What you know about a movie before watching it alters how you watch.

Most movies tell you what they’ll be in the opening moments, so what you know beforehand has little bearing.

And then there are movies like Crumb Catcher.

It initially unfolds in such a way that our answers keep changing to preliminary questions like, “What is this movie about? Who is it about? What genre(s) is it?!” The first half plays like a series of scenes that suggest different paths the movie could take — in terms of plot, style, genre, theme, etc. etc. etc.

And there is a fundamental difference in the viewing experience when you already know what path(s) the movie will take, which can be revealed through any shred of information you hear about the movie beforehand — be it genre, trailers, plot points, premise, etc. etc. etc.

Obviously movies come down to execution…but there are benefits to seeing them through tabula-rasa eyes.