The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Z
Horror · Thriller · 2019
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Movie details
Z
“Z wants to play”
2019 Horror · Thriller 1h 23m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Z?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Dead of Night
Horror · 1945
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
The Lady Vanishes
Thriller · 2013
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
Pyewacket
Horror · 2017
A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.
The Shed
Horror · 2019
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Maniac
Crime · 1963
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
The Apology
Thriller · 2022
Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, a recovering alcoholic is preparing to host her family's Christmas celebration when her estranged ex-brother-in-law arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret.
The Night Stalker
Mystery · 1972
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
Midnight Lace
Mystery · 1960
Kit Preston begins to unravel when she receives threatening telephone calls informing her she's soon to be murdered.
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Sci-fi · 1957
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
The Watcher in the Woods
Fantasy · 1980
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Brandon Christensen
Written by
Colin Minihan · Brandon Christensen
Keegan Connor Tracy
Elizabeth Parsons
Jett Klyne
Joshua Parsons
Sean Rogerson
Kevin Parsons
Sara Canning
Jenna Montgomery
Stephen McHattie
Doctor Seager
Chandra West
Georgia Cadere
Ali Webb
Mrs. Hirsch
Court is in session
Put Z on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Sentimental Softie
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.