The production quality and acting are 100% excellent. The story itself is so implausible and just didn't make enough sense for me. On the other hand, the film maintains interest (certainly not boring). So...ten stars for top-notch production and acting. Minus five stars for a somewhat ridiculous plot. Then I added a star because it kept my interest until the end. I hope that helps!
675 Reviews
Defintely not your run-of-the-mill thriller
EpimetheusA127 May 2019
This film changes at least twice. The first twist will catch you off guard, for sure. Luckily I went in without knowing anything about this film. It's different than most films and the story is a bit addicting, albeit nonsensical. This is a thriller to have fun with but defintely not to be taken seriously. Don't expect some groundbreaking plot line or characterization but know that there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked until the end. And if you don't focus too much on it's ridiculous storyline, the film is actually quite fun.
It does get gruesome at parts. Don't say you haven't been warned.
It does get gruesome at parts. Don't say you haven't been warned.
Nice little thriller
rgu-2974425 May 2019
Hey, why all the negative reviews. This is just a story. And pretty well done. Good acting, unique story, and a bit of fun. Not a blockbuster, but well done and entertaining, even for a couple early 60s. It's a suspense, thriller, horror, with a comedic twist. Ignore the bad reviews, sit back and have a bit of fun. Life's too short.
Welp, that was unexpected
tiffanymattzela26 May 2019
So it's not what I thought it would be. It's not as good as I'd hoped. But as soon as I realized how ridiculous it was going to be I was able to strap in and enjoy it.
The acting was quite good. Special effects were extra - in a B movie kind of way. Again, I believe that this is done purposely. I absolutely think that this style was intentional and I think we're seeing it more and more. I think that a milder example would be Get Out.
Watch if you liked: Get Out, Us, Antichrist
The acting was quite good. Special effects were extra - in a B movie kind of way. Again, I believe that this is done purposely. I absolutely think that this style was intentional and I think we're seeing it more and more. I think that a milder example would be Get Out.
Watch if you liked: Get Out, Us, Antichrist
Breath of fresh air.
lnvicta5 June 2019
Weird, experimental films are always more satisfying than remakes, sequels, or rehashed ghost stories. I'll take a Velvet Buzzsaw over a Winchester any day. It's no secret that the industry lacks creativity. Thankfully, The Perfection proves that there is plenty of creativity left in the genre, and that there are still some boundaries left to be pushed.
Its narrative goes from strangely compelling to profoundly disturbing. I don't want to spoil anything because the less you know, the better. If you're into bizarre psychological thrillers, The Perfection is one to watch.
Its narrative goes from strangely compelling to profoundly disturbing. I don't want to spoil anything because the less you know, the better. If you're into bizarre psychological thrillers, The Perfection is one to watch.
The Perfection: Far from perfect
Platypuschow25 May 2019
What a weird creature this new Netflix movie is, I went in knowing absolutely nothing and walked away wishing I had.
Starring Allison "Get Out"Williams, Steven Weber and Logan Browning it has no problems with its cast at all, solid performers who deliver great performances here.
It's a strange little tale that would be hard to describe on here without giving away spoilers. Let's just say it twists, it turns, it provides flashbacks and I found it utterly unpredictable which is at least something in its favor.
The production values are great, the soundtrack is near flawless, so why the low rating? Well sadly as great as everything else is (And it really is) the plot/script fall apart in a truly impressive way.
The more you think about the plot afterwards the more bafflingly ridiculous it gets. So it doesn't matter if the cast are great, the movie looks good and the soundtrack delivers if the story is a raggedy mess.
If you've seen it take a moment, think about it, think about the decisions that people make and the whole think becomes rather offensively silly.
Memorable, but not even remotely enjoyable.
The Good:
Steven Weber and Logan Browning
Looks and sounds the part
The Bad:
The plot is an abominable mess
Starring Allison "Get Out"Williams, Steven Weber and Logan Browning it has no problems with its cast at all, solid performers who deliver great performances here.
It's a strange little tale that would be hard to describe on here without giving away spoilers. Let's just say it twists, it turns, it provides flashbacks and I found it utterly unpredictable which is at least something in its favor.
The production values are great, the soundtrack is near flawless, so why the low rating? Well sadly as great as everything else is (And it really is) the plot/script fall apart in a truly impressive way.
The more you think about the plot afterwards the more bafflingly ridiculous it gets. So it doesn't matter if the cast are great, the movie looks good and the soundtrack delivers if the story is a raggedy mess.
