ELI (2019) Movie Review (SPOILER FREE)
John 8:32 - "...the truth will set you free.” (NLT)
Netflix is on a roll with 2019 horror films.
"Eli" is no gem, but it has a surprising twist that cannot be ignored. 90% of the plot is more devoted to throwing out as many jump-scares as possible instead of developing a steady story. There is no wonder the ending is impossible to predict. Because it comes out of nowhere. On the other hand, this dissatisfied feeling parallels life. Scary events that threaten our stability, safety, and sanity often come out of nowhere.
Where the movie lacks a proper plot, it still preaches an intriguing message. Eli is a severely ill child, said to have an auto-immune disorder. Without a cure, he is doomed to a lifetime (literally) wrapped in plastic, hidden from the light of day. Hidden from the world. However, hope comes his way when his parents take him to a miracle worker to undergo a controversial treatment.
In the meantime, he is locked in a clean house. This is the only place in the world where Eli may roam free of his plastic prison. However, nothing in this house is as "clean as it seems. Spiritual darkness looms just outside the walls. Ghosts terrorize Eli driving him into near insanity.
Who are his friends? Who are his foes? What is the real cure to his ailment?
These are the underlying questions revolving "Eli". Until he learns the truth buried beneath the clean house, he has no hope of a cure. More importantly, he learns the truth buried by his own family. In the end, the truth alone sets him free. He learns the truth and he can step outside without suffocating to death.
Proverbs 3:25 - "You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked." (NLT)
What secrets do his parents bury?
"Eli" is available on Netflix now. Watch the film to find out the truth behind the crippled child. The end will shock you. I advise you to hang onto that feeling. Such is life.
