The Painted

“The Painted” (2025)

“The Painted” (2025), written and directed by Sasha Sibley, is a low‑budget indie supernatural horror–thriller set in the mid‑1960s. When Evelyn Elster (Aleksa Palladino) and her family inherit a remote Victorian mansion from a deceased cousin, they find themselves living amid sinister, moving paintings and arcane rituals. The film unfolds like a classic haunted‑house story—but with a distinctive twist: the malevolent spirits are bound to living artworks that threaten to consume the family in eerie, painterly ways .

From the outset, Sibley favors atmosphere over innovation. The production design is meticulously styled—period‑appropriate cars, décor, and muted ‘60s color palettes set a convincing stage . The cinematography, by Peter Bui, leans into gloom and shadow, lending the film a moody ambience that is its greatest strength . Composer Frederik Wiedmann accompanies the visuals with a restrained score, avoiding bombastic horror clichés—even if some critics found it bland or overly familiar .

Cast performances are mixed. Aleksa Palladino anchors the film as Evelyn, but other actors—particularly the children—never quite coalesce as a believable 1960s family unit . Some reviews note wooden delivery and weak direction of performers, citing generic interactions and a failure to evoke genuine familial tension . Yet others appreciate individual moments, describing the film as “watchable” and “competently made,” praising its restraint and unforced scares .

The central concept—paintings that bleed into reality and entrap souls—emerged as the film’s most compelling idea. Several reviewers commend the visual realization of this premise: living canvases that morph and materialize, offering genuinely creepy highlights . However, the screenplay often drifts into exposition-heavy territory, particularly in the third act, undercutting pacing and emotional engagement .

At 85 minutes, “The Painted” delivers a lean experience—short enough to avoid overextension, but some felt it lost momentum midway through . Criticism landed on the familiar structure—inheritance of a cursed estate, a reluctant child bearing the brunt, creepy neighbor who explains backstory, and other genre tropes that felt predictable .

Audience reception on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb hovers in the low range—Tomatometer remains at 0 due to a lack of critic reviews, while audience scores reflect disappointment, averaging around 2/5 or 4.8/10 . Kinoafisha, a Russian film site, awarded a middling 5.9/10, noting a $500,000 budget and roughly $849,000 in worldwide gross .

Commercially, “The Painted” saw a limited theatrical release in North America on December 20, 2024, followed by international runs (Russia, Kazakhstan, GCC countries) in early 2025 . Its global box office tally clocks in around $660,000–$850,000—a modest return on its modest investment .

In sum, The Painted stands as an atmospheric chamber horror with a haunting premise and solid production design. It delivers occasional chills through its painted‑spirit effects, but—even at a brisk runtime—it struggles with pacing, character depth, and reliance on genre conventions. Horror fans searching for a succinct, mood‑driven indie may find it worth a single viewing, while those seeking fresh storytelling or strong performances may feel short‑changed.