Fright Motif

I have mixed feelings on Fright Motif. On the one hand, I really like the idea behind the story and some of the atmosphere. The characters feel quite well written and I really enjoy Artie and Maurice. They both feel like characters rejected by society who have formed their own little underground community in post-war Paris, finding a sense of belonging they sorely lacked elsewhere. I love the musicality of the audio too, but really wish it was played up a little more or we had a little more time for the big number at the end.

It has all these traits really working for it, but I do feel some of it doesn't work, either. The supporting cast don't really live up to the writing, in my opinion. Artie's American accent is hilariously unconvincing and constantly proved a distraction. For a story taking place in France, the lack of french accents and even Parisian set pieces made the setting feel artificial, in a sense. I just had trouble buying the setting as it was presented. It's a real shame, too, because on paper, there's a good story here about love, loss, and fear. The villains being this sort of psychic presence that only exists on sound waves were a neat idea and I like how they were defeated by an emotionally honest performance by Artie and Zazie. I just wished they played up that big finale, as it feels like we kind of skipped past it.