Screamfest 2024 Review: “The Weekend”

Meeting your significant other’s family for the first time is beyond nerve wracking. Sometimes it might even be a horror movie in the making. Meeting the parents or the in-laws can either be the start to a wonderful familial connection or a nightmare. Nikiya (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) is Luke’s (Bucci Franklin) new fiancee, a milestone the couple is excited to share with one another. The only problem is Nikiya still hasn’t met Luke’s family because of Luke’s nonexistent relationship with them.

It has been fifteen years since Luke last saw his family, choosing to distance himself from them for reasons unknown to Nikiya. When Luke’s mother (Gloria Anozie) calls him and begs him to visit for her and Luke’s father’s anniversary, Luke gives in to everyone’s wishes and takes Nikiya to the village he grew up in. The Weekend is a film that unfolds as the audience tries to understand Luke’s reasoning for the fallout with his family but unfortunately has difficulty staying ahead of viewers, resulting in a long-winded script.

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The setup of The Weekend revolves around Nikiya’s meeting with Luke’s family and the obvious secret that Luke is hiding from her. The film unfolds slowly, with a two hour runtime, making the audience wait for its final reveal as clues are uncovered by Nikiya. It is expected very early on what the final reveal will be. Predictability is not always an issue but for this film it becomes evident the “secrets” being kept from the audience and iit is not able to add extra tension to heighten its script. It is a movie where once the audience figures out the truth, the rest of the film feels prolonged, lacking in any directorial or cinematic surprises.

The Weekend’s conventional structure hinders the film in its pacing, causing the audience to wait until it hits all of the “dots,” including character’s denial, sudden realization close to halfway through, a bloody climax, and lackluster conclusion. Slow burns have the potential to draw audiences into the dread and atmosphere of its film, however a slow burn with the end in sight struggles to maintain excitement.

The Weekend tackles distancing oneself from family in order to escape their customs and grasp. In the beginning of the film when it is noted of Nikiya and Luke’s engagement, a discussion about connecting with Luke’s family as they are creating their own family ensues. Oriahi is showing that certain life milestones often bring families back together, whether it is intended or not.

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As a result, it becomes difficult to break away again once they have sucked you back in. This is exhibited through scenes involving Luke and his family as Nikiya begins to understand what was being hidden from her all along. Although this idea is a perfectly relatable, and therefore terrifying concept, this movie struggles to provide a memorable entry into the family drama horror genre.

Its execution doesn’t peel back any layers on Luke’s family or the traditions they hold dear. Thus, the payoff of the film doesn’t strike as sharp as it had the opportunity to. The Weekend has some admirable ideas within it but its stretched out pacing and familiarity holds it captive from breaking free.

‘The Weekend’ Rating – 4.5/5

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