If you've seen it take a moment, think about it, think about the decisions that people make and the whole think becomes rather offensively silly.
Memorable, but not even remotely enjoyable.
The Good:
Steven Weber and Logan Browning
Looks and sounds the part
The Bad:
The plot is an abominable mess
Perfection?
maaz299924 May 2019
Had to write a review because people are giving it negative reviews and calling it a feminist propaganda movie. First of all, I'm a guy and I really found most of the movie compelling. The cast does a superb job. Specially Alison Williams. The movie also goes in a very different direction and kudos to the writers and director to make such a different thriller. The only nitpick I have is that the movie has a very weird way of showing flashbacks. I found it annoying. But, the movie is a good netflix thriller.
Not exactly what I was expecting.....
bangel332226 May 2019
I sat down expecting a horror film, and the first half of film seems to be heading in that direction. However it's more of a psychological drama/thriller with a few twists. I have to say the acting was good, and the storyline itself unexpected but decent. However I would have liked to have seen this film go in a totally different direction. The ending was a little cliche for me, they weren't very imaginative there. It really had the potential to be something so much better than it was.
Too sick and subtle as a brick
FlorisV4 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This movie steers into interesting territory covered in films like Black Swan, obsession with perfection, the disciplined, somber life of those dedicated to the classical arts, how crazy competition can be, the dark side of the American Dream and all that. But the film, while first serving up a high brow ambience through classical music and fancy upper class settings, ultimately just feels like a stack of cheap burgers with too much fat, on a stomach that was hoping for something a lot more nutritious.
It just keeps throwing one crazy (and rather lazy) twist at you after another with little conviction and makes less and less sense. First we get to see a lesbian fling. We don't really get to know the characters all that well and it doesn't take long before they just get it on, but OK. At this point the film is still fairly enjoyable because it can still go anywhere. Then there is the virus...a bit confusing, suddenly you think this is a virus film. Then a hand gets chopped off...and after that it just gets more and more sick at the expense of believability. It throws heavy subject matter at you, about a master-apprentice relationship with sexual abuse, but deals with it in such a tasteless and crude way that you can't really care. And the forgiveness granted here to a psychopathic girl that just ruined another girl's entire life is just laughable. Even if these girls want to stay in their abusive relationship, an eye for an eye to settle the score first would make more sense (or should I say hand for a hand). And the rape scene with the stump was just too much.
Really, this could have been a great film if it hadn't derailed into gory territory. Don't get me wrong, I like gore in certain films, but here it just didn't fit. It should have focused more on a psychologically abusive master-apprentice relationship rather than dive mindlessly some a run of the mill me-too perversion. It's just crappy and distasteful writing, as if a number of heavy, serious topics found itself in the wrong type of movie.
The ending has almost one redeeming quality: The Chromatics covering Petals...but it just doesn't fit into the film either!
It just keeps throwing one crazy (and rather lazy) twist at you after another with little conviction and makes less and less sense. First we get to see a lesbian fling. We don't really get to know the characters all that well and it doesn't take long before they just get it on, but OK. At this point the film is still fairly enjoyable because it can still go anywhere. Then there is the virus...a bit confusing, suddenly you think this is a virus film. Then a hand gets chopped off...and after that it just gets more and more sick at the expense of believability. It throws heavy subject matter at you, about a master-apprentice relationship with sexual abuse, but deals with it in such a tasteless and crude way that you can't really care. And the forgiveness granted here to a psychopathic girl that just ruined another girl's entire life is just laughable. Even if these girls want to stay in their abusive relationship, an eye for an eye to settle the score first would make more sense (or should I say hand for a hand). And the rape scene with the stump was just too much.
Really, this could have been a great film if it hadn't derailed into gory territory. Don't get me wrong, I like gore in certain films, but here it just didn't fit. It should have focused more on a psychologically abusive master-apprentice relationship rather than dive mindlessly some a run of the mill me-too perversion. It's just crappy and distasteful writing, as if a number of heavy, serious topics found itself in the wrong type of movie.
The ending has almost one redeeming quality: The Chromatics covering Petals...but it just doesn't fit into the film either!
Not Perfect, But Intriguing
Pstitzinger-171-77506625 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I'll say SPOILERS just in case, but I'll try not to include any. Just better safe than sorry.
