⚠ Spoilers Ahead • Premise and Promise – The setup is compelling: a bullied queer teen discovers psychic visions after a near-death accident, entangled in a murder mystery. On paper, this is a festival darling waiting to happen. • Opening Scene – The natatorium sequence sets a lush, atmospheric stage, but believability falters immediately. A slash across raised wrists does not produce instant drowning. The film asks us to suspend disbelief without earning it. • Authority Figures – Teachers watch bullying escalate—outside the building, in classrooms—yet never intervene. The lack of realism here drains credibility. • Flashbacks – Stylized cuts flicker too briefly to be absorbed. Instead of deepening character psychology, they register as noise. A few linger long enough to tease meaning, but coherence never arrives. • Romantic Core (or lack thereof) – The central relationship between the murdered boy and his partner is barely glimpsed, leaving us emotionally underfed. Without that depth, the tragedy lands with less weight than it deserves. • Missed Connection – A budding romance between survivor and classmate circles endlessly in awkward dialogue loops. With narrative strategy, this could have been the closing grace note—hope after horror. • Screenplay Tics – Lockers suffer more pounding than a percussion section. When every character adopts the same dramatic tic, it feels like the writer’s quirk, not the character’s truth. • Direction and Editing – The DP captures striking images, and the cast commits, but choices in cutting and blocking scatter the impact. Whiplash transitions replace suspense with fatigue. • The Thrill Factor – Credit where due: the horror mechanics occasionally land. A few surprises jolt the viewer despite the structural chaos. • Final Word – Like many indies, Departing Seniors suffers from creators too intimate with their material, neglecting the first-time viewer’s perspective. The result is a film that belongs, imperfectly, in Strand’s kitschy canon. Watching it, one imagines what A24 might have made of the same premise—and aches for the sharper, edgier movie that could have been. Verdict: An intriguing premise lost in muddled execution—half haunting, half frustrating. ⸻ Crafted with Hudson—an AI collaborator for creativity, innovation, and human potential. Explore what’s possible at OpenAI.

justice gets served to bullies

horror "lite" not enough scares, gore, cheese, camp....ANYTHING very safe VERY forgettable