Psycho's Movie Reviews #208: The Sinners (2021)

The Sinners (alternatively titled The Color Rose) is a 2020 Canadian drama thriller film directed by Courtney Paige. The film stars Kaitlyn Bernard, Brenna Llewellyn, Brenna Coates, Keilani Elizabeth Rose, Jasmine Randhawa, Carly Fawcett, and Natalie Malaika.

It premiered at the Mammoth Film Festival on March 1, 2020 through Brainstorm Media.

Plot

An A-List Girl clique starts a secret cult where each of them must embody one of the seven deadly sins. They realize there's more to their small religious town after they go missing one by one.

Production

The film was shot in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

Release/Reception/Box Office

The film premiered at the Mammoth Film Festival on March 1, 2020.

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Sinners holds an approval rating of 50% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The film also holds a B- grade from Abbie Bernstein on AssignmentX, who said that "it is artful but uneven small-town high school horror".

Mae Abdulbaki of Screen Rant said that "the feature film debut of director and co-writer Courtney Paige, sin and religion clumsily hold together a story with not much to say". Jeannie Blue of Cryptic Rock praised it's acting, calling it "solid", but criticized it for "too many ideas that never pan out". Tori Danielle said that he "really enjoyed The Sinners", calling it "a unique murder mystery that is highly recommended".

Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film scored the film 3.5/5 and said "The Sinners plays the part so well that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just more of the usual, but this is Courtney Paige's film, and she's taking it somewhere very different." THN's Kat Hughes positively reviewed the film, giving it 3/5, and said "A film which aesthetically and emotionally aligns with The Craft, The Sinners offers a surprising hybrid of teen slasher and crime thriller."

Stephanie Archer of the Film Inquiry said that "The Sinners is a deeply layered and nuanced film that finds as much strength in what is not discussed as in what is. Though bloated at times, viewers will be left to wonder if this speaks to the choice of medium or to budgetary restraints. And while it is definitely not the film of the year, it is certainly a strong candidate for creating open conversations and discussions and displaying a wealth of promise from writer and director Courtney Paige. Honestly, I can not wait to see what she does next".

My Review

Its clear that the wrong audience keeps rating this movie low, it's meant for teen girls, that being said, at my age of 17, I've never been a fan of A-List high school movie as it doesn't hit my nostalgic craving, and there haven't been many good ones that have come out since the early 2000s. But. THIS. FILM. The cinematography is more beautiful than Mean Girls, and ALL the acting is so powerful, some scenes literally made me cry. Sure, the plot doesn't have any mind-blowing statements, but the messages it tells are still VERY relevant in this day and age (oppression, bullying, judgements, acceptance etc.) The tale was a fun journey to watch. I want a show spinoff detailing more of each Sin's life!! It's not too scary, but the thrills will keep you invested. And there are comedic moments too. Some say that the twist was predictable, but I was honestly guessing the entire movie. Is the killer Grace? Tori? Aubrey? The Pastor? His son? Maybe the teacher?? The end scene was so well executed and is now amongst some of my FAVOURITE villain reveals. I want to memorize that monologue. I couldn't believe this was the director's first feature film, Courtney Paige is definitely one to watch. OH and the soundtrack!!! The music was so beautifully haunting and the artist's voice is GOLD.

This is actress turned newb filmmaker Courtney Paige's first full length feature film (one prior short) as co-writer, producer, actor and director. For a newb filmmaker, she did well in every aspect except the writing - which blame also falls to her two other writers.

The story was cliched, clumsy and a convoluted mess riddled with plot and technical issues. The editing felt like it was put thru a shredder, then taped together quickly. It was confusing more than entertaining. Had the writers consulted a seasoned writer to fix up their screenplay, this could've been a hit, because all other filmmaking aspects were on point. Her directing was decent, considering she followed her own convoluted screenplay. Scores in B-films are usually loud, annoying, overbearing and unfitting, but this film's was actually great with some decent soundtracks. The cinematography was good, and the casting and performances were very impressive. Even the pacing was perfect for the comfortable 96 min runtime. As a new filmmaker, Paige certainly has a future ahead of her. I just wish out of the 3 writers, at least one of them would've got it right. Nevertheless, a decent watch if nothing better is on for her targeted audience of teens-tweens. Never mind the current five shill 10/10's of six current reviews, it's a very generous 6/10 from me.