I like to find elements of other films in newer ones so in this case I would say The Perfection pays homage to Black Swan and Whiplash. Now, while this film does not really contend with the caliber of those two Academy award winning films, what puts it in common is the desire of the teacher to infect perfection, and the desire of the pupil to have perfection be infected on them. It's an interesting and intriguing concept that does work very well in the psychological horror genre. Granted, Whiplash was not considered a psychological horror, the borderline insanity of the instructor could convince one of such.
The Perfection establishes the notion of wanted to be perfect and the pain of being replaced when not. Much like Black Swan, you see the turn of the "replaced" with the naivety of "the next best thing," the insane lengths at which the former wants to bring the latter down, but the motive then becomes the turning point to create a brand new characterization of what was once believed to be the antagonist. The realization is shown a bit hastily, with a visual headache inducing "rewind" series that almost pays homage to Darron Aronofsky again with his visual cuts in Requiem for a Dream. But if you can get past that, the story moves along with its new turns fairly well. The bad guy is not who you think.
Others on here may be unsatisfied because the film is not what the trailers probably made you believe it was going to be, or that the film was too predictable and my response to those two points would be: if a trailer makes you believe and lures you in with one thing, and the film shows you something completely different, how is that such a bad thing? I would think good storytelling is when multiple points can be approached within the same story, and not to mention that then if the trailer wasn't deceiving, then of course the film was predictable as most films then could be from just their trailers. In 2019, especially in the horror genre and if you have been exposed to most psychological thrillers/horrors of the last 30+ years, most are predictable because there's only so much you can really do anymore in storytelling. It's how the audience is brought to that conclusion that's intriguing.
The closest thing this film was to perfection was its own title, but it's subject, characters, and twists were what kept it somewhat original and for that effort, I give it 6/10. Don't expect much, go into it with an open mind, and let yourself decide.
I like to find elements of other films in newer ones so in this case I would say The Perfection pays homage to Black Swan and Whiplash. Now, while this film does not really contend with the caliber of those two Academy award winning films, what puts it in common is the desire of the teacher to infect perfection, and the desire of the pupil to have perfection be infected on them. It's an interesting and intriguing concept that does work very well in the psychological horror genre. Granted, Whiplash was not considered a psychological horror, the borderline insanity of the instructor could convince one of such.
The Perfection establishes the notion of wanted to be perfect and the pain of being replaced when not. Much like Black Swan, you see the turn of the "replaced" with the naivety of "the next best thing," the insane lengths at which the former wants to bring the latter down, but the motive then becomes the turning point to create a brand new characterization of what was once believed to be the antagonist. The realization is shown a bit hastily, with a visual headache inducing "rewind" series that almost pays homage to Darron Aronofsky again with his visual cuts in Requiem for a Dream. But if you can get past that, the story moves along with its new turns fairly well. The bad guy is not who you think.
Others on here may be unsatisfied because the film is not what the trailers probably made you believe it was going to be, or that the film was too predictable and my response to those two points would be: if a trailer makes you believe and lures you in with one thing, and the film shows you something completely different, how is that such a bad thing? I would think good storytelling is when multiple points can be approached within the same story, and not to mention that then if the trailer wasn't deceiving, then of course the film was predictable as most films then could be from just their trailers. In 2019, especially in the horror genre and if you have been exposed to most psychological thrillers/horrors of the last 30+ years, most are predictable because there's only so much you can really do anymore in storytelling. It's how the audience is brought to that conclusion that's intriguing.
The closest thing this film was to perfection was its own title, but it's subject, characters, and twists were what kept it somewhat original and for that effort, I give it 6/10. Don't expect much, go into it with an open mind, and let yourself decide.
intense
natcalgary27 May 2019
Another good Dark Humor movie
binhosan27 May 2019
It's a great surprise for me this movie on Netflix. Had a lot of criticism and twisting figures and messages. The script is good, but have many flaws. What a liked more was the cinematography and the dark comedy mood around the characters as very much as the movie Get Out!. wich makes the film to be different or excentric. 7/10
Watch The Hamdmaiden instead
ncoombs-515973 October 2019
I have to write this because not enough people are saying this: This is film is ALOT like The Handmaiden. It's not credited as a remake but it pulls the same tricks, many identical plot elements and has a very very similar tone to it. Except The Hamdmaiden does it all ten times better. The Handmaiden is a fantastic Korean film. Watch that instead.
Absolutely pointless.
j-nickturner5 October 2019
The plot is dumb enough, but the execution is even worse.
I don't even know where to begin. This movie just has no soul, no point, and is trying so hard to be shocking and keep you guessing that it just throws in random shocks and twists that really have no weight or value other than to just exist.
