REVIEW #39 Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a film directed by Tim Burton about a young boy called Jake who after his grandfathers death soon learns that all the stories his grandfather told him about his children’s home in Wales is true. He finds a hidden home full of children with unique special abilities and soon has to help protect them from monsters called the Hollowgasts.

CAST & THE ACTING (6/10)

The cast is actually very good with Asa Butterfield in the lead roles as Jake and Eva Green as Miss Peregrine but there are more big names such as Samuel L Jackson, Judie Dench and Terrance Stamp who also have roles in this film. However despite the talented cast I just didn’t think the acting was that great, the portrayal of these characters weren’t convincing enough for me to get invested in the film and therefore I found myself drifting off and getting bored. So I have to give a disappointing score here.

PLOT & THE STORYLINE (5.5/10)

I remember seeing the trailer for this film just before it was released in the cinemas and at first glance I couldn’t wait to watch it. However now that I have finally gotten round to it, the full film really disappointed me. Tim Burton is known for his rather peculiar storylines, ironic given the title of the film, but this one just seemed so disjointed. It felt a little rushed and I couldn’t tell what the audience demographic was meant to be. The acting would suggest a young child’s film but the fact these ‘Peculiar Children’ live in fear of slender men type monsters who eat the eyes of those gifted with powers would suggest otherwise! It’s a shame because based the plot summary it would usually be a film I absolutely love but in fact it was poorly done and ended up being the complete opposite, which explains the low score here.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS (7/10)

The special effects were good enough for this type of film and is it’s what you would expect from a Tim Burton film. To summarise it I would just say the effects are average, they do enough to tell the story but that’s about it. The cinematography was okay, the juxtaposition between the moody and dark Welsh Island to the colourful and vibrant Children’s home that is hidden there is nicely done. Similarly the time loop scenes were also nicely made and helped bring the final score for this category to an average 7.

OVERALL (6.2/10)

My first reaction to this film is that it is made for young children, however the fact that these monsters hunt down and eat the eyes of those with special abilities suggests otherwise which is why I’m confused as to which audience demographic Tim Burton is aiming for here. The acting wasn’t great and the storyline just seems a little rushed which meant that I lost interest very quickly. I wouldn’t watch the film again so I can’t say that I’d recommend it to anyone but give it a go and see if you agree with me... I could be wrong!

Thanks for reading.

Callan