Pensive

Lithuania, 2022  

Beware of what you do to others.

*** 1/2
aka RUPININTOJELIS /  WE MIGHT HURT EACH OTHER


Directed by: Jonas Trukanas 

Starring: Donatas Simukauskas, Gabija Bargailaite, Povilas Jatkevicius, Sarunas Rapolas Meliesius, Marius Repsys, Kipras Masidlauskas, Martynas Berulis, Saule Rasimaite 

Choice dialogue:  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to party where someone died.” 

AMAZON US AMAZON UK

Slasher Trash with Panache?

Review: JA Kerswell


PENSIVE certainly conforms to the build-up of a typical slasher movie, complete with 45 minutes of little happening outside of partying and light character building. The arrival of the killer is sudden, if not unexpected (we know it is going to be a slasher movie, after all). What isn’t so expected is that this psycho bursts straight into the cabin and kills off half of the class in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really do anything particularly interesting with its villain, as the dots have been laid out in advance for us to join them up. It teases a supernatural angle with the fact that the classmates suspect they are being killed off in the manner they abused the statues. However, the folk horror elements are unfortunately not particularly developed beyond the basics.
 
Rather, where perhaps the real interest lies is the shifting sands and loyalties of the small group trying to survive the night. It might be a commentary on the self-obsession of youth, but it is rare to find a subgenre film where the audience’s sympathies for a certain character take a 180 turn and then back again (more than once). It also features the novelty of a friend who is so off their face that they just won’t shut up and who becomes a potentially dangerous liability for the other survivors. In this light, the film’s alternative English title, WE MIGHT HURT EACH OTHER perhaps makes more sense.

The film is beautifully shot and benefits from fluid camerawork and a subtlely effective electronic score. Whilst it might frustrate those looking for more conventional fare, PENSIVE scores points for doing something a bit different within its subgenre framework. 

BODY COUNT 17: 
Female 8 / Male 9

  1. Female dies from fumes
  2. Male dies from fumes
  3. Male dies from fumes
  4. Male is stabbed in the back
  5. Male has his throat slashed
  6. Female is stabbed
  7. Male is stabbed
  8. Female is stabbed
  9. Female is killed (method unseen)
  10. Female is killed (method unseen)
  11. Male is stabbed in the neck
  12. Female has her face pushed onto broken glass
  13. Male is whacked repeatedly with an axe
  14. Female burnt body seen
  15. Male burns to death
  16. Male dies from his wounds
  17. Female is pushed off a cliff



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PENSIVE trailer

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