«Jackals» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha

A secluded family, cut off from the world, lives in their own house. When one of their sons joins a cult, the family decides to save him by hiring a special person to bring the boy back. Upon their return, the heroes discover that their home is surrounded by masked individuals with only one task - to bring their brother back in line and eliminate any witnesses. The family must make a choice - whether to keep their newly retrieved son with them or sacrifice him for the sake of saving the others. They embark on a warpath to defend their home and attempt to escape this turmoil. But can they withstand the tattooed and constantly murmuring "mantras" of the cult members? No one can predict - all they have on their side are the walls of the house, while the opponents have time on their hands, as dawn is still far away.

The film starts off inspiringly - the camera moves in a first-person perspective, just like in "Hardcore" by Ilya Naishuller or "Maniac" with Elijah Wood. However, the film takes on some dramatic-panic tinges, from which it never fully emerges until the final credits. The filmmakers adopt the subtle pace of "It Comes at Night" by Trey Edward Shults and mix it with classic genre moves, as Jordan Peele did in "Get Out." Even the fact that the film is based on real events doesn't help the creators, as they lack a skillfully developed plot, well-developed characters, and logically progressing events.

The recently concluded season of "American Horror Story" perfectly showcased all these stories about cults. Showrunner Ryan Murphy always knows exactly why he delves into certain themes. However, the creators of "Jackals" seem to be making their film just for the sake of making one. Everything here is so banal and predictable that no other explanations come to mind. The masks worn by the attackers in the film vaguely resemble the fear-inducing "weapons" from Adam Wingard's project "You're Next". One of the main fears of Americans is home invasion and the violation of personal space, which filmmakers often exploit. For example, notable examples include "The Strangers" starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, "Hush" with John Gallagher Jr. and Kate Siegel. Or perhaps the most logical option is the "Purge" trilogy, which now wishes to continue as both a film series and a TV show. The only enticing factor of this project is the two actors leading it. Alongside established television stars like Stephen Dorff, who is in desperate need of a hit to remind audiences of his talent, is Deborah Kara Unger, who shone in David Fincher's "The Game" and David Cronenberg's "Crash."

"Jackals" is yet another story that attempts to be weightier than it actually is. This project is not just a horror flick, but also tries to incorporate elements of philosophy, drama, and family values. However, in the end, the creators again failed to deliver. "Jackals" is too simplistic, predictable, and bloodless for a horror film, and simply foolish for anything else. Such motivations, as depicted in this film, are usually found in schoolchildren who offer a treat to a puppy to find where its head is. Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that the screenplay was written eleven years ago and hasn't been rewritten since. After all, everything the creators of "Jackals" discuss and present now feels trite and even the masks and murders seem more comical than terrifying