When Netflix announced A Classic Horror Story coming to its array of horror films, I was very excited. I am absolutely loving all of the folk horror coming out recently, and I could always go for more woodsy, ritual-ridden fun. I can safely say that the first 3/4 of the movie were on point — the last quarter held a surprise.
Or maybe not so surprising after all. I’ll start this review with the actual review: A Classic Horror Story was good. Not great, but it held up for most of the time. And I think that last quarter was the deciding factor for me. Spoilers ahead!
In all honesty, it started going to shit a little earlier than the last quarter — let’s say maybe halfway through. The story follows Elisa, a pregnant (but not wanting to be) woman in a car-sharing group headed home for an “operation.” Joining her are a partying couple, a doctor, and an excited vlogger-driver, all together driving through the Italian countryside. Just as the title implies, ACHS goes through the same story plot points as any other horror movie would: group goes on trip; group hits animal/person with car; group finds themselves with car trouble; group finds spooky house, asks for help; group members get picked off one by one. The “Big Bad” in this is a cult that follows three demons of Italian legend, sacrificing passers-by to keep their community from starving.
The twist is that there probably aren’t really 3 demons and a crazy cult. It’s more-so a mob boss and her cronies, along with the carpool driver (who was in on it the entire time), making snuff films à la Videodrome. I won’t say that I knew this was going to happen, but I did have that feeling once they decided to enter the creepy cult house. The decisions everyone kept making got dumber and dumber, and I began to suspect something was up.
While I wasn’t wowed by the main premise, I did appreciate getting a look inside the mob/driver’s minds. Seeing how infatuated they were with making movies was a fun thing to see, and hearing the driver’s thoughts on Italian horror compared to the more mainstream American horror, giving some great perspective that I can only think is how the filmmakers really feel. There are, of course, parts of ACHS that didn’t make sense to me, or that I didn’t really like. The ending, for example, left me unfulfilled and questioning the point of it all.
And honestly, the more I think about it, the more I move my opinion from “Good” to “Meh.” None of it was terribly bad, really. It’s more so the ending and overall forgettable-ness of it all. As I watched, I found my self thinking “Oh, this happened in this movie,” or “something happened like this in this other movie,” and less “wow, that was unbelievable!” Everything except for the main actress’ acting. Matilda Lutz, who I recognized from Rings, has absolutely redeemed herself with the most powerful anguish and grief I have seen in a long time. Her pain was super close to real. I don’t know if it was because this movie is in her native Italian language, or if Rings was really just that bad, but Lutz was the best part of this entire movie.
So, would I watch A Classic Horror Story again? No, I’d rather watch Midsommar or The Ritual. Should you watch it though? Yes.
What did you think of A Classic Horror Story? What are your thoughts on Folk Horror, or Italian Cinema? Let us know in the comments!
