Shining Vale

Year of release : 2022

Run time : 29m- 30m, 8 episodes

Genre : Horror / Tv Series / Mini Series

Cast : Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Mira Sorvino, Sherilyn Fenn

The series are an Starz horror satirical comedy which was canceled after 2 seasons.

Pat and her family are moving from the city to the small town Shining Vale, after she had a one week affair with her young plumber.

From the moment they drive onto the property, Pat sees a little girl no one else sees, and inside the house which her son thinks it's a hotel, she hears voices, and sees an old fashioned woman.

Her psychiatrist thinks she's insane, and gives her a lot of pills to deal with it, giving her a higher dosage whenever she says it doesn't work.

Pat has writer's block, and needs to write something fast, as she is threatened with being let go, by her publicist. She realizes she can write if she "channels" the ghost, and she starts writing about the ghost's life, when she's possessed by it, as she doesn't remember anything she does, like cooking, or destroying her husband's work.

As always in such movies, the husband is oblivious to it all, while the wife goes through it.

The trashy daughter, starts wearing a cross, because the guy she likes is religious, and I guess, wants to wait until marriage. But she doesn't start dressing modestly, and is still vulgar verbally around him and his parents.

The religious mother of the daughter's boyfriend warns Pat about the ghost, but she shuts the door in her face. The religious woman also talks to the daughter, and pretty much gets the same reaction.

The psychiatrist thinks the ghost is her writer alter ego, and gives her more pills.

The ghost scares Pat, and she sends her kids away with her mother. Who hates her for putting her in the mental hospital for trying to k1ll herself when Pat was a teenager.

Terry, Pat's husband, quit his job, so they can't move out, so Pat goes to a Wiccan store, where she gets the answer she doesn't like, so she ignores it.

The ghost wants to live through Pat, problem is, she also believes she needs to k1ll the whole family to cross over!

Pat lets her live through her, this also meaning she gives her access to her husband when they have s3x.

Episode 6 is a musical, and it bored me more than the previous ones. Pat's daughter wants to get baptized, as she likes a Christian boy. The ghost k1lls his mother, because the woman tried to help Pat.

Pat decides to get rid of Rosemary, the ghost, problem is, her publicist doesn't like what she wrote without her,so she has to rewrite most of the pages written without her.

She strikes a deal with the ghost, letting her possess her, throwing parties where she gets drunk (she was 16 years sober, or something like that) and has s3x with the young husband of Terry's former colleague, now boss. Who takes pictures of their encounter, and sends them to her phone.

Pat realizes the ghost wants to k1ll her family, so she sends them away, so the ghost sends the pictures in Pat's phone to Terry.

I personally didn't enjoy the movie, as it bored me so much!

Although labeled a comedy ,I didn't find the movie funny at all, but boring!

The characters, like our lead, the teenage daughter, are unlikeable. The daughter is always dressed like a prostitute, with short skirts and pants, looking like a belt. She also talks to her parents the way adults talk to each other,as if they are the same age (she is vulgar,belching words and expressions like "bl0w job"or "shut the f@ck up" to her own mother, and "bone some rando" to her father!!) !

The grandmother isn't any better, as she starts talking about her private parts to her own grand daughter, saying things like " a bunch of men deciding what to do with my pu$$y!"

They really lose me when they start with the ridiculous vernacular they invented lately, like "mansplaining", and how the guy wasn't fired because he's a man (and he worked there longer) !

Also, when they start with the dr@g abuse, as it's so obvious, lately they try to normalize it in movies. In the past, about 20 years ago, it was just teenagers, and it was lame. Now it's the adults,over 40 ,doing it for fun, and it's even lamer. It's not cool to get high or be a dr@g addict; not to be in control of your mind and body, Hollywood! It's like they want a society of zombies!

Pat can't write without taking dr@gs of some kind (she takes strong pills which give her insomnia, hallucinations, among many other just as bad,side effects ), when she's possessed by the ghost, so the ghost writes for her, meaning, the dr@gs make her weak, making it possible for the ghost to enter her!

I liked Roxy, their dog, she was adorable! And the husband, Terry. And his colleague / innocent crush.

The acting was good. Most of the actors are in their 50's and 60's.

The visual effects were good.

The soundtrack was good.

Viewer discretion is advised, as the movie contains mature content, nudity and vulgar language.

 

The series are with subscription on Max, Max on Amazon Channel, for sale on Amazon, Fandango at Home.

Rating : The horror, the horror!