'Greta' Wins Worst Film of the New Year

This is a film guaranteed to scare claustrophobes who do not like the thought of being shut in a box, even one with a Pennsylvania Dutch painting on the front. 'Greta' is not a film for anyone who has been tortured by a sociopath either. In fact, it's hard to say who the audience for 'Greta' is. 

If the film were just scary, it would appeal to people who like to be scared. Or if it commented on the horror genre, as 'Get Out' did, it would appeal to people who love camp. Instead, the movie is laughable but not as parody. The audience may laugh, but it is the laughter of: "I cannot believe I'm watching this" or Why didn't I leave 10 minutes ago?" or "I'll never get these 90 minutes back in this lifetime or the next."

'Greta' tells the tale of a woman named Greta, who leaves her purse on the subway; of a second woman named Frances, who picks up the purse with the intention of returning it to Greta; and of a third woman, Erica, a flighty friend of the second. 

Greta is played by Isabell Huppert, who has appeared in dozens of films to some acclaim; Frances by the up-and-coming Chloe Grace Moretz, most recently in 'Suspiria;' and Erica by the ingenue, Maika Monroe. None of the trio acts well in these parts, in the stupid, stultifying, stilted screenplay written by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan. 

Why Jordan, who also directed 'The Crying Game' and 'Michael Collins,' attached his name to 'Greta,' a cinematic bolus, is a question that does not merit answering. 'Greta' offers nothing to the world of cinema.