Paradise Hills

Name: Paradise Hills
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy
Released: October 25, 2019
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 49
Cast: Arnaud Valois, Awkwafina, Daniel Horvath, Danielle Macdonald, Eiza González

2019

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Ratings

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5.5	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Ratings

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Paradise Hills

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Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: October 25, 2019 | TV-14

Starring: Arnaud Valois, Awkwafina, Daniel Horvath, Danielle Macdonald, Eiza González, Emma Roberts, Gary Anthony Stennette, Hunter Tremayne, Jeremy Irvine, Joey Sordyl, Julia Stressen-Reuter, Karina Kolokolchykova, Lesley Grant, Liliana Cabal, Matthew Mills, Milla Jovovich, Nancy Jack, Ted Stresen-Reuter

Summary: On an isolated island, Uma (Emma Roberts) wakes up to find herself at Paradise Hills, a facility where high-class families send their daughters to become perfect versions of themselves. The facility is run by the mysterious Duchess (Milla Jovovich) where calibrated treatments including etiquette classes, vocal lessons, beauty treatments,On an isolated island, Uma (Emma Roberts) wakes up to find herself at Paradise Hills, a facility where high-class families send their daughters to become perfect versions of themselves. The facility is run by the mysterious Duchess (Milla Jovovich) where calibrated treatments including etiquette classes, vocal lessons, beauty treatments, gymnastics and restricted diets, revolve all physical and emotional shortcomings within two months. The outspoken Uma finds solace and friendship in other Paradise Hills residents -- Chloe (Danielle McDonald), Yu (Awkwafina) and Mexican popstar Amarna (Eiza Gonzalez). Uma soon realizes that lurking behind all this beauty is a sinister secret. It's a race against the clock as Uma and her friends try to escape Paradise Hills before it consumes them all.
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Director: Alice Waddington

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

Oct 31, 2019

Alice Waddington makes her feature directing debut with this futuristic sci-fi psychological thriller, and she is a clearly talented visual stylist. Read full review

Adi Robertson

Oct 24, 2019

It’s bizarre and often delightful. Paradise Hills captures a futuristic fantasy aesthetic that feels familiar in video games, but fresh in movies. Read full review

Alex Saveliev

Oct 26, 2019

Paradise Hills has pacing issues, and a made-for-TV feel it can’t quite escape. A firmer grasp of tone would’ve benefited the narrative. Yet its creators’ boundless imagination carries it through the rougher patches. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Oct 24, 2019

Despite her shaky handle on the movie’s ideas and the appealing if uneven performances, Waddington holds your attention with visual beauty and humor. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

Oct 24, 2019

If you’ve ever wanted a mashup of Disney princess movies and “The Stepford Wives” or imagined “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a swoony YA fantasy, Paradise Hills is absolutely the movie for you. Read full review

The Playlist Jonathan Christian

Nov 1, 2019

If Waddington’s fairy tale harbored any substance to counterbalance its external beauty, it might have established itself as a pleasingly subversive piece of pop art. Yet, despite its commendable goals, Paradise Hills will likely be lost to time. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Monica Castillo

Oct 25, 2019

Paradise Hills wants so badly to be a sci-fi movie with a message for right now — perhaps to tap into the feminist anger out there now or to cash in on the interest in women filmmakers — but it feels like a rushed draft. There are a few good ideas, a few good twists at the end but not enough to make up for the rookie mistakes that undercut its potential. Read full review

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User Reviews

dakota3931

Aug 4, 2020

This movie blended the world of science fiction and fantasy effortlessly and beautifully; along with the idea of the pressure women face in today’s society it was an utterly well done movie. The casting was perfect from Emma Roberts to Awkwafina everyone fit their roles perfectly. The setThis movie blended the world of science fiction and fantasy effortlessly and beautifully; along with the idea of the pressure women face in today’s society it was an utterly well done movie. The casting was perfect from Emma Roberts to Awkwafina everyone fit their roles perfectly. The set design was extremely beautiful and foreboding with the thousands of flowers that hint to the unexpected end of the movie and the ornate design of the bedrooms and offices everything fit extremely well.… Expand

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MarkTakayama

Jan 21, 2023

I enjoyed the beautiful actress and costume. Especially, I liked Ema Roberts. The running time of 95 minutes was okay. However, the story was boring. there were a lot of holes in the story. If you like Ema, you can watch this movie.

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tomz165

Aug 25, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The movie Paradise Hills pretends to be a presentation of woman’s predicament in this world but given its story line it is more about behavior modification by the prince of his bride to be into a docile willing mate despite the fact that his action resulted in the death of her father. While there are a lot of extra frills in the form of attractions of this world to distract from the central theme of revenge, revenge remains the central driving force.

While most reviewers thought the movie a commentary on women’s place in today’s society and the pressures they deal with, any subtext that embodies this stance must struggle against the main plot line of revenge for the death of a father. Yet most if not all reviews see this as a scifi portrayal of the pressures that modern young women are placed under by modern society. This interpretation seems to ignore the specifics of the plot for some of the extraneous features surrounding it.

This movie was highly unsatisfying specifically because of the double track of its plot line and the imagery and devices within which the plot is set both running at odds with each other until one wonders what the author and director are trying to convey.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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