The Legend of Ochi

Right off the bat this movie opens on a high note. The opening scene is gorgeous. The cinematography immediately pulls the viewer in, and those Kill Bill–like flutes are haunting.

The practical effects are AMAZING, it's so refreshing to see especially from a low budget flick. The creatures feel real like they have depth, it seems one can almost reach out and touch them. The forest scenes are genuinely spooky and whimsical. Big Pan’s Labyrinth vibes.

Willem Dafoe is hamming it up and loving every second of it. He knows exactly what movie he’s in. On the other hand… how does Finn Wolfhard keep getting cast in things?

After the opening salvo the movie slows down. Not in a deliberate, thoughtful way, just in a “lost some momentum” way. Host question, are lollipops without wrappers a thing somewhere else in the world?

Authors note, I tell my wife all the time she needs to learn stick and this movie is a great example of why you should learn to manual. Honey, what if you’re smuggling an Ochi, getting chased by Ukrainian grocers, and stealing a car, you better know how to feather the clutch.

The biggest issue is tone. This movie wants to be a lot of things. It’s not quite a kids movie, not really an E.T.-style adventure, not fully horror, and not sharp enough to be a Wes Anderson satire, though it definitely has those vibes whenever Dafoe is on screen. It ends up feeling like it’s made for everyone, which somehow makes it feel like it’s for no one.

Legend of Ochi is frustrating. The ambition is there, the opening scene had me genuinely excited, the cast does admirably. But by the halfway point that excitement had cooled into a semi enjoyment. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it, and I kept thinking about how close it was to being something really special.