Ammar (2020)
Ammar is an Egyptian horror movie that came out in 2020 in the language of Arabic.
How I watched: Netflix
You know, call me uncultured but I literally had NO IDEA there was a such thing as an Egyptian horror movie. I only came across this while browsing the international section of Netflix. Might as well watch as much as I can on Netflix as I may end up severing this loveless relationship due to their new implements to cut down on password sharing. I personally pay for mine but I do share with only my small family (and we live states away LOL)
Yo, I digress so let's get into the movie!
So this movie is about a man that moves his family to this fancy ass mansion of a house. Him, his wife and his three kids ranging in ages from elementary age to high school age. Things start off lovely and in obvious admiration of this beautiful home .
Guess how long this lasts?
So they have these house cleaners whom are also husband and wife that are quickly introduced. However the wife is all like "We love to clean but when it gets dark we're gonna GTFO, k??" At first, the new homeowners are like "Ok homie." All is well.
As always in a horror movie, things start to reveal itself that this isn't the happy home they expected it to be.
I know this scene wasn't meant to be funny but it did get a chuckle out of me. So the wife finds her youngest daughter outside in the middle of the night chillin' by the pool and drawing a wacky ass drawing and giggling her little heart out. The mother inquires on what exactly she is drawing. Talia responds, "My imaginary friend, Ammar of course!" Hey, that's the title of the movie!! The look on the mother's face just says it all.
Things are starting to go more bump in the night and the father investigates outside pretty much the very spot her daughter was just before. However, he returns a very different man. Which begs the wife to go in deep though after noticing his odd behavior of the house cleaners and bam "Waaaaaait a minute." and goes to question the wife. "Snitches get stitches." She says. So, what does she do? She says it anyway about the haunting history of the house.
If you want me to be brutally honest, this movie is nothing special. It adds nothing new the genre and despite me wanting to like this movie so much as an Egyptian horror movie, this falls flat. It doesn't look like this movie had a high budget but even with that being said, there are plenty of movies that are arguably good on a low budget. I thought the acting was okay. The actor who plays the father was pretty convincing when he did his personality change.
Another thing to note, I found the movie to be bland on the fact that it seemed totally incoherent. There could have been many ways to establish the history of the house. It felt a little lazy when it came time to reveal why the hell that mansion house thingy was so gosh darn haunted but the explanation was so brief. Plus, there could have been some expansion on Ammar. The ghosts of the house was a little too mysterious even as vengeful spirits. Not to mention the abrupt ending. Not a fan, sorry.
I'll end with my critique right here but yes with that being said, what is the verdict?
Dolla Tree version of American Horror Story
Thank you for reading my review. As this is an Egyptian movie (I am still blown away at that) then please click here to see the Egyptian Metal Band of the Day on my sister blog!
Also, I've been more active on my sister blog Horrortized TV where I recap episodes from various horror/thriller/sci Fi tv shows. I find it pretty fun some of these shows is my first watch. Specifically Diablero and Hellbound. I focus more on recaps than my opinions to check it out!
