Pretty - Review

In 1978, John Carpenter wrote, produced, directed and scored probably the most famous horror film ever created, Halloween. He failed to what Metecan Duren was also able to achieve: edit it all together. Metecan Duren’s Pretty is a really strong debut, showing really great potential in the horror space. The film may suffer a little bit from not enough cooks in the kitchen, but the feat of handling all creative aspects like this and producing an actual film is worthy of praise on its own.

Pretty (Melisa Kihtir) is on a standard walk home when she hears a noise from an old house along her route. A girl shouts for help, and Pretty’s curiosity brings her back later in the day to talk with the girl, only to find out that she is actually a ghost, warning Pretty of a grave danger coming her way if she doesn’t leave immediately. When an anonymous Instagram account follows Pretty, she engages in a short conversation, not knowing who they really are behind the screen. A sudden family tragedy brings Pretty’s problems right to her door, and in some cases, bring her nightmares to life.

The story runs off in a couple of directions that don’t all pay off with complete satisfaction, and reveals near the end of the film are a little confusing, seemingly coming from nowhere. The story up to that point is quite easy to follow, which sort of thrusts you into a new way of thinking while watching the film, one that you’re not ready for. If the film was giving you hints of more throughout, the intrigue would have kept you going, but the mystery of the film doesn’t push itself to the foreground, letting you switch your brain off a little bit, only to make you use it all by the end to piece together the threads of the narrative.

In saying that, I was majorly impressed by the horror in this film, it isn’t gory, which may be due to budget restraints, but with that added element, I do think that this film could have gone near the top of my list for promising horrors. Duren knows what they are doing when it comes to scares. The jump scares are conventional, but effective. Where the horror really lands for me is the imagery. They create antagonists that are scary to look at, and scarier when running full tilt towards the main characters. A lot of these images come through in Pretty’s dreams, which then work effectively when translating to real world horror, upping the stakes and potential consequences for our characters.

The characters were all a little one note for me unfortunately. I found the performances to be quite monotone, not pushing to the pure horror of the situation for the most part. I was most impressed by Saran Duren as Emma. She was able to push beyond the majority, and deliver some of the scream queen aspects that sold the scares. I will say that Kihtir’s facial expressions stand out during moments where Pretty is expected to be upset or scared. I just felt most of the line deliveries fell flat during the runtime.

The practical elements of the film were very well done, with some creepy masks and a bunny costume that belongs in a mainstream horror. I thought it was a clever decision to keep the film grounded, not relying on VFX to sell the horror. For me this kept the film grounded and avoided the cardinal sin of cheap VFX on an indie film. Not all the technical elements of the film worked for me though, I found the indoor lighting to be quite poor, with the choice to really only use one light at all times, meaning that no matter what time, or location, the actors are lit head on, creating very harsh and unrealistic shadows.

The film’s runtime is an impressive two hours, which for a horror movie, is a marathon. There are some elements that I think could have been trimmed to create a more concise and scary film that maintains the message. There are very extended texting scenes in the film, as Pretty talks to the anonymous Instagram user. These scenes are not used to their full potential, where we just see the phone screen and texts come in real time. There is so much more I wished they did with these, to build the tension of this unusual conversation, instead we mostly just read a vaguely odd and flirty text exchange.

While I had some problems with this film, as a whole, I am very impressed by its creation. For someone to take on so much of the process of the film is very daunting. Duren not only made a competent horror film, but also shows that even in the era where some folk opt for an AI shortcut, creatives are putting all of themselves into their projects and coming out the other side with an incredible showcase of talent and dedication. I look forward to seeing what Duren does next, and hope the right people see Pretty for the potential it has.

Pretty is available to stream for free on YouTube