Pledge (2018) Reviews

• Give it a watch, and don't expect to be blown away.

  tjmf-664542019-01-11

  Good movie, not an especially good movie, but it is entertaining enough. Interesting theme, and the acting is fairly decent. I don't know if this is an independent movie, if it is, they done a fine job. If not, it's still a worth a look. Some gore, nothing too shocking for those who don't particularly like that stuff. I'd say it's a solid 6, but those with a keener eye for the subtext, may have a different view to mine.

• I give this movie a sold 7.

  juliewillemsenonline2019-01-12

  I have just watched "The Pledge" and was pleasantly surprised. It was very watchable, had a pretty good story and a good ending. The actors were great, they did a fine job. None of them were known to me and I was again, pleasantly surprised. I can recommend this one.

• Decent thriller with a hint of comedy.

  ZachRPhillips2019-01-11

  Due to oversaturation in the horror genre, unique horror movies are very difficult to come by, but this is an exception. The first 15 minutes of this 77 minute film consists of funny yet not side splitting dialogue, and from that point on it is a slow progression into the disturbing. The acting in this film is nothing to turn your nose up at. Going into a movie like 'Pledge' you should not expect absolute brilliance in regards to acting, but you can definitely tell while watching that the actors involved do take pride in their work and they really wanted their performances to be believable. The villains are entertaining & the victims do a good job of portraying the right levels of emotion when being put through all sorts of bodily & psychological torture. The short run time of this movie does nothing but help, as anything longer would have very well run the risk of making the movie too monotonous. 'Pledge' manages to keep your eyes on the screen from start to finish. Another praiseworthy aspect of the film is the beautiful building in which the majority of the movie is shot. Outside & especially inside, the building truly does give off an aura of creepiness about it, which truly does help with the atmosphere. Story wise 'Pledge' is very much lacking, however, I went into the movie essentially thinking it'd be a mix of 2008's 'College' and any of the 'Saw' sequels, and I wasn't too far off. An attempt at a deeper story is made at the end of the film, but it is ultimately unnecessary & the movie could have very well been even better without said attempt. The main criticism I have of the movie is a personal one. I did not feel nearly as squeamish while watching as I was hoping to. This could very well be due to the fact that I have become desensitised, but nevertheless that is a criticism I have. Acting is good, atmosphere is tense, concept is unique, story is lacking but yet somehow not lacking enough & the gore is average. Overall, it isn't likely that 'Pledge' is going to be on anyone's top 10 list of the year, but that doesn't mean it isn't a unique movie watching experience. This film will have its audience, and I include myself amongst that as a big fan (although a very forgiving one) of the horror genre. Definitely watch the movie if you read the synopsis and find yourself intrigued by it.

• Enjoyable if slightly flawed entry

  kannibalcorpsegrinder2018-07-31

  Attempting to pledge a big fraternity, a group of loser friends find that the humiliation and torture being inflicted upon them is not a series of ordinary hazing ritual and decide to fight back only to find a far greater threat at the center of their struggle and try to get away alive. This was a decent and solidly enjoyable outing. One of the more enjoyable aspects to be found here is the absolute craziness this dives into once they begin dealing with the pledge antics. After the perfectly fine setup at the beginning here with the party at the house, this one dives into some rather enjoyable tortures which just come out of nowhere and delve into some rather dark and uncomfortable rituals that they take part in. Under the guise of it being tradition and all part of the process, there's a lot of fun to be had with the way this one dives into for their torture. From being forcibly branded against their will to given dead-animal-and-rotten-food slop as a meal to scarf down and then taken into another room to be whipped and humiliated against their will, these early scenes showing the group being hazed are incredibly shocking with how they emerge in the story out of nowhere and prove to be merely the first stage of the craziness to ensue. As there's so much brutal, bloody fun to ensue from the final half of their desperate race to get out of the fraternity space alive and get away from the crazed members attempting to chase them down through halls of the building. These really enhance the film considerably and make enough to like to hold this over it's few minor issues. Among the few flaws here is the excruciatingly contrived setup that gets this one going. The fact that the group is so clearly going along with a game-plan set into motion by sinister forces is so obvious with the way they're awkward and socially inept that comes as a complete counterpoint to the jock-centered behavior usually associated with fraternities. They stick out so badly that it's obvious the different groups are toying with them and their inability to recognize that makes them out to be completely idiotic for not realizing this as instead of building sympathy for them as intended it just makes them out to be rather unintended morons. As well, there's also the surprisingly abrupt ending that doesn't really make any real sense. The fact that it brings up a big twist about the true nature of who's going to be involved in the special fraternity seems to be quite unnecessary as the twist comes out of nowhere, is not even set up as any kind of traditional shock and it's over once it plays out without any kind of resolution which leaves the entire focus rather shocking. Otherwise, there's not much else wrong here. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

• Hazing the Elite

  scythertitus2019-02-28

  This movie has a distinct Funny Games feel to it, but takes a little less time developing the personality of the antagonists, which is a shame. There are touches, but most are peppered in to move the story forward, ratger than really setting them apart in terms of their goals and reasons for doing what they do. There is a good punt of playing with audience expectations, so that the film keeps you guessing rather than simply being predictable, but it almost feels like it ends too quickly because of this. Several threads are left unexplored and a little more could have gone a long way to making this a much more rewarding watch. Overall the film is good and never really lags or feels cheap. It has something to say and is delivered well. With a little more development it could have been really great.