It seems like it wanted to be kind of a stylish semi-arthouse film, but wasn't self aware enough to be anything more than a waste of time and money.
The two leads did a pretty good job up until the final act. But I wouldn't fault them for it. I doubt nay actresses could've done any better with such a poorly written script and a tone deaf director.
I don't even know where to begin. This movie just has no soul, no point, and is trying so hard to be shocking and keep you guessing that it just throws in random shocks and twists that really have no weight or value other than to just exist.
It seems like it wanted to be kind of a stylish semi-arthouse film, but wasn't self aware enough to be anything more than a waste of time and money.
The two leads did a pretty good job up until the final act. But I wouldn't fault them for it. I doubt nay actresses could've done any better with such a poorly written script and a tone deaf director.
First time I've been surprised
kittyhead-226 May 2019
I was given the advice to go into this movie totally blind. I am so glad I did. This is the first time I've been totally surprised and didn't know where the movie was taking me the entire time. That's so rare. It was executed well, the acting was spot on, and right when I thought it was going to get cliche, or boring, or cheesy, it flipped the switch and again I was surprised. This blended multiple genres seamlessly. It was creative and I was totally engaged throughout.
Don't have expectations
alycemayall25 May 2019
I saw the trailer and thought 'that looks predictable but interesting' but this movie is a giant surprise.
Don't go into it thinking it's reality, give it its own little space/world and let it be what it is.
Ignore the other hate reviews. They are from people without culture, who think all 'good' movies should be the same.
This is a well rounded, and pretty messed up movie. Give it a go.
Ticks all the boxes for 'DON'T WATCH'
nastasiaalexandru15 January 2021
Gross but good
ryannfortune24 May 2019
This movie was bizarrely gruesome and somehow hilarious. Some weird twists and a very dark underlying story of "The Perfection." Probably would not recommend to those who have uneasy stomachs. Felt the need to write a review after seeing some on here are instantly making it political. Enjoyed the movie for what it was.
Entertaining but Absolutely Unbelievable
claudio_carvalho8 May 2020
When the mother of the teenage violoncellist Charlotte Willmore (Allison Williams) has a serious stroke, she quits her promising career to take care of her mother. When her mother dies years later, Charlotte contacts her mentor Anton (Steven Weber) from the Bachoff Academy in Boston, and his wife Paloma (Alaina Huffman). She travels to Shanghai to meet their new prodigy Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Logan Browning) and they befriend each other. Lizzie is on vacation and they go to a night-club, drink a lot and have sex in Charlotte´s room. Lizzie invites Charlotte to travel on vacation with her and they travel together by bus. But soon, strange things happen to Lizzie in the beginning of a weird journey with many twists.
"The Perfection" is an entertaining but absolutely unbelievable film. The great screenplay uses flashbacks and many plot points that make the story funny, romantic, full of thriller and horror. The conclusion is sinister and bizarre. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
"The Perfection" is an entertaining but absolutely unbelievable film. The great screenplay uses flashbacks and many plot points that make the story funny, romantic, full of thriller and horror. The conclusion is sinister and bizarre. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
Oh my...
mgually8 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
What a ridiculous movie. The idea of some kind of pervert musical-religious cult hidden in a perfect music academy could have been a good point where to start to make a good movie. It's a real shame how the writers thought about the way to reach the bond and the salvation of the two girls. And, for God sake, a global famous american cellist girl with a self-cutted hand in China and nobody knows anything about her???? Embassy? TV news? Really does she come to the academy a snowy night from China? How? And, for the hell, how can she drive a car without a hand? Strange doesn't always mean smart, and in this particular case, means only ridiculous.
I'm going for a 7
carlospresents24 May 2019
Netflix spews out so much awful original content nowadays. Do you remember when it was all pretty much good to really good? I do. I'm jaded now when it says 'Netflix Original'. This one pleasantly surprised me enough to say, 'This isn't awful'. It kind of is but in a funny way. It isn't supposed to be funny. It has some good twists. It's like, super feminist. If you're a musician you may appreciate it more. I didn't. It's bad but not bad enough to never see. Watch it!
Crazy film
nicholls905-280-54691126 May 2019
Not the film I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing. Strong cast and many twists I did not see coming. The ending is an odd mix and the overall conclusion lacks the bite the first half of the film. Netflix continue to support the mid to low range thrillers with various results. Solid thriller and one film that will sit with you until the end.
Very Entertaining
LiiaPantz24 May 2019
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