Becoming (2020) Poster

(I) (2020)

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5/10
Not great, not terrible
lcherresse19 April 2020
The plot reminded me of the movie Fallen, but it wasn't as good. The ending could have been much better. She started making really dumb decisions. It was okay just for something to watch.
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4/10
Become More
questl-1859220 September 2020
Found this on demand, had never heard of it but thought why not, super vague description had me curious.

This is a surprisingly interesting little flick. It's got a fascinating concept, decent acting and it just never delivers well enough. There address some interesting notes on abusive relationships and bettered wife syndrome along with generational transition of rage and cruelty but it's so unfocused and meandering at times that it makes it hard to get real invested. There's also not much explanation why anything is happening.

As I think back, this really frustrates me. There's something here, a fascinating concept and screenplay, is just lacking that special something, that polish that could've made this something special. As it stands now, it's too forgettable and doesn't give me quite enough to sink my teeth into but it's so close. Sadly, we have what we have, not what I wish we had so this ends up being a surprise but still underwhelming. That said, if you have the chance, this isn't an awful and there are definitely worse things to watch.
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6/10
VIEWS ON FILM review of Becoming
burlesonjesse519 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"You're in danger". I believe I believe! That's the gut reaction I got from watching 2020's sullen and downtrodden, Becoming. Now is it the greatest motion picture in the world? Uh, not even close. Do you feel unsafe, glum, or unhappy while watching it? Uh yes but that doesn't make it totally recommendable. Finally, is it a low budget crux for any horror fanatic bent on having a fun beer and pizza movie night? Sort of.

Anyway, Becoming contains a kooky, Dennis Hopper-like Jason Patric, a sexy and charismatic Penelope Mitchell, a creep-o persona in Jeff Daniel Phillips, and a transforming Brit in Toby Kebbell. The film is about an Everyman who slowly gets possessed by an evil entity while going on a never-ending road trip with his young fiance.

Tension-building, ludicrous, and featuring the cops showing up at the very end (what a massive cliche), Becoming just goes off the rails despite a loose running time of 98 minutes. Shot in just one city (even though it's a cross-country affair), Becoming also reminded me of Kubrick's The Shining but with multiple, cheap hotels instead of just one big one (that would be the infamous Overlook in snowy Colorado).

Directed by a guy who hails from the capital of Jordan (Omar Naim), containing a rote flashback or two, and featuring a rather disturbing, opening scene, Becoming is a flick that suffers from severe, demon mumbo jumbo. It's mostly build-up and that build-up works for roughly the first hour. After that, Becoming just "becomes" a little tiring in its fallen angel approach. The tension builds inch by inch but you just lose interest in the characters. You finally run out of steam as a stay-at-home viewer (no true, theatrical release on Becoming at this time). Rating: 2 and a half stars.
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3/10
But Who Knows What The Future Will Hold????
wandernn1-81-6832741 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
WE open with father / son. In a bizarre sequence. Father sends son upstairs to get his gun. Shoots son and himself!!! In front of other SON!!!!

+1 Star I love the beginning!!!!

Cut to road trip. Blonde and Dude. Motel Room and Guitar. Then they stop off at Glen's House, and things get pretty weird over there at Glen's house.

-1 Star for yet another PG-13 sex scene. No one positions covers like that okay???

Haha Lisa has a weird dream about Alex in their next motel room!!! And also Lisa is preggers!!!

Oh so Lisa happens upon Jason Patric. Here he is my favorite Lost Boy in this obscure movie. Patric tells her that there is a dark entity now that is in her boyfriend Alex. PATRIC TOLD HER THE TRUTH BUT LISA SHE DOESNT WANT TO HEAR IT!!! Patric is the son who survived at the beginning. He's been hunting this entity his whole life!!!

But when confrontation occurs, Alexdemon kills Patric.

-1 Star for Patric hesitating and getting killed by his archdemon nemesis, Alexdemon. This Should not happen to a true LOST BOY!!

So Lisa, she knows what Alex is. But Alex threatens to kill all her friends and her parents if she tells anyone. But Alex, he's such a nice demon he doesn't force Lisa to sleep with him. Alexdemon wants Lisa to love him of her own accord!!! But Lisa, she plots against Alexdemon in secret!! Oh dear this is just like a normal relationship gone bad isn't it??? Haha

And then in the mail she gets a package from Patric! Before Patric died he mailed the mystic concoction he made to trap the demon by turning Alex into a vegetable. When Alexdemon talks about making babies, Lisa really gets into it!!! Oh dear is this another PG13 sex scene??? LOL, Alexdemon lets Lisa tie him up.

