TakaNekro Review – Eli (2019)

With Halloween right around the corner, I’ve taken the plunge and watched Eli (2019), a horror film directed by Ciarán Foy from a screenplay by David Chirchirillo, Ian Goldberg, and Richard Naing. It stars Kelly Reilly, Sadie Sink, Lili Taylor, Max Martini, and Charlie Shotwell and is a chilling tale about the extraordinary means that love and prayer drive us to with a supernatural cut that made my jaw drop.

A fragile family puts their faith in a mysterious doctor’s “miracle cure”. But this healer is hiding a horrible secret.

– Netflix Movie Summary (2019)

STORY

The first thing one may come across first for this movie is the trailer. As if you could stop Netflix from automatically playing the thing before you have a chance to read the synopsis. As a fan of the paranormal genre, Eli definitely leaves a good impression before even finishing the trailer. 

A young boy develops a rare and severe disease that leaves him vulnerable to the anything and everything. A bit extreme, but relatable in today’s world of epidemics and pandemics that make us fearful for our child’s health. The family sinks everything into a doctor who assures them that curing their son is possible. However, as the story is told from the perspective of the son, we start to realize that things are not as they seem. The largely sterile mansion that the movie takes place in, is hiding dirty secrets and we all know where things are pointing to… or do we?

That was part of the fun of watching Eli. It’s no secret that this has happened before in may other films. The sick child, and the family that is ready to do anything to save them. A doctor who offers a cure that is too good to be true, and the world that’s upside down before family becomes involved. 

I’m not normally drawn to movies centered around children, mostly because there are rules that these stories have that one must abide to. Things like: the mother and child are have the stronger bond, the dad’s not all there, the child will not die – as they are the core of the parent’s journey from start to finish. Eli has a reason for all of this, and it will keep you invested all the way to the end.

PARANORMAL HORROR

Be wary of the trailer for this movie, as it has one of the better moments that’s best seen without any spoilers. This is a story that gets paranormal entities done right, fooling the eyes, and pulling your focus to the right details. As the audience, we become just as frustrated as the titular character, Eli, as is the case with stories that have entities involved with children. Why do adults never take sightings seriously, especially when there is no logical sense to being ignorant of heavier powers at play?  

VERDICT

There is definitely something to look forward to if you watch Eli in anticipation for Halloween. It has you invested in its characters and story from the offset, with a glimmer of hope that Eli will be cured in the end. The twists and turns are plentiful however, and the ending will definitely leave you slack jawed and impressed. “I did not see that coming!” Have fun with this one, everybody. Happy Halloween!

It’s now available to stream on Netflix.

Story: 10/10

Scares: 8/10

Gore: 7/10

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