Vivarium
Saban Films | Release Date (Streaming): March 27, 2020
5.1
USER SCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 96 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
34
Mixed:
36
Negative:
26
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hollis517Mar 31, 2020
Finally, someone other than me who ”got” the cuckoo foreshadowing! Vargatyr’s review is only inaccurate in estimating the film’s length at 120 minutes; it’s actually 97 minutes, but those are loooong minutes (about 280 seconds each).

ReadFinally, someone other than me who ”got” the cuckoo foreshadowing! Vargatyr’s review is only inaccurate in estimating the film’s length at 120 minutes; it’s actually 97 minutes, but those are loooong minutes (about 280 seconds each).

Read John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos rather than sitting through this movie’s dark and stormy-lite treatment without one decent line of dialog and with only one book in the house. (I doubt that it was To Serve Man, but it could easily have been from the same publisher.) Spare yourself.… Expand
4 of 4 users found this helpful40
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0
RambeAug 6, 2022
highly DO NOT recommend
first i want to say no disrespect to the actors they did good with what they had to work with
with that out of the way though on to everything else the entire movie youre waiting for something to happen but nothinghighly DO NOT recommend
first i want to say no disrespect to the actors they did good with what they had to work with
with that out of the way though on to everything else
the entire movie youre waiting for something to happen but nothing ever does
absolutely no payoff and a waste of time
left feeling frustrated and scammed
entire family also agreed
concept seems interesting from the description but absolutely nothing is done with it
all this movie achieves is making you feel annoyed and frustrated
VERY SLIGHT SPOILER (FOR MAYBE ABOUT 30 MINUTES IN?) mainly because of the demon child thing is just being horrible the entire time and nothing can be done about it

i will say again this movie has absolutely no payoff and is a waste of time
your time would be better spent searching for pennies on the sidewalk… Expand
2 of 2 users found this helpful20
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0
samstylleMay 13, 2020
The worst movie ever! Let me get straight, Only a few things,
It hasn't anything in the movie, boring, too slow, tedious, I got it the movie, I really do, though this movie hasn't anything of meaningful or a message, or meaning at all, on theThe worst movie ever! Let me get straight, Only a few things,
It hasn't anything in the movie, boring, too slow, tedious, I got it the movie, I really do, though this movie hasn't anything of meaningful or a message, or meaning at all, on the other hand like the platform on Netflix it' has something, it has a message for everyone in the world. But this It's too far far away from being a good film or interesting.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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0
mayabeeAug 23, 2020
A horribly bland "thriller" with no spice. I fully understand the premise and meaning of the movie but that doesn't excuse how horrible it is. They really could've just made a twenty-five minute short film with just the beginning part, aA horribly bland "thriller" with no spice. I fully understand the premise and meaning of the movie but that doesn't excuse how horrible it is. They really could've just made a twenty-five minute short film with just the beginning part, a montage, then the ending, and it would be loads more enjoyable than this. The movie is painfully dragged out with the characters doing nothing but moping around and feeling bad for themselves. Yes, I get that they're in a helpless situation but that doesn't change how boring the movie is. It's like the director wanted to make a "smart" movie with scares that don't feel cheap but instead got an uneventful mess. Another gripe I have is how little questions are answered. I understand that with mystery comes fear and that a good movie leaves the viewer with questions afterward, but this isn't a good movie.

[[SPOILER WARNING FOR THIS PARAGRAPH]]
Why did the aliens set up the trap this way? What gave them this idea? Why do they want to overthrow humans if obviously they're smart enough to live on their own. What did the boy learn from watching the TV? Why was the randomly mean at parts like locking Gemma and Tom out of their house? Why do the aliens think this is the best way to learn how to be human? Why did Gemma just give up? You could argue that she was too broken from the situation but if she had the strength to try and kill the boy then I don't understand why she didn't explore the weird underground area? Why did she sink through the floor in the underground area? Why did the boy let her see the book? Why didn't she ever try transcribing the book? Why didn't Tom or Gemma try and use the radio in the car to contact help? Why didn't they ever try breaking into other houses? Why didn't they ever try ripping up the concrete? Why did that giant hole not lead to anything but there was an entrance not very far under the road? What's with the funky colors when she was going through houses? Why did the lighter never run out of fuel? How did they rebuild the house so quickly when it got burned down?

