Two great actors, Lithgow and Rush, deliver fine performances in this excellent psychological thriller. Were other (Horror) movies try to scare you or create the feeling of unease by scare jumps or graphics this movie shows how it’s masterfully done, and all without any supernatural devices. Fascinating cat and mouse play by Lithgow and Rush, a contest of wits. Great script, great direction, excellent actors, camera work, editing and music. Highly recomended.

Just the most negligent care home workers.

Great psychological movie. One of those movies that some may not consider horror, but that actually is, due to the focus on tension and fear. But its a slow burn, and one that may put off a lot of people, who may mistake it for being boring. John Lithgow was amazing, really sold the creepy character of Dave Crealy. Kinda weird (but pleasing) to see him in a NZ film. Geoffrey Rush was also good in the role of Stefan. I think he captured the feeling one might after suffering a stroke. On the surface the film is about a creey dude who is tormenting and abusing his fellow patients using a dementia/therapy puppet, and it really built up a good atmosphere or trepidation around that. But looking a bit deeper there is also a message in there about how powerless and abandoned our Elderly can feel. The loss of control, both in body and environment. Not being listened to when something was clearly wrong. The feeling of isolation - they were locked into the building, the building was isolated by a tall fence, the surrounding environment was also isolated. The only real communication they were having were with the staff who weren't listening and treated them like children. The residents also had very little control over their lives, with set times for eating, showering etc. Adding to the lack of control was Jenny Pen, the puppet held by Dave Crealy who wielded it as a way to control the residents. He would sneak into their rooms at night and abuse them, forcing them to "lick Jenny's asshole" (his wrist under the puppets clothing). Elder on Elder abuse is a real thing and this depiction of it was in many ways terrifying. That he got away with it for so long, was surely an indication of how little care the residents were getting. I did think the ending was a little weak. But otherwise it was a solid movie that I would definitely recommend seeing.

A very strange and slow movie, more depressing than scary

Human politics are the key theme. Mundane. Not horror.