As I sat down in 2021 to watch the 2018 movie "Greta", I must admit that I hadn't even heard about the movie. But the synopsis seemed interesting enough, and usually Chloë Grace Moretz make adequate movies. And with the fact that I hadn't already seen "Greta", of course I found the time to do so.

I must say that "Greta" from writers Ray Wright and Neil Jordan actually turned out to be a rather enjoyable and watchable movie. While this 2018 movie perhaps didn't really bring anything new or innovative to the thriller genre, then it proved to be entertaining nonetheless.

There was something genuinely off-putting and disturbing about the storyline, and this was because of some great writing by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan in terms of a proper storyline and interesting character, as well as some interesting and believable interactions between the characters.

The pacing of the storyline was good, and definitely worked well in favor of the overall enjoyment of the movie, as there weren't really a dull moment throughout the course of the movie. Sure, the storyline has its ups and down in terms of pacing, but every moment was spent to ensure that the storyline was progressed as it needed to be. Great accomplishment from director Neil Jordan on that aspect.

And it should be said that Chloë Grace Moretz was nicely cast for the role of Frances McCullen, as she has that particular sense of gullible demeanor and innocence about her, which really worked for this particular role and character. And opposite her was actress Isabelle Huppert whom put on a stellar performance as Greta Hideg. Isabelle Huppert's performance was just spot on and really genuinely creepy. I think this is actually my first time seeing her in a movie, and she really blew me away with her performance in "Greta".

While "Greta" is an enjoyable, albeit somewhat disturbing movie, it is hardly a movie that you will watch once, as the storyline just doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing. Once you've seen it the first time around, the storyline just loses its impact and all the surprises are left fully bared.

All in all, "Greta" is a movie that you should sit down to watch if you get the chance. I was genuinely surprised and entertained by this movie from director Neil Jordan. My rating of this 2018 thriller settles on a six out of ten stars.

GRETA is a modern spin on the familiar psycho thriller genre from respected director Neil Jordan, but it's very much run-of-the-mill in terms of plotting. Everything that happens is well telegraphed and familiar from previous, better movies, although at least it has solid pacing so that the familiar never becomes tedious. For once I ended up liking Chloe Grace Moretz's central performance, aside from that one irritating bike-riding scene; she walks a fine line between being tough and vulnerable and generally nails it. Isabelle Huppert goes down the restrained route as the antagonist and is mildly creepy at times, but never scary; IT FOLLOWS star Maika Monroe is better as Moretz's outspoken buddy. Jordan's direction lifts the tired material but I did find the ending to be slightly ridiculous given the rather restrained approach to the material that occured previously.

Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) lives in Manhattan in the apartment of her college friend Erica Penn (Maika Monroe). She finds a handbag on the subway train. She decides to hand deliver it back to its owner, Greta Hideg (Isabelle Huppert). Greta's daughter lives in Paris. Frances befriends the lonely woman until she accidentally discovers a cache of similar handbags ready to be placed in the subway. She tries to ignore Greta which only intensifies the stalking.

This is generally fine. It's single white female with a motherhood bend. With movies of this type, the question becomes whether Frances does something unreasonably stupid. She really shouldn't care about the dog, or lie in church, or go down to the basement. Otherwise, I'm fine with all of her moves. The tension is not as high as one would hope for mostly due to the lack of physical threat from Isabelle Huppert. Although I do like the phone pic stalking of Erica. That is probably the most tense situation of the movie and it's well done. There is fine creepiness from director Neil Jordan and Huppert but the thriller needs more intensity.