Piercing Movie Review Starring Christopher Abbott

The Piercing film was released on January 10, 2019, starring Christopher Abbott. It had a pretty successful festival run heralding its premiere at Sundance 2018 in January. Like many films of this type, professional critics seem to appreciate it more than general audiences. The synopsis for Piercing doesn’t give much away, and if I’m honest, I didn’t really delve too much into it nor see a trailer. I just know that horror movies are scant in theatres and I try and see them when they run.

“Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect”

Hot on the heels of The Eyes of My Mother (2018) from director Nicolas Pesce it precedes his next endeavor Grudge due out in 2020 (more news on that one at the end of this review.)

The Piercing Movie

Whenever a baby appears as the focal interest in a horror movie, a million thoughts run through my mind. Why? It is usually the first thought, but then I get over it and trust that in the majority of cases nothing really happens to the baby and I sit back and enjoy the film.

Thankfully Piercing just teases that something bad will happen. The baby looks remarkably chilled but for a brief moment, I wasn’t sure this was going to be a pleasant film. I’m a mother of movies… that’s a clue… not a reference to Game of Thrones but I suppose the more films I watch the more I feel like cinema is as much “my life as it is the Mother of Dragons”.

Piercing is a serial killer movie. If you’ve read any of my articles for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, The Clovehitch Killer, or Bad Samaritan, you’ll know I’m not against films about this type of theme. In fact, it made me want to watch this movie starring Christopher Abbott even more. He makes a good serial killer.

I’m always amazed at the ppl who come out of the woodwork in protest against it. Some people recently asked;

They are comments usually speckled in between a sea of excited cinephiles. Because it’s effing interesting. That’s why. You won’t catch me fa-la-la-ing down a dark alley or leaving the door unlocked that’s for sure.

Starring Christopher Abbott Who Plays Reed and is Naked at one Point

Anyway, rant over— the lead player in Piercing named Reed has no back story, no incentive that we know of, and looks super OCD and we meet him in the midst of his plan to commit a murder. He is super meticulous about the plan he is undertaking.

Reed goes to a hotel room to practice his plan. The scene is really well done and reminds me of when teenagers practices meeting girls. The whole view takes on a voyeuristic approach and I like the way it’s put together. His choice of weapon is an ice pick. It’s like looking through a glass window as he sets about imitating how his kill will go down. Sound effects are added that mimic a voiceover which I found disturbing and interesting at the same time.

In the opening scenes, these sound effects made me preclude that Reed’s murder run-through ends up successful but I won’t tell you whether it or not.

Jackie is played by Mia Wasikowska

Everyone knows plans never go the way you want them to. Jackie the prostitute finally arrives on the killing platform and immediately takes those well-thought-out meticulous plans and muddies them, all while looking a lot like Sia (the musician.)

For those that enjoy deciphering a visual aesthetic in a story and a film that can’t easily be explained you will really enjoy how this goes about. Those movies that take on tiny formulaic nods to other psychological films are included in the Piercing film. Reed and Jackie Cronenberg TF out of the screen but without anyone turning into flies. While I was waiting for Reed to get his stab on, the film instead takes off in an unexpected direction. Unexpected is good, right?

While I semi-understand that there might be underlying themes and meaning to this one I just couldn’t extend past that it was just one man’s plan foiled by someone smarter and crazier. Jackie coincidently wanted someone to appreciate her. The universe decided these two people should intertwine, and so the story takes on its own agenda.

Jackie the prostitute is actually the more interesting of the pair. Her life is more interesting, her apartment is crazy cool and through Reed’s own murderous volition comes her opportunity to get to know him.

Piercing Places

Both try to give each other what they think the other innately needs.
Like a relationship that goes horribly wrong when reading the signals completely upside down. Are Jackie and Reed just star-crossed lovers or serial killers who just happened to meet up? You decide for yourself.

It’s in that theory that I find the most common ground. Others who watch this might see nothing or they might see more depth in the characters.

I’m still not sure I totally loved this one. The bulk of the more interesting concepts come through your own thoughts after the credits roll. Sitting quietly and imagining what it all means and who these people might actually be. Unless of course, you stomp off in a huff thinking you just wasted 81 minutes of your life.

Still, though, Piercing strung me along well enough that I never felt the urge to switch the film off.

For me, I could’ve done with less of that puncture sound that begins at the start of the Piercing movie as Reed imagines his perfectly planned murder. I did want a little more detail. Some more insight into Reed’s extremely bland character just to fluff it out a little. If not him then Jackie. The whole thing overall left me a little unsatisfied and not totally convinced the story was strong enough. It’s certainly not a terrible film. For another great review on this title check out Cult Projections.

I give Piercing

3 stop making that horrible noise out of 5

Piercing 101

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