Nocebo (2022)
71%RT Audience Score: 67%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Nocebo, the latest psychological horror film from Lorcan Finnegan, has left critics divided. While some praise the film’s sleek production values and strong performances, others criticize its lack of depth and overlong runtime. The film attempts to tackle weighty themes such as guilt, vengeance, and the commodification of labor and life under global capitalism, but its preoccupations render the message numbingly didactic. Despite this, Nocebo manages to entertain with its supernatural nuttiness and sense of dread, making it a worthwhile watch for horror fans. Eva Green’s talents are unfortunately wasted in a screenplay that drags out the tale of ‘who-actually-is-the-mentally-stable-protagonist-of-this-story?’ However, the film’s bold depiction of shamanic experience and its prescient ideas and themes make it a thought-provoking addition to the horror genre.
Nocebo is a horror movie that tries to be deep and meaningful, but ends up being a confusing mess. The plot follows a fashion designer who can’t deal with her trauma, and it’s supposed to be scary, but it’s mostly just boring. The flashbacks are supposed to add depth, but they just make things more confusing. The only good thing about this movie is Eva Green’s performance, but even she can’t save it. If you’re looking for a horror movie that’s actually scary, look somewhere else.
Production Company(ies)
6th & Idaho, DUST, Stampede Ventures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.
Distributor
RLJE Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 4, 2022 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2022
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Eva Green, Mark Strong, Chai Fonacier, Lorcan Finnegan, Garret Shanley, Mystery, Thriller, RLJE Films, Box Office, Budget, Reviewed by Simon Abrams, Jason Zinoman, Dennis Harvey, Luke Y Thompson, Walter Chaw, Christian Valentin, Tara McNamara, Rich Cline, Morris Yang, Erik Childress, Ned Booth, MPAA Rating, Brunella Cocchiglia, Emily Leo, Folk Healing, Fashion Designer, Illness, Trauma, Filipino Nanny, Supernatural Horror, Psychological Horror, Tales From the Crypt, Guilt, Vengeance, Wealthy Countries, Global Capitalism, Shamanic Experience, Ritual, Sacrifice, Enigmatic Forces, Unseen Realms, Professional Manner, Striking Production Values, Prescient Ideas, Themes, Best Horror Movies of 2022, Best TV & Streaming 2022, Most Anticipated 2023 Movies, TV Premiere Dates 2023
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mark Strong –
Chai Fonacier –
Billie Gadsdon – Diana
Cathy Belton – Bobs
Lorcan Finnegan – Liz
Director – Lorcan Finnegan
Producer – Brunella Cocchiglia, Emily Leo
Writer – Garret Shanley
Director(s)
Lorcan Finnegan
Writer(s)
Garret Shanley
Producer(s)
Brunella Cocchiglia, Emily Leo
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (31) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (11)
A dreadful psychological/supernatural horror pic about a fashion designer who can’t get her mind around a recent trauma.
November 4, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Simon Abrams
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Even in a movie haunted by death, you need more signs of life.
November 3, 2022
Jason Zinoman
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Finnegan juggles the script’s disparate elements with some aplomb, making for a sleek whole that’s entertaining if not particularly depthed or plausible.
November 3, 2022
Dennis Harvey
Variety
TOP CRITIC
What would have made a great Tales From the Crypt episode becomes overlong even at 96 minutes—Lost-style flashbacks add depth but not revelation, as they merely make graphic what was already implicit.
November 2, 2022
Luke Y. Thompson
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
Nocebo is similar in that it, too, asks a question about guilt and vengeance, then works over through multiple approaches to the answer before landing on the same conclusion that notions of good and evil are arbitrary distinctions…
November 11, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Those looking for another bonkers wildly-out-there directional effort from Lorcan Finnegan might be underwhelmed by Nocebo.
November 10, 2022
Christian Valentin
Spectrum Culture
The storytelling can be taken on face value, or that message can be extrapolated to the way wealthy countries impose their will on vulnerable ones, making them their “servants” and paying them in fractions of their worth.
November 9, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Tara McNamara
Common Sense Media
Skilfully directed by Lorcan Finnegan to wrestle with the characters’ psychological messiness and supernatural nuttiness, virtually every scene bristles with a sense of dread, often boiling over into something seriously nasty.
November 8, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Nocebo, in keeping with the fashion of modern genre horror, feels like it has to say something about the color of people’s skin and the commodification of labor and life under global capitalism. Its preoccupations…render the message numbingly didactic.
November 8, 2022
Morris Yang
In Review Online
Eva Green’s talents are wasted here in a screenplay that wants to use real-world horror as a gotcha but not before boring us with a dragged out tale of ‘who-actually-is-the-mentally-stable-protagonist-of-this-story?
November 8, 2022 | Rating: 1.5/4
Erik Childress
Movie Madness Podcast
It’s rare for a film to so boldly depict shamanic experience as “Nocebo” does here, where ritual and sacrifice open up relations with enigmatic and powerful forces in unseen realms.
November 8, 2022 | Rating: B
Ned Booth
The Playlist
Nocebo works as it is packaged in a professional manner thanks to its strong performances (particularly from Eva Green and Chai Fonacier), striking production values and prescient ideas and themes that manages to get its message across.
November 6, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Harris Dang
Their Own League…
Plot
A fashion designer suffering from a mysterious illness turns to a Filipino nanny who uses traditional folk healing to uncover a horrifying truth in Nocebo.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Chai Fonacier plays the character Diana in Nocebo.
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