“The Legend of Ochi” is a movie that came out on April 15. It is written and directed by Isaiah Saxon and is rated PG.
“The Legend of Ochi” is about a remote village on an island called Carpathia. A girl named Yuri is taught to fear Ochis. Ochis are an elusive animal that is depicted as an orange-furred creature that mostly resembles a monkey. One day, Yuri discovers an injured Ochi that has been left behind and departs on a quest to return him.
The movie begins with a soft-spoken girl talking about the background information serving as the narrator to fill in the audience. The movie starts out really dramatic and builds up suspense with the music, low lighting, and a slow pace. Right off the bat, I knew that it was going to be an interesting movie. The movie is very slow-paced, which also means it is easy to handle and follow along with.
I did not like how, when the Ochi is about to be found out, Yuri immediately leaves her friends and family behind and bolts. I feel like a girl who is 12 years old wouldn’t just abandon her family without thinking. I also did not like how when she steals from a store and literally chugs a milk carton, no one cares. They only care about the Ochi, which I get if I saw a bear, I would also scream and not care about the person stealing. Still, I would at least be amused by how the girl was chugging the milk.
While there were things I had issues with, I love the story and plotline. I also love how Saxon is able to flesh out the Ochis and make them feel real.
Yuri, who is played by Halena Zengel, is portrayed as one would expect, a soft-spoken farm girl. She really brought out the character. Her face always shows a timid nature. She makes it so that her face is not over exaggerated, but more of a silent panic. Zengel also made sure to be very soft spoken and only loud when the emotions were already high.
The director really tried hard to make the movie come off as scary. I think they did a good job. For a movie recommended for 11-year-olds and older, I say this is a great starter movie for kids who want to watch more frightening movies. I would give this movie three out of five stars.