Excellent film! Truly superb acting by Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman (though PTA’s writing provides a pretty major assist). Really great characters, the Joaquin character in particular is someone you hate and feel sorry for simultaneously. I wanted to know a little more about the motivation of Hoffman’s character, but keeping it vague makes sense for the story. Speaking of the story, I found it deeply disturbing. This to me is way scarier than your average horror flick simply because it taps into stuff that actually exists. In some ways its subject has only gotten more and more relevant since its release in 2012. Young, toxic, insecure men with no direction in life that are subjecting themselves to anti-intellectualism? You could’ve released it during the past five years and it’d arguably be more relevant.

So many memorable scenes that really get to the heart of how cults are able to manifest themselves and survive. Cinematography is excellent, the music is … surprisingly chill for PTA? It’s definitely one of my favorites from him, though it’s one of those films that requires a little bit of film literacy and a mature understanding of the world in order to get and appreciate. Seeing some of the ratings on here doesn’t surprise me, it’s not nearly as accessible as _Boogie Nights_. Just know what kind of viewer you are going into it. If it doesn’t seem like your type of movie, I can guarantee that it won’t be your type of movie.

8.5/10