A boy becomes trapped in a haunted house while undergoing treatment for a rare disease.
Paramount Pictures films have been rather hit or miss this year, from the lacklustre What Men Want and Wonder Park to the exhilarating Elton John biopic, Rocketman. Therefore, the knowledge that Eli was a Paramount production but sold to Netflix because they didn't know how to market the film, well, it doesn't end up giving the film any more credibility.
With a story that could largely be summed up as Bubble Boy gets stuck in a haunted house, the production values are high, but the film offers very little that is new and original. The first two acts of the film are incredibly generic and predictable, pulling off every horror trope imaginable, from jump scares to flashing lights, mirror tricks, and everything in between and outside of those elements.
The acting is absolutely fine from child actors Charlie Shotwell (Eli), Sadey Sink (Haley), as well as adult actors Kelly Reilly, Max Martini, and Lili Taylor. They definitely give their all in the film, and their resulting adequate performances come down purely to the lack of intrigue in the script. There is some creative cinematography on show, with some great lighting choices, flawless CGI, and great tracking shots, all complemented by a balanced subtle score. The script, however, involves nothing but placeholders and delaying tactics, with repetitive behaviour and dialogue for the first two acts.
But then the third act hits. And it is the act that will make or break this film.
I obviously don't want to spoil the ending, but it actually won't be too difficult to talk about without spoilers, because that is the aspect that will polarize audiences; it goes completely off the rails. Eli transforms from a dull and mediocre formulaic piece into something else entirely, thanks to an ending that is so unexpected that it leaves you gobsmacked. The gore and violence spikes, and all of a sudden the film has its hooks deep in you.
The downside comes from why the final act is so unexpected; the film doesn't so much misdirect the audience as it fails to properly set up the finale. Much like a marathon runner being stunned when they get hit by an electric car mid-race, it comes out of nowhere, and nobody saw it coming.
There are some medical procedures that may cause some discomfort to watch if that style of horror is unsettling to you, alongside some curious psychological elements, but Eli is an inconsistent horror film, that only really comes to life in the final 20 minutes. Entertaining, but not something that will be memorable in the end.