[[Spoilers are done :-)]]

All of these questions are asked but none of them are answered, leaving the viewer frustrated after the movie. They had such an amazing idea and there were a lot of promising elements, but it was executed horribly. Please, don't watch this movie. It isn't worth it.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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0
AshfcknKetchumJan 19, 2022
I'll say the acting was good, but that alone can't save this movie. The CG animation quality is about on par with what you'd expect from the late 90's, the thinly veiled social critique seems misguided and the story is a hot mess. It's bitsI'll say the acting was good, but that alone can't save this movie. The CG animation quality is about on par with what you'd expect from the late 90's, the thinly veiled social critique seems misguided and the story is a hot mess. It's bits and pieces of acting strung together with no real intent of creating anything coherent. None of the mysteries get elaborated on in any meaningful way, half the scenes are practically irrelevant, because there is literally no payoff for anything. Utter waste of time, I was expecting something akin to The Trueman Show and ended up with garbage.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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0
VargatyrMar 28, 2020
The movie spends the entire 2 hours trying to tell you what you already knew in the first 10 minutes of the film ( cuckoo bird ), but fails to deliver in all aspects of story telling. You are left with interpreting the director’s failedThe movie spends the entire 2 hours trying to tell you what you already knew in the first 10 minutes of the film ( cuckoo bird ), but fails to deliver in all aspects of story telling. You are left with interpreting the director’s failed metaphor on suburban life being like in a vivarium that has no real freedom, and the clinical indifference of the alien zoo keepers ( that you learn nothing about ) as a stand in for society itself. Stay away, a waste of 2 hours that has zero entertainment value. Slower and more boring than the worst documentary you can think of. This films only purpose is to feed the ego of whatever “artist” is responsible for this trash. I think I spent more time writing this review than the director did in making this film.

Very disappointed that Jessie Eisenberg decided to be in such a film.… Expand
10 of 14 users found this helpful104
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3
Mauro_LanariOct 10, 2020
(Mauro Lanari)
On the end credits there is "Complicated Game" (XTC, 1979) in place of "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" (NIN, 2005). Although both songs are excellent, their cinematic rendering could not be more different: a loop of quiescent(Mauro Lanari)
On the end credits there is "Complicated Game" (XTC, 1979) in place of "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" (NIN, 2005). Although both songs are excellent, their cinematic rendering could not be more different: a loop of quiescent nihilism in the first case, a cry of desperate existentialism in the second.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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0
P4vl3nApr 19, 2020
A COMPLETE WASTE of time. Somewhat interesting idea that could've been developed into really intriguing moive. Unfortunately it's a sum of events that have absolutely no connection with each other. There were a couple of events that made meA COMPLETE WASTE of time. Somewhat interesting idea that could've been developed into really intriguing moive. Unfortunately it's a sum of events that have absolutely no connection with each other. There were a couple of events that made me think that there will be some developement of the mystery or some investigation of it - not to be. Honestly, just don't bother. Unless you are some snobby, weird, twisted freak that adores what the mass public dislikes - then that's definitely your movie.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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0
StopVivariumApr 10, 2021
I never rate movies, I never rate anything because my time is precious....exceptions had to be made in the case of this abortion of a film. I am obligated as a human to try to dave as many people as possible from being time raped by thisI never rate movies, I never rate anything because my time is precious....exceptions had to be made in the case of this abortion of a film. I am obligated as a human to try to dave as many people as possible from being time raped by this movie. I want my 99 minutes back....send help.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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0
majidoooMay 3, 2020
Wasted my time !!! Empty Story, They could show our daily routines better, it's not necessarily to show it by this way,
The movie wasted 2 hours to tell you what you already knew in the first 10 minutes of the film
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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2
StaghJul 16, 2023
Film has a promising beginning. But I was quickly worried that it would be the only good part of the movie. Alas, it was the case. Movie is sluggish and boring as hell. Two stars for the beginning; zero star for the rest.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
MLROct 21, 2021
Disturbing, depressing, tedious at times. NOT a comedy, horror fantasy is probably the right genre.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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1
noahbryanApr 2, 2021
Absolute crap! One of those movies where they never come to a concussion and never explain anything!!!! I’m mad at the time I’ll never get back. Sooooooooooooooooooooo badddddd
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
hnestlyontheslyMar 31, 2020
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If I hadn’t been aware that Vivarium was going to have a Cuckoo story, the literal cuckoo pushing baby birds out of their nests at the beginning followed by the navel gazing scene of a girl asking why a cuckoo would do that really drove it home. Vivarium is not subtle about its imagery. One of the most distinctive things about this movie, in fact, is its blasé attitude toward the clichés of this decades’ horror films. Tom (played by an inexplicably unaccented Jesse Eisenberg) digs (spoiler) his own grave, Gemma (played by national treasure and future star of the live action adaptation of Y the Last Man, Imogen Poots) falls into the role of Giving Tree.
The Giving Tree

Writer and director Lorcan Finnegan spends a lot of his movie waxing poetic about the horrors of suburbia and gender roles, actualizing the alienation and resentment young parents feel toward their child in every interaction between Tom and It, but rarely with a point. defection in the couple is broadcast fairly early in the story, which makes for a somewhat hollow script as the two characters with the most self-knowledge cease conversing. Vivarium‘s greatest contribution to the horror genre is in its imitations. The way the Young Boy parrots the language of his caregivers in that otherworldly voice, the way that Martin’s sales pitch feels so oddly expressive and staged, and his borderline mocking impression of Gemma’s cliché response to getting pregnant are oddball moments of drama and humor.

