involving creepy children. The next to surface and look to bring about a new urban legend is Pernicious, cementing a Thai legend in the chambers of horror.

Julia (Emily O'Brien), Alex (Ciara Hanna) and Rachel (Jackie Moore) are on a trip to Thailand to aid young children, but not without a period of respite and exploration first. Checking into their rather aging accommodation, the girls come across a gold statue of a young girl and this sets off a series of unsettling events.

Experiencing bloody and brutal nightmares is just the beginning, as visions of the golden child plague the trio and they begin to realise that they are in the midst of something powerful, possessive and dangerous. Their quest to find answers leads them to a witch-like individual in the woods, but is this creepy figure the cause of such disturbance or the answer to ridding themselves of this demonic force?

Pernicious certainly begins with much promise; its opening providing gore-craving fans a neat little indicator as to what to expect further down the line and setting the foundations for its back story. It's beautifully presented and deeply effective - the kind of introduction that sounds out promise - but it's not all plain sailing as far as the full package goes.

From there, Pernicious presents the all-too-familiar sight of American youth heading to a foreign land and finding themselves subjected to the dangers of other people and, of course, the curse of an age old legend. It's all run of the mill stuff and it doesn't help when two thirds of the leading trio continuously make decisions you simply cannot compromise time after time. It's that air of familiarity that doesn't allow Pernicious to set itself apart from other genre offerings of a similar ilk, especially when it begins to imitate them.

Once we finally delve fully into the mystery of the 'golden child' wreaking havoc with our girls, the jump scares and outcome begin to remind us too much of films such as The Ring and The Grudge. A predictable mirror jump, a Nightmare On Elm Street-esque bath scene and plenty of other planned shock moments appear all too mimicked and rather let this originally refreshing film falter.

That said, there are some moments of inspired presentation throughout the film that leave it far from the rotting corpses of the dungeons of horror ridicule. It must be noted that the overall cinematography of Pernicious is quite beautiful; its spanning of Thailand reveals a bustling market-heavy location dominated on its outskirts by quaint and deserted lands. Add to that the striking colour of the more brutal scenes, with its splashes of red illuminating the screen and even the video nasty money shots appearing inspired, especially considering a film of this budget.

Coupling this with a trio who are tight-nit in chemistry on-screen, Pernicious certainly packs its fair amount of positivity, especially with Emily O'Brien leading the way for the girls. O'Brien, coaxed into leadership within the group, remains a safe bet in terms of her execution, while both Hanna and Moore have their fair share of favourable moments, even if sometimes the script does induce unintentional laughter.

Pernicious will certainly avoid being classed as an outright horror disaster, but it does, more often than not, feel like a replication of much improved horror outings merged together. Strong hints of The Ring in not only jump scares but also its main demonic evil, this is a film that certainly pays respect to the modern day favourites, but possibly holds too much of a candle to them.

Despite this, it does have its fair share of standout moments; a neat twist early on will have you double-taking, while a slow evolution and darkness emerging within one character will arrive at just the right time for a clever and fun conclusion. Gore seekers will find some solace, but those looking for a multi-layered and unpredictable horror may want to seek out something elsewhere.