'Poor Things' builds its tension slowly but steady. What starts out as a story about some kids who are the bullied 'freaks' at their school ends up a horror story of first-rate proportions. A serious car accident makes Joel Parker an orphan and puts him into a wheelchair, which he lovingly names the 'Bitchmaster'. Staying with his Aunt Sandy, he befriends the weird guys of the school, 'Ghost Girl' Ash who loves Heavy Metal and claims to hear strange voices of dead people over the radio and her nondescript sidekick (whom I already forgot the name of).
When something ancient beneath the grounds of Honaw stirs, a red apocalypse is sweeping the old mining town, turning its inhabitants into very dangerous beings. Now it's up to Joel and his friends to bring an end to this nightmare - that is, if they can survive long enough.
While this is also a horror story, it is mainly a coming-of-age story about a group of kids that do not fit in. Joel and Ash are very strong characters, but also with fears and insecurities like all teenagers. While the horror spreads, the focus remains on the kids, through whose eyes we perceive the development of events. A very unusual but gripping coming-of-age horror tale.