-1 Star for Alexdemon letting Lisa tie him up

Of course it's not going to matter. Alexdemon gets free!!! and Kills Lisa's DAD! Mom wants to shoot ALex demon but Lisa says NO!!! Lisa injects ALEXDEMON with Patric's super serum!!! And everyone lives happily ever after!!! Well, except Lisa's DAD. And Patric. They Didn't live at all!!!

Okay this one ends...3/10
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3/10
Incomplete
cory-jay25 June 2020
A thrilling start but I dont think the script built up to a climax. .Ending was lack lustre...seems incomplete.
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Effective
Gordon-1110 March 2020
I find this supernatural thriller quite effective. It is scary and suspenseful. I enjoyed it.
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3/10
Boring
Marianne43881 April 2020
Slow paced boring movie. I don't understand the other reviews talking about this being tense and not knowing what comes next. To me it was very straight forward. I feel like I've seen this plot a million times before, only done so much better. The cast try their best, but it's just so boring. The entity isn't scary and I don't care about any of the characters.
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7/10
I Don't Understand the bad ratings (and the few really good ones)!
davidccooke-7871518 June 2021
I had to get on here and write a review again because, as usual, the other scores on here just don't make sense. As I have said in other reviews, very few movies deserve a 1 or a 10. Those scores should be reserved for a masterpiece or a complete trainwreck. This movie is neither. It is a good movie with above average suspense and fairly good acting. It is a bit slow at times, but the premise is interesting and there are just enough spooky moments to keep you interested. It reminds me of the movie Fallen with Denzel Washington (which got a 7 on imdb). This doesn't have Denzel, but the quality isn't much lower. It is definitely worth a watch, especially considering all of the truly horrible movies in the horror genre.
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5/10
Thriller not horror...
bewitchedanie7 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It's a horror cum thriller film. I kind of liked the suspense that was build in. The plot is about a kind of soul that takes possession of a body. The person becomes aggressive and ends up killing his wife and children and then kills himself. Once the family is killed the soul goes to another prey and this process goes on and on. I don't want to kill the suspense so I would suggest that you go ahead and watch the movie. Yet again I would like to add that there is no ghost that you might wanna see. You don't see ugly looking faces. This is just a human who gets possessed.
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6/10
Good story, but not flawless for the rest
deloudelouvain28 June 2020
To me it didn't matter in which category they categorized this movie, it's a bit of all of the genres mentioned without any genre being more represented than others. The story was interesting enough to keep your attention at all time. To me it was well thought of, probably the best thing about Becoming. The acting wasn't bad but not the greatest either, it had it's ups and downs. The cinematography wasn't flawless, it made it look like it could have been a TV-movie at times. There is some suspense and the story is innovative and good, all reasons enough to give it a shot, just don't expect a masterpiece.
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3/10
Awkwardly tense then kinda weird. Sunday rain afternoon film.
bramstayer30 October 2020
I like the English male actor from other films. Its not terrible. Definitely a low budget suspense movie. Not really memorable, perhaps theres too many of these out at once. It starts out really quite well..the actors save it from being bad. Strange things happen to this changing guy. Has the same sort of idea as the Outsider from HBO but way less character development as in none.. Better than alot of creature horrors out there. This is not that.
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10/10
Killer film with a great plot and superb acting!
amdalltheway27 September 2020
This took me by surprise. I was expecting just another horror film but this is so so much more than that. This is honestly the creepiest and eeriest plot and music in a film I have ever seen and I watch a LOT of horror and sci-fi. I highly suggest you watch this twice to add up all the points throughout the film you had no idea what was going on. They will all show you far more the second time around having known what's going on. If you enjoy creepy plots and such check out: Resolution, The Endless, Spiral, The Wretched, Spring, Beach House, 1BR, and last but not least check out the 1998 film Fallen with Denzel Washington as it has something similar to The Becoming and it's also a forgotten by many viewers but still a great film!!!!
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6/10
Evil is familiar
richardwworkman6 February 2021
Fans of heavy CGI demonic possession scenes won't like this but what it lacks in explicit gore it makes up for in the sinister and uncanny.

Hellraiser it isn't but what we do have is an unsettling story that depicts evil as it really looks, like an ordinary man.

The idea is a simple one, that a human can be taken over by a supernatural parasitic spiritual entity and the hat this film does well is present that idea as a very human and relatable story.

I would agree that it's a bit slow, once it becomes clear that Lisa is aware of what her boyfriend has become, the we know the final girl moment is coming. But boy, doesn't it take its time.

