However, director James Wan didn’t let the aesthetic of the movie inhibit his ability to spook; a couple of sequences from the beginning of the movie are some of the scariest in recent memory. Another area of achievement for Wan is the majority of the production design; the vision-shifting effect and the design for Gabriel as a whole are unique and were a great touch. Speaking of Gabriel’s design, the scene where he fights everyone using the back of Madison's body is a very unique concept and adds the perfect touch to all of the fight scenes. Wan did not hold back on the gore, and it made for some gruesome kills. The gore was done practically, which is always appreciated from horror movies as CGI blood has nothing on practical blood in terms of feeling authentic.
This is more of an observation than a critique, but the main theme sounds exactly like “Where Is My Mind?” by The Pixies, almost to the point where I thought it was the song the first time it played. On the topic of sound, there is an orchestral echo riff that is played anytime something spooky happens, it’s reminiscent of the classic Psycho (1960) soundtrack, and while it worked well for me the first couple of times it was used, it was over-utilized and became stale by the end of the movie.