Bullet Points: Masquerade (2021)
The home invasion genre is about as common as the name John Smith. Just because it is common, does not mean I do not want to watch. Let us take a look at another movie in this genre, Masquerade. Look for Masquerade from Shout! Studios on digital, on-demand and in select cinemas on July 30th.
- The Plot: Eleven-year-old Casey (Alyvia Alyn Lind) fights for her life when a group of thieves led by Rose (Bella Thorne) break in to her house to steal priceless artwork owned by her parents. Don’t you love a movie you can summarize in one sentence? Masquerade also stars Skyler Samuels, Mircea Monroe and Austin Nicholas. It is written and directed by Shane Dax Taylor.
- Bella: I cannot lie: I had to research why Bella Thorne is famous. I now realize she is a former Disney star trying to shed her “Disney” image. I keep seeing her in films like The Babysitter, and I heard something about an OnlyFans controversy. I guess this means she is doing something right. Bella is once again the “bad girl” in Masquerade. I am not sold on Bella’s acting range, but she has the heel character on lock. Perhaps she can try the WWE if this acting thing does not work out?
- The Kid: Steven C. Miller directed The Aggression Scale. A crazy home invasion story involving a Rambo-esque little kid destroying a crew of baddies. Masquerade is no Aggression Scale. Shane Dax Taylor’s main protagonists is not a little Terminator in training. Casey is just a normal kid caught up in an abnormal situation. Throughout the film, she goes through the steps you are taught if all hell breaks loose. You run, then you hide, and finally, you fight. My biggest question with this situation is the lack of desperation with the robbers. This little kid is hiding in the house, and no one even thinks that maybe she has a cell phone and maybe she has called the cops? Do not get too concerned with this mishap, the film only runs around 75 minutes. There is not a lot of time to cover up plot holes.
- Final Thoughts: Masquerade is a lot of fun, and it brings a lot of thrills and chills with its pace and mood music. My biggest complaint is I am still unsure about the twisty final act. The ending is a head scratcher for me. I am going to call it a muggy ending and move on.
- Grade: B-
Bonus Bullet Point…
- My IMDb Prediction: Something I want to try to do is guess where the IMDb score will eventually be. IMDb is not rocket science, but it does give you an idea how the masses feel about a film. Looking at Masquerade, I have a feeling the score will be on the lower side. I do not see this being higher than The Babysitter: Killer Queen. The foggy ending and Bella as the star will make some vote it down without thinking it through. I do not think enough people will vote it up, because I have a feeling this film will not get as much attention as some others. With all these factors, I think the score will settle around a 4.9 / 10. Maybe I will be wrong? I hope I am. Let me know what you think!
