Five young American dancers are invited to Budapest for a prestigious ballet competition. When their bus breaks down in the middle to nowhere, they find refuge at an inn up the road. They soon realize that the inn holds deep, dark secrets. Being there will do them more harm than good and they will need to escape if it means staying alive.
Premiering at SXSW, Pretty Lethal sparked my interest thanks to it’s intriguing concept. A horror action thriller that mixes the art of ballet, it reminded me of Sucker Punch and Black Swan. As I was a fan of both those films, I couldn’t wait to see how this one would measure up, but unfortunately it didn’t meet my expectations.
It started off promisingly enough. I liked the introduction of the characters, all of who had their own little niche. The tone was perfectly set and managed to do so quite quickly with the bus breaking down and the girls finding themselves at the inn. However, as it went on, it seemed to lose focus. I didn’t know what it was trying to say or why it was trying to say it.
The cast consist of on the rise actresses who make the film what it is. Maddie Ziegler stars as Bones, the leader, so to speak. She’s got a chip on her shoulder, but the girl can dance and she’s ready to use her talents to save them all. Lana Condor was hilarious as Princess. On the surface she’s one thing, but once you get to know her she’s another. Avantika was Grace, a Christian who had to go against her beliefs to get out of some hairy predicaments. Millicent Simmonds and Iris Apatow were Chloe and Zoe, sisters who were at the heart of it all. Behind it all was Uma Thurman who starred as Devora Kasimer. A former ballerina herself, she runs the inn and still lives in the past.
As interesting as these characters were, they weren’t fleshed out as well as they could have been. We learned next to nothing about their backgrounds or their lives outside of ballet. Aside from Chloe and Zoe who had their relationship established off the bat, the audience was introduced to fear in a whole other way. Chloe, portrayed by deaf actress Simmonds, had to focus on other senses to help get her through this ordeal. On the other hand, would have appreciated learning more about Devora because I didn’t really understand why she felt the need to go after the girls in the first place.
Overall, Pretty Lethal had a great premise, but it ultimately lacked in its execution. The idea was fresh and unique making way for some beautifully choreographed fight sequences. Unfortunately it just never came together in the way I was hoping it would. This ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied.
Rating: ♥️♥️.5
Credits Rolling 