Overall I enjoyed this, there's enough kept back to make the conclusion watchable. Despite the poor pace the performances were believable.
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4/10
It's a slow paced thriller movie
dy3849310 May 2020
Good movie but too slow but it is effective in some parts it is a super movie but lacks some good acting from the actors but is watchable.
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1/10
I wasted my time
saeidsisad28 April 2020
Nonsense story Nonsense movie Nonsense No special effects No memorable scenes One star is too much for it
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1/10
They owe me money!
applegrrls23 January 2022
I've been watching horror for years. This is no horror movie. To be honest, this isn't much. I hate writing bad reviews. It hurts that part in me that loves nearly everthing art including bad movies. But this movie is in a rare echelon where it's so bad it wastes the actual sanctity of life. I don't know if they didn't take this production seriously enough, or if they took it so seriously that they squeezed out all of the movie magic. There is a lot of talent in the making of this production that was wasted. And everyone deserves to be paid for the value of life that was wasted making it & while watching. Best wishes to everyone. But seriously, death to this film...
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7/10
You're not a reporter
nogodnomasters13 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is another evil entity transfer film, one that happens through familicide. Alex (Toby Kebbell) and Lisa (Penelope Mitchell) are traveling cross-country. They stop in on a long lost cousin of Alex's. There is a large creep factor and Alex becomes the next target. Lisa is torn between the truth and what she wants to believe.

I a film that handles the genre differently. Kebbell played his part well, but the film needed a name for the lead.

Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity.
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7/10
Good one
baunacholi-8615922 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Who would have thought that originality still can be found in the mystery/thriller genre. Becoming did a great job in my pov. Yes, fallen portrays a similar topic but what I liked here is the actual process of shapeshifting or possession. It has some minor flaws (a bit of a rushed ending, more back story about the entity would have been great) but all in all a good one!
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10/10
Keeps you entertained and guessing!
bearville16 March 2020
Becoming is a taut psychological thriller from Omar Naim, mixing Hitchcock with Wes Craven. It features a star turn by Toby Kebbel as Alex, a man on a road trip with his fiance Lisa, played by Penelope Mitchell. After a strange stop at a distant relative's house, Alex begins to become distant, angry and violent, leaving Lisa to discover the shocking truth about what he's become. The movie also features a great turn by Jason Patric as a too crazy to believe conspiracy theorist that may hold the key to what's happened to Alex.

Smartly written and directed by Naim, the movie crackles with energy, leaving you guessing until the final frame. The movie sets up a tantalizing mythology that I hope gets explored in future projects!

Recommended for fans of Blumhouse and M. Night Shamalan.
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7/10
I loved it, but I'm biased.
xiamonger30 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I have not read anything about this film yet (which is why I originally came here) but this movie reminded me heavily of the Denzel Washington film "Fallen". Fallen was the sole reason I love the horror genre. It was a lot like cowboy bebop - it showed me what horror COULD be.

Its a little creepy how similar to Fallen this movie is - especially the part about the cabin. But its different, too.

I love this film bc it specifically analyzes the moments before the possession completely finishes its processes.

I also feel like its more of a shapeshifter nod bc the possessing spirit has to learn to mimick its host.

The best part is when the mimick bumps into a sensitive person, they take on the hosts ... spirit? It was really an interesting concept.

I rated it low bc the main character sucked (not the actress, though that could have been better, but the actual character she is playing. Too slow, too stupid.). I would love a sequel.
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6/10
Not bad.
bombersflyup22 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Becoming is interesting and engaging, without being high quality.

Penelope Mitchell's quite good and extremely alluring, Toby Kebbell could have been better though. Lisa certainly should have chosen a better time and place in the end, with her father caught in the crossfire and the cops arriving instead of Kevin Lee. I enjoyed it enough though, despite bits and pieces missing and being a bit sloppy.
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10/10
This is a creepy film and I loved it
ggrieves-4929915 October 2020
It felt like I was in a nightmare while watching this. I loved it. It has this eery weird feeling about it that makes you think if Demons really do exist. I have to say this is my favorite horror film of the past 10 years hands down. All those people saying it's boring and slow are just adhd addled generations of children that don't know what a good film 🎥 is...
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8/10
HIDDEN GEM
pensacolacomputer15 May 2022
This is a hidden gem. The grade of 4.7 and top reviewer which gives it a 3 is a JOKE. Watch it for yourself.

If you like horror this should not disappoint. The acting is good. The story is great. Give it a shot!

8/10 A great horror/thriller.
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