Pure

I have to say, reading the synopsis for this film, watching the trailer, and seeing the movie I can’t help but feel bait and switched. I was expecting something like Stepford Wives meets the Wicker Man. I was pretty damn mistaken…

Shay is on her way to her first Purity Retreat with her dad and sister, a family she is still new to. During this retreat, the girls celebrate there virginity and purity by signing contracts during the forthcoming Purity Ball. With no phones, dressed all in white for those 3 days, they are contorted by the radical beliefs of pastor Seth. One night, Shay and a few girls have some fun and perform a ritual summoning the mythic Lilith Seth always speaks about. Strange things begin to happen as Shay begins to realize this camp may not be a harmless thing after all…

I have some positives before I drop some huge negatives. The cinematography was good and the main actresses were pretty solid. The movie has a lot to say about overbearing men in religious positions of power and some discussions could be started because of this movie. As for the negatives, the rest of the movie. Not much really happens in the movie and what does is either surprisingly tame or just lame; there is a ludicrous amount of obnoxious jump scares throughout. The indie music they play gets annoying quick too, especially when the damn jump scares follow. I can see a lot of the views expressed in this movie pissing someone off pretty bad. A lot of the male actors I felt weren’t great. In the end, I can’t really recommend this Hulu original because it has a good premise but a mostly crap execution. May the gaming gods bring you glory.