Spoilers have had all their shots.

The idea of a person that has to be isolated from the world due to illness and then centering a horror story in it feels very fresh. Add to that a young child as the patient and you have a recipe for a very tense horror thriller. There were a lot of ways this could be spun, but the one that the filmmakers opted for I found debatable. Let’s get into it.

(Credit: Netflix)

Eli (2019) was directed by Ciarán Foy with a screenplay by David Chirchirillo, Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing. Eli (Charlie Shotwell) is a young boy living isolated from the world due to a rare auto-immune disorder. His parents Rose (Kelly Reilly) and Paul (Max Martini) have arranged for him to receive treatment at a special facility run by Dr. Horn (Lily Taylor). The locale is a secure and safe house inoculated from all the external virus and bacteria so that Eli can interact with everyone else without requiring to be isolated. As Eli slowly lets himself starts to hope that there’s a chance for him to be cured, he starts to see things that seem to be unhappy with his stay.

I did get into this film solidly for the first half. Much of that is young Charlie Shotwell’s performance as Eli. He’s the right kind of scared, happy and frustrated that the role calls for. As we slowly unveil there’s more to the house and the scares begin, unfortunately the execution seems to falter. Something is haunting the place, and wants Eli out. Eli also makes a friend in young neighbor Haley (Sadie Sink), who warns him that Dr. Horn has ulterior motives. So now we have ghostly apparitions and a sadistic doctor experimenting on children. You kinda see where this is going.

Well, you don’t because the movie actually tries to do a breakneck twist of a reveal. Unfortunately, it jumps the shark. I did imagine a few ways in which the movie could bring a twist, but this one feels a little overblown. There was enough supernatural elements already without having to go with this reveal. I wish that the filmmakers could have gone for a more grounded resolution, but then again perhaps this was their intention all along.

Lightly recommended for a rainy night. The performances of the main cast are adequate, the production values are good, and the execution does a very decent work for the first half. I do think it nukes the fridge with the twist, reveal and finale. Any horror potential disappears the more supernatural it goes. Leave it in your watchlist for a slow night. No hurries.

That will do for now.