MovieChat Forums > Vivarium (2020) Discussion > Hmmm, well, really?!

Hmmm, well, really?!

posted 5 years ago by gbu (580)
29 replies | jump to latest

Im all for movies that have ambiguous meanings and leaving the viewer to make there own conclusions but i feel with this film it really didn't explain anything or lead you to any conclusion, i guess the bird/cuckoo leaving the nest was a hint to then having to bring up a child that was not their own, but i feel the film should of offered a little more in the way to an explanation, its like it lost faith in itself and gave up and just thought ' oh well lets be arty and let the viewer think of something as ive lost the plot'

[–] ultravioletx (10237) 5 years ago

I think the bird nest was a metaphor for a parent raising a child that wasn't their own.

[–] movieace11 (1339) 5 years ago

If we take the alien thing away, this was a movie about how a child with disability (autism for example) can ruin a marriage.

[–] ultravioletx (10237) 5 years ago

I disagree. They were stuck in a neighborhood against their will and knew they were being forced to do something they had not chosen for themselves.

[–] movieace11 (1339) 5 years ago

You can't choose to have a healthy child either.

[–] ultravioletx (10237) 5 years ago

But if you choose to have a child that ends up being autistic, as an adult you understand it's your responsibility to take care of it. This was not their responsibility. It was forced on them. In fact, they were downright deceived into it, and they knew they had been deceived. Big difference.

[–] movieace11 (1339) 5 years ago

Yes, it's different. I'm not saying this is what it's all about, but the fate of the couple made me think of this real life situation.

[–] smidget28 (800) 4 years ago

I disagree.

[–] movieace11 (1339) 4 years ago

You are free to.

[–] rudeboymurray (3271) 5 years ago

I saw this last year and have pretty much forgotten it... from what I remember it set things up rather well but ran out of steam somewhere along the way and ended with a whimper. I agree that it's annoying when things are left ambiguous - sometimes this works whereas other times, here included, it suggests that the filmmakers didn't bother to come up with a resolution for the story. Good acting by the two leads and a creepy atmosphere helped.

[–] einstein (2561) 4 years ago

perfect description!

[–] Silverman (270) 5 years ago

Really? The film was pretty specific, it just didn’t spoon feed you. It left a lot of questions unexplained, as any good dip in this genre should, but overall the plot was pretty tidy.

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 4 years ago

That's the point of the criticism. The film creates a bunch of unanswered questions based on supernatural occurrences.

The TV series "Lost" did a better job but even that show ran out of steam towards the end and they supernatural elements that drove the plot were all for nothing in the end. At least the audience grew to appreciate the ensemble cast and their different character arcs. This movie didn't even give us much with the main characters

[–] Silverman (270) 4 years ago

The whole draw of the movie is what you don’t know. That’s the whole point of cosmic horror - it taps into man’s fear of what he isn’t equipped to understand.

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 4 years ago

Except there was no cosmic horror as the couple who were trapped just accepted their fate and we just watched them wither and die. If that's the goal of this supposed "cosmic horror" then it would have been nice and more chilling to see how this cosmic horror is taking over the world, but from what they showed us they only seem to be targeting stupid gullible couples.

Movies that did a better job of this type of story telling are "Under the Skin", "Alien", and "Bug" to name a few, but there are many more.

[–] Silverman (270) 4 years ago

You may have an understanding of the cosmic horror sub-genre, but it’s not clear from your criticism that you do.

Whether or not the couple accepted their fate has nothing to do with cosmic horror. The horror comes from the idea of being at the mercy of unknowably powerful beings who seem to have some warped idea of human needs, yet remain completely aloof to any semblance of sympathy, love, or any other human emotions.

The idea is that you have entered a world where god is objectively real. This god has complete and total control over your ability to actually effect any kind of outcomes. This god is completely indifferent to your pain, torture, and despair. And the worst part is, because it is a god and you are a human, it is impossible for your human brain to fathom why it is doing this to you, or what it could possibly want.

Do you remember the computer game The Sims? Imagine that game being reversed, and instead of being the player who can at will torture on screen pixels, you are actually the bit of binary code that makes up one of the player’s subjects. As an onscreen character in a video game, it would be impossible for you understand the motivations behind the events in your world, and why it’s master with unknowable yet total power doesn’t give the slightest shit about your despair. That is cosmic horror.

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 4 years ago

What you think I do or don't understand about cosmic horror is irrelevant. This film fails to convey the scope of it that's for sure, hence my criticism of its narrative shortfalls.

[–] Silverman (270) 4 years ago

If you are going to criticize something through the lens of a particular genre, it is important to understand it. You don’t seem to.

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 4 years ago

This thread is about the movie not your preconceived notion about your assigned genre to it.

[–] Silverman (270) 4 years ago

I’m not sure you understand what this thread is about.

[–] mrbnk (419) 4 years ago

He does have a feel of it, but can not articulate. You in fact, are missing the point. Yes, cosmic horror doesn't need to end in victory for the protagonist, but just watching a helpless person who is totally unable to change anything makes for a lousy experience. Especially if the person in question did not really try everything he could. In this essence, i was disappointed with it too.

[–] wrecche (631) 4 years ago

Well put. My thoughts exactly.

[–] DuesExBiological (99) 4 years ago

I didn't like at all. The character development stopped as soon as shit got weird and the real estate spook disappeared

[–] wrecche (631) 4 years ago

Yes, the man should have used his ladder and shovel to build some sort of helicopter and the woman should have turned into an amazonian queen, fighting the hordes of random psycho babies thrust in their boxstep.

I think it portrayed the abject defeating misery finding yourself in such a situation would have resulted in.

[–] DuesExBiological (99) 4 years ago

I think it portrayed the abject defeating misery finding yourself in such a situation would have resulted in.

Except that it didn't. The Jewish kid was inspired to dig a deep hole everyday for no specific reason and the Anglo Wife didn't think it would make sense to follow her kid to his school. Yeah, lots of reality-based human behavior, NOT.

[–] wrecche (631) 4 years ago

He can't go outside of it, but can go down. He'd tried every way else. come on...

The kid went to school?

I don't really think you watched the movie, just maybe a trailer or reviews.

[–] wrecche (631) 4 years ago

Also, opt not to reply to my comments if you're a racist. thanks.

[–] DuesExBiological (99) 4 years ago

"The kid went to school?"

Ah, yeah, daily. Don't chickenshit out and cry racism when you know you have no argument, little child.

[–] wrecche (631) 4 years ago

You're the moron bringing up ethnicity... ffs, mentally deficient racists are the worst.

Also, Where did you see the kid go to school? Hmm? he didn't go to school.

More overt racism...

"And the Anglo Wife didn't think it would make sense to follow her kid to his school."

[–] SlackerInc (1101) 3 years ago

I thought quite the opposite. In the middle I thought it wasn't going to explain anything, so by the end I was surprised how literally they explained that it was aliens akin to cuckoos, getting humans to raise their young at their own expense.