Sique Movie Rating System

AUDIO

Music and audio are vital to the movie's journey. Whether it's an epic score, a cute tune during a violent murder scene, ambient background noise, or a sudden total silence at the perfect moment, it all comes together to help mess up your senses in that special way. I'll also be rating on how and when audio is not used. If you have seen the movie Nightwatch then I'm sure you almost tipped over when Martin (played by Ewan McGregor) sat in his office staring out into the plastic-bagged walls with only the sound of rustling wind. This is no different then hearing your heavy-duty trash bags outside before a small storm, but when applied properly to that scene, I pissed myself a little.

GRAPHIC

You might think this category is for violent scenes, bloodbaths, and gore, and in a way it is, but it's more complicated than that. If any of us wanted to, we could make our own off-the-wall, gory scenes; so for a movie, my standards are different. Does it strike a nerve? Does it feel real? A movie like Ichi the Killer, for instance, would only receive a 2.5 in this category because its violence is so over-the-top that it detaches itself from reality. There's a point where it goes past "scary", and enters the realm of "ridiculous". Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Ichi the Killer and other violently fun films but specifically for this rating system, those films won't score high. Why? Because the danger is so fantastical that we cannot relate to the violence. Oldboy, for example, scored really high in this area because of the teeth-yanking and the realistic fight scenes. An even deeper look into this category would lead us into the body language and expressions portrayed by the actors / actresses that make you feel truly sympathetic while they're suffering or dying.

ATMOSPHERE

One of the more important elements to anything, really. Try watching a movie by yourself, and you'll quickly learn how strong the atmosphere of the movie is. There are no random teenagers yelling "oh snap!", no friends interrupting your zone with "dude, did you see that?!" The 50-foot screen in front of my face? Shit, no, I was busy tying my shoes. Watching a movie by yourself is the best way to really feel a picture's visual ambience. "Atmosphere" is quite a broad concept, since it consists of all the physical, audio, and emotional elements in a movie, synched together. So for the rating system, I'll classify atmosphere as a general entity, an entire vibe that you get from the movie. Have you ever left a movie, and still felt stuck inside that place you just left? Did you feel genuinely uneasy? If so, then the atmosphere did its job, whether you enjoyed the movie or not.

TWIST

A movie's plot can only truly be successful if is properly explained. However, this category completely ignores the explanation, and focuses solely on the mind-fuckery. We've all had those "wouldn't it be crazy if..." conversations with our buddies. Some people are able to kick it up a notch and make a movie out of it. Here's where we decide if it was done well, if the idea is truly disturbing...even somewhat believable. The more believable the twist is, the more those 'what ifs' become frighteningly possible. This system rates those revolutionary ideas that leave people scared and confused about the dark possibilities in the movie and within themselves.

EXPLANATION

This is the most important factor in a disturbing movie. We're all past the "it was just a dream" and "zombie hand coming out of a grave" endings. In order to really show their creativity, writers and directors should be able to explain their twist. When you're able to explain the twist, the twist itself will become that much more real. And when it's that real, it becomes honestly frightening. Imagine this: a young girl goes into a crusty gas station bathroom. As she's about to hover over the toilet, a black figure reaches down from the ceiling and slits her throat, the end. Anyone can come up with a wild scenario and dabble in blood and mystery, but will the explanation leave the audience in a frightened fetal position? Or in a frenzy of booing? Clearly, not every aspect has to be explained, just the more ambiguous parts - and yes, it's okay to have open-ended conclusions as well. It's just that there's a difference between thinking, "I want the audience to interpret this one on their own", and deciding "I have no idea what happens next...I'll just make it obscure, and call myself an inexplicable genius." Know that if a horrible twist can be explained down to the last detail then that twist will become so thick with realness that it will get into your mind and kick your mind's ass.

RATING

Each area is rated with 100 increments starting from 0.1 to 10.0. An average is then calculated, and a possible maximum of five stars is given out depending on the final score. Whatever the final score is, cut that in half and you got your stars. Example, if a movie scores 7.2 then it will receive , if it scores a 4.8, then it will receive . This better make sense because it's all I have to show for the 6 years I spent in junior high.