This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The writers of most critical reviews of this film don't seem to realise a) that girls with a mental problem may not always shower naked, b) that actresses who play a certain type of girl will not necessarily be acting badly, and c) that blood and body parts will be fake or someone will investigate. What this film does do is make the characters, the effects and the storyline credible, and when you add in the accurate shooting (half of films made don't do this), and the way colours and contrasts are used, you have an intelligent and perfect or near perfect horrorfilm which can be enjoyed as many times as you want. The thing about good horror, and in particular good torture porn, is you have to get the blood colours right and this one does. Three American girls go to Thailand to teach children and become embroiled in local superstitions. That's it, but you will enjoy becoming engrossed in all the different parts of the plot if you just watch the movie with an open mind. People with closed minds hate horror they "think" is in any way sexualised. Thankfully for cinema, adults in democracies such as the U.S. and U.K. are allowed to choose their own entertainment, which is why Psycho exists.

Now this movie although a 'scary movie' is not very scary at all (at least for me, I've seen over 700 horror movies so I suppose I don't scare easily anymore but I don't think anyone is really gonna clench to their seats with this one).But it still kept my attention somewhat throughout the running-time which is a bit of an accomplishment at least, granted the pretty faces helped a lot with that and it's also visually fairly competently done... The scenery is nice and scenes of gore and blood are good fun, even though the jump-scares are less successful.The acting is... so so at best but yeah seen a lot worse when it comes to that as well.The music is a little overbearing at times, over-dramatic and loud.The script is, again I've seen movies with worse lol, but yeah nothing to spend your last money on and probably a movie that only holds up for a one time watch.And yeah I wouldn't call it "good" but it kept my attention somewhat so it's not all bad either, in the end I can only give it about 4 or possibly 4.5/10 though.

Bad, buh-bad, bad, bad!!! Three young women travel to Thailand to teach young children (though they all look more like Victoria's Secret models forever strutting down a runway). Let's see, you have the irresponsible, horny blonde chick; the irresponsible, not-so-bright blonde chick; and the one smart, responsible chick (brunette of course--no cliché goes untouched in this cr*p). The chicks (I'm only using that word because that's clearly how the filmmakers view them) decide to party down before school starts, but it seems the house they are living in is haunted with...well, something or other. Some gory murders to wake you up, but since the victims are always tied down, there is no tension or suspense. Additional caveat for those interested: though the three chicks often prance around in their underwear and short-short shorts, there's no nudity. I guess they didn't want to lose their dignity. Why the rating for this garbage is not hovering around 2 or 3 suggests the cast and crew (and friends and relatives of both) were instructed to vote.

The title made me think that Pernicious was going to be one of those "mockbusters" from the studio The Asylum, but it ended up being a legitimate North American-Thai co- production whose premise evokes the wave of Asian horror which was fashionable in the previous decade. And I have to say that it fulfilled its mission on the most basic thematic level, because it resurrects the female ghost concept adding pretty much blood and some moderately original twists. Unfortunately, the poor performances and weak direction demerit the experience, and avoided me from being very satisfied by it. Needless to say, I will refrain myself from mentioning the surprises in the screenplay of Pernicious, so I will only say I liked its mythology, the wild natural settings and the ghost's innovative mechanic to attack its victims. And, like it occasionally happens with films which are set in distant countries (at least from my point of view), the story is spiced by captivating cultural details which end up being more interesting than the story itself. But, sure, without losing the common denominator of the horror which is understood in any language and region. On the negative side, the most important problem comes from the atrocious performances from the leading trio of actresses. Ciara Hanna, Emily O'Brien and Jackie Moore are certainly attractive, but they feel absolutely forced, antipathetic and occasionally laughable in their characters. And then, we have James Cullen Bressack's uncertain direction, which shows difficulty in orchestrating fluid and coherent scenes, besides of the fact it doesn't generate too much suspense or atmosphere. Nevertheless, I have to admit that Pernicious didn't bore me, and I appreciated its disturbing displays of gore. So, I can give a slight recommendation to it, specially as a reminder of a rich culture in which magic is a normal part of daily life. But what I would be really scared of are the jungle mosquitoes. Who needs bloody rituals when there are "bloodsuckers" with the size of a hummingbird?