Prior to watching "K-12" I wasn't very familiar with Melanie Martinez other than that having heard "Carousel" and maybe some other songs. Being a horror buff and respectful of musicals I decided to give this a watch & despite it actually not being horror I enjoyed it.
Now, where do I start... It's kinda of like a very long music video with beautiful aesthetic style on the side. Sure, it doesn't sound much like a rich and substantial movie/musical, but it worked. Every song, along with the accompanying visuals, can be cut out and it'll be it's own thing, which is what, I think, Melanie is doing and putting them on YouTube. 40 minutes in I was pretty mesmerised by the visuals, set & costume design and, most of all, by the fact that there was a thought put in each of the songs. A lot of commentary, served in a form of metaphors or some more modern (read: vulgar) way of words. The 2nd half of "K-12" started to fall a bit flat, repeating its shtick over and over again, with only the audial side of songs not losing their touch though. At the end it felt like the best the movie had to offer was packed in its first half. The plot is pretty obscure & the most substance can be find in the lyrics of the songs. From a production design standpoint, this movie is a boogeyman for everyone who can't stand pastel tones & it's also beautifully done, a lot of creativity has been put into the fairytale-like bubble universe of "K-12". The performances, the choreography asked for no complaints and I'm honestly slightly impressed by how multidimensional can Melanie Martinez be.
Personally, I'm not a fan of this type of music or even this type of a esthetic style and everything that comes with it, but, nevertheless, I enjoyed the oddities of this millenial musical. Oh and the horror genre in "K-12" amounts to only some blood and a little gore that has only an artistic reason. My rating: 7/10.
Now, where do I start... It's kinda of like a very long music video with beautiful aesthetic style on the side. Sure, it doesn't sound much like a rich and substantial movie/musical, but it worked. Every song, along with the accompanying visuals, can be cut out and it'll be it's own thing, which is what, I think, Melanie is doing and putting them on YouTube. 40 minutes in I was pretty mesmerised by the visuals, set & costume design and, most of all, by the fact that there was a thought put in each of the songs. A lot of commentary, served in a form of metaphors or some more modern (read: vulgar) way of words. The 2nd half of "K-12" started to fall a bit flat, repeating its shtick over and over again, with only the audial side of songs not losing their touch though. At the end it felt like the best the movie had to offer was packed in its first half. The plot is pretty obscure & the most substance can be find in the lyrics of the songs. From a production design standpoint, this movie is a boogeyman for everyone who can't stand pastel tones & it's also beautifully done, a lot of creativity has been put into the fairytale-like bubble universe of "K-12". The performances, the choreography asked for no complaints and I'm honestly slightly impressed by how multidimensional can Melanie Martinez be.
Personally, I'm not a fan of this type of music or even this type of a esthetic style and everything that comes with it, but, nevertheless, I enjoyed the oddities of this millenial musical. Oh and the horror genre in "K-12" amounts to only some blood and a little gore that has only an artistic reason. My rating: 7/10.