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The Outwaters (2022)
See it as blind as can be
Reviewing The Outwaters without spoiling the experience is something of a Herculean feat. The film seems like something you have to go in as blind as possible in order to get the full impact of it. Even the trailers seem to go out of the way to show as little plot as possible. As such, I will try my best to give as little of the movie away as possible.
The Outwaters follows the same formula as a lot of found footage films: A group travels to a certain place (in this case the Mojave Desert) so they could film a project (in this case a music video), only to have horrible things happen to them. Pretty by-the-numbers premise for the subgenre. So what makes it special?
Well, for starters, the film looks gorgeous. I'm something of a sucker for scenery, and the Mojave desert is a truly breathtaking place. Combine it some stellar camerawork and you have one of the most beautiful looking found footage films out there, even with all the disturbing stuff going on.
What really separates this from the lot, however, is how bizarre it gets. The second half just might be the most unhinged I've seen any found footage thing get. I said in an earlier review that comparing just any surreal product to the works of David Lynch is a pet peeve of mine, but certain parts do remind me of the more surreal moments from Twin Peaks: The Return. That's not something I ever expected a found footage film to do.
If there's one complaint to have, it's a bit on the long side. I'm not sure it needed to be almost 2 hours. I think if you trim 10 or so minutes, you'd get a better flow. A common criticism about found footage movies is how they are paced, particularly before the big scares. However, this is an odd case where I feel the film starts dragging during the intense stuff.
A lesser complaint is that it seems to be a bit too abstract for its own good. That's sort of a problem I also had with The Blair Witch Project, which is one of the most important films in this style. A bit too vague on what we're supposed to be scared of.
That being said, The Outwaters is a refreshingly unique take on a filmmaking style commonly thought to be stale. Watch with an open mind and as little to know as possible. Whatever you're expecting, chances are it won't be that.
Censor (2021)
I wish I liked this more
I hate that phrase. "I wish I liked this more". It's such an obvious cliche for reviewers disappointed in a product, along with its sibling, "I wish this was better". There are a lot of things I wish I liked more or were better, including those I really like. But I do genuinely wish I liked Censor more. Because its been on my watchlist for a year now. And after finally catching it, I'm more mixed on it than I want to be.
My main problem with this film is how incoherent it gets. I'm fine with surrealism, such as in the works of David Lynch, but this film seems to be building up to a clearer conclusion than it actually has. By the end, I was like "...huh?" And you can accuse me of needing to have everything spelled out for me, but the movie sure as hell didn't make it easy to connect the dots.
Was Enid hallucinating at the end? What was with that film they were shooting? What exactly was that device she had? I think the biggest frustration is that they didn't really solve the main mystery of what happened to her sister. You'd think that would be the conclusion.
I'm probably sounding more negative on this than I really am, because what this film does well, it does REALLY well. Prano Bailey-Bond's direction is superb, and brings an atmosphere that, for how it cribs from Argento, manages to still be one-of-a-kind. The set design just adds to this flair. Its more surreal moments (particularly in the ending) stick with you like glue. And even the jump scares are pretty well done, even if one particular scare seems to just... happen. Truly Prano has quite the career ahead of her.
Most of these moments of wonder, however, don't really show up until the end, making the film quite back-loaded. All the ingredients are there. They just aren't in the right order. I have faith in Prano, I really do. I'll gladly watch whatever she's planning next. But this feels like she's pushing under her weight. If not a direct sequel, I want to see a spiritual successor that builds upon the ideas of this film, while either upping the surrealism, or making it easier to follow. I don't want to think it'll lead up to something that won't happen.
Kuso (2017)
Not for everybody, but for those it's for...
This movie basically screams "related to my interests." It's a surreal horror-comedy anthology directed by Flying Lotus and David Frith, with music by FlyLo, the Silent Hill guy, and Aphex freaking Twin, among others. And apparently a good amount of people walked out during the Sundance screening. How could that not be of interest to me?
I should start with my one major gripe. The first 26 minutes (barring the Busdriver opening) feel quite sluggish, especially with the segment "Smear." After the short, but typically disturbing game show parody, the film picks up drastically. There are other parts of the movie where the pacing grinds to a halt, but none last longer than a couple minutes.
The movie is littered with weird bits of animation. Not just by FlyLo and Frith, but also from (among others) Jimmy ScreamerClauz of "Where The Dead Go To Die" infamy and Cool 3D World, who usually rests in the weird part of Youtube. These passages certainly add to the already surreal nature of this film.
The visual effects here are also pretty good. There are some that are obviously animated, but a lot of them are practical. I wish there was a behