Movie Review: ‘Seance’

Review by James Lindorf

Writer and Director Simon Barrett’s new teen horror film “Seance” will launch on AMC Networks’ premium horror streaming service Shudder on Wednesday, September 29. As a writer, Barrett is a known quantity in the horror community, having penned hits like “You’re Next” and “The Guest,” but this is his first time in the director’s chair. “Seance” stars Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation), Madisen Beaty (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood), Ella-Rae Smith (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Inanna Sarkis (Boo 2! A Madea Halloween), Seamus Patterson (Channel Zero) and Marina Stephenson-Kerr (Channel Zero).

Like many long-standing institutions, the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls has its own ghost story. Their halls are reportedly haunted by the student who committed suicide. When six girls try to invoke her spirit in a late-night ritual, it will have disastrous results, and one student will lose her life before dawn. Not long after, when Camille (Waterhouse) arrives to take the victim’s place at the academy, she immediately runs afoul of the victim’s friends. But if they all want to survive the semester, they will all have to work together to solve the mystery of what happened that night.

It is easy to see the films that may have inspired the world of “Seance.” Most notably, they are the 1977 Dario Argento classic “Suspiria,” teen dramedy “Mean Girls,” and Barrett’s own “You’re Next.” From the isolated location to focusing on dance over any other subject, the environment has much in common with “Suspiria” and its coven. The popular girls that bully everyone beneath them with emotional and occasionally physical violence are an even nastier bunch than Lindsay Lohan had to take on. Finally, Camille is a younger, less refined version of the tough-as-nails Erin (Sharni Vinson) from “You’re Next.” Both young women even find themselves under attack by masked intruders. These are three beloved movies that should serve as a strong backbone for an excellent story.

Unfortunately, what Barrett has crafted here is the palest of imitations. Just when “Seance” seems on track to do something exciting or frightening, it moves haphazardly from one idea and inspiration to the next. Perhaps too much of Barrett’s energy and focus went to his new duties. Focusing on minute details may have caused him to forget to write a compelling story that reinvigorated the genre like his previous films. Or maybe nerves got the best of him, and he forgot that the director’s main tasks are to present a unified picture and to get the best performance possible from the cast. We know the story isn’t up to his usual standards. Sadly, the performances can be summed up as unenthusiastic at best. Waterhouse carries herself well physically as the badass. Still, emotionally she is primarily a letdown except for a flash or two with Ella-Rae Smith, who plays Camille’s only true friend Helina.

“Seance” is not a film for rabid horror fans but could work for those new to the genre due to disinterest or age. The scary level is about a 2 out of 10, maybe a 3.5 if you are averse to blood. So nothing here will scare the newbies off, and they won’t find themselves thinking about better movies with the influences just below the surface and a flood of tropes keeping things moving. “Seance” isn’t a terrible movie. It won’t make you angry with its decisions or presentation, but what it is maybe even worse because it is a disappointment. With Barrett at the helm in complete control, my hopes were high, and at worst, I expected to see a good movie. Instead, all I got was unoriginal ideas and boredom from this 1.5 out of 5 movie.

Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Director: Simon Barrett
Writer: Simon Barrett
Release Date (Shudder): September 29th, 2021
Runtime: 1h 33m
Distributor: RLJE Films
Production Co: HanWay Films, Ingenious Media, Dark Castle Entertainment