Friend and I spent some time afterwards trying to nail down what didn’t work about the third act, and generally I think it’s worth a discussion about what structures of cuckoo stories work and which ones don’t, which might be more interesting than the movie itself. It feels like the things that we like about the composition of cuckoos, these monsters, whose power comes from their ability to shapeshift into innocent or beloved characters in our lives, is that their power extends only insofar as they are able to play convincing copies. The moment that Coraline’s Other Mother shows her button eyes, that the spider-like dream-dwelling villain of Terry Pratchett’s I Shall Wear Midnight series loosens its grip on the illusion, the protagonist is able to regain control. The story structure of a cuckoo narrative should follow something like: 1) the protagonists don’t notice the cuckoo, 2) discover a discrepancy, 3) attempt to trap/kill it, and 4) fail or succeed. In the empowering version of the story, take It Follows for instance, the children succeed. There’s still lots of room for scares and failure along the way, but the audience feels the thrill of the victim’s empowerment as they learn more about the cuckoos physical limitations. Ditto this for a story like Stephen King’s It, another classic cuckoo story.

I’m not saying that there can’t be entertaining stories where cuckoos are successful–I’d offer China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station as an example of a situation where the success of the cuckoo is how the author subverts our expectations and increases the emotional stakes of the story–but I think that the means by which the cuckoo succeeds need to be carefully considered, and maybe roughly equivalent with the ability of the victim, in order for the film to feel exciting. The discovery of how well the spider’s web is constructed is not sufficient entertainment for the fly (or the audience). Vivarium is very much about revealing a neat, little web that two unsuspecting flies have been caught in, and as a metaphor for buying in to consumerist culture, it feels, as Friend put it, like “dated critique.”

Usually, I have some recommended reading. I think that this week, I’m going to draw your attention away from the director’s reflection of his own genius in the time of quarantine.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
RanMan85Aug 9, 2020
This caught my eye bc I enjoy Jesse Eisenberg in nearly all of his acting roles. As always, his acting was superb in this film. Unfortunately, the story line, or lack there of, in this movie was so agonizingly drawn out that I feel like thisThis caught my eye bc I enjoy Jesse Eisenberg in nearly all of his acting roles. As always, his acting was superb in this film. Unfortunately, the story line, or lack there of, in this movie was so agonizingly drawn out that I feel like this is the worst movie (out of 100+) that I have wasted time watching during this pandemic.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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0
Rob4444Aug 22, 2020
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So aliens are trapping couples in suburban homes and forcing them to raise their alien children. People lose there $&!÷ and are miserable. There is supposed to be some "profound" hidden meaning about how buying a home , and having children, and being stuck in the suburban life is all a trap that makes you unhappy. Here is the problem, its not true. ANYTHING in life is a trap if you allow it to be. Buying a home isnt a trap, having and raising a child isnt a trap, they are choices. If you trap someone in an apartment with no contact with the world, no choices, and nothing but walls to look at with no choices, then they would be trapped and probably unhappy. People buy houses in the suburbs because they want to and chose to, if they dont like it they choose to move. People choose to have and raise children because they choose to and accept the good with the bad. People become unhappy and feel helpless when they dont have choices. If you take away my tv, computer, phone, car, communication with all people and outside world, take away my kids, and replace it all with a heartless annoying alien child, then paint my house ugly *$$ green color and tell me i cant leave, im gonna be one unhappy sob. Another point in the plot that will drive you crazy is that anyone in that position either wouldnt raise the alien child that is completely heartless with no emotion, or even if you chose to raise it, you would discipline the alien child. Then there is the lack of communication between Gemma and Tom. So there is Tom,Gemma, an annoying emotionless alien, stuck in an ugly house with nothing but walls to look at basically, and Tom and Gemma dont talk hardly at all. Save your time , if you want to watch people trapped , go watch a North Korean documentary, it would be more entertaining and you will get more out of it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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0
Peter39Jul 30, 2023
Worst movie I've seen in 41 years. Starts interesting but the second hour of the film is very boring. Nothing happens. Nothing is explained. How this? Why that? What's about the noises in the whole which Tom dug? What's up with the boy? WhatWorst movie I've seen in 41 years. Starts interesting but the second hour of the film is very boring. Nothing happens. Nothing is explained. How this? Why that? What's about the noises in the whole which Tom dug? What's up with the boy? What were these patterns on TV? What's with the book? And and and. This movie is a joke… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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