Lots of different people have different ways they want to ring in the New Year.
Some jump under the nearest table to eat grapes, a few will carry on drinking after a kiss with their partner, and others will be in bed well before the clocks tick over into 2025.
Some, however, will be looking for something to watch to kick off the New Year.
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If that’s what you’re after, a new Netflix horror film with a crazy twist has been added to the streaming platform and it may be your perfect first watch of 2025.
It also has a near-perfect 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is an incredibly good sign if you ask me.
The film is called The Block Island Sound and is made by a family team, directed by brothers Kevin and Matthew McManus, and starring their sister, Michaela McManus, alongside Maze Runner's Chris Sheffield.
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You can check out the trailer here:
The McManus’ brought the film to Netflix in 2021, where it had a successful release, and if you wanted to start off the new year with a great horror with a crazy twist, then this is your best bet.
The Block Island Sound follows a fisherman and his family who encounter 'horrors and dark truths when an ominous force off the coast of Block Island begins killing wildlife'.
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And reviews, as you can probably guess from the Rotten Tomatoes score, were unanimously pretty great for the film.
One review from critic Jeffrey Zhang said: “The Block Island Sound ratchets up a creeping atmosphere...all in service of a powerful allegory for mental illness, inherited ailments, and the deteriorating state of our world.”
Meanwhile, Michelle Swope of Dread Central wrote: “Believable characters discovering that something sinister might be causing them to behave strangely, coupled with the gruesome imagery presented in an extremely well-written story make The Block Island Sound quite a compelling horror movie.”
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Kalyn Corrigan of Slash Film had high praise for the film, noting in specific the film’s plot twist.
They said: “It's an extremely well executed directorial feat from brothers Kevin and Matthew McManus, who stealthily lead their viewers down one foreseeable path, only to throw a wrench in the system and abandon ship midway through.”
And fans loved it too, with a 9/10 review on IMDb saying: “Slow, psychological and Lovecraftian horror, but of the muted kind. Google cosmic horror if you don't know what that means.
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“Don't watch this movie if you're looking for a monster flick full of gore and jump scares. Don't watch it if you're bad at picking up (barely) hidden clues and piecing together a very simple puzzle.
“Watch it if you like gloomy, atmospheric, well acted scenes, sprawling shots, ominous, majestic soundscapes, and stories and movies about the human condition, our effect on nature, and, in turn, our (in)significance in the universe.”
Sounds right up my street, what a way to kick off 2025.
Topics: Film, Horror, Netflix, TV and Film
Michael Slavin