I have some questions (how the killer was able to locate all of them??) and some characters decisions are a bit stupid, however it delivers so well in terms of suspense and atmosphere, that I can forgive that (even if...with those things working, this would be at least 4 stars).
I didn't have an issue with the tone of the film. As a big fan of Spielberg, I've felt a lot of coming of age vibes here. As a big fan of horror, I've felt the gore from the intro and third act and loved the tension and suspense created. I was also not put off by the deaths off scene...I think the directors were trying to save until the end what they wanted to show us (even the violence), so we wouldn't really know if the plan was to reunite the kids in the shelter or just killing them, as we never see a death on screen - this is IMO another reference to Spielberg, who loves to save things for later in the film. It's not as violent/gory as other installments from these directors, but honestly I didn't care that much.
Overall, it was a very good experience for me, the right tone, the right atmosphere, a creepy killer and a compelling story. However, the plot is far from perfect and they could have done better with that.
I didn't have an issue with the tone of the film. As a big fan of Spielberg, I've felt a lot of coming of age vibes here. As a big fan of horror, I've felt the gore from the intro and third act and loved the tension and suspense created. I was also not put off by the deaths off scene...I think the directors were trying to save until the end what they wanted to show us (even the violence), so we wouldn't really know if the plan was to reunite the kids in the shelter or just killing them, as we never see a death on screen - this is IMO another reference to Spielberg, who loves to save things for later in the film. It's not as violent/gory as other installments from these directors, but honestly I didn't care that much.
Overall, it was a very good experience for me, the right tone, the right atmosphere, a creepy killer and a compelling story. However, the plot is far from perfect and they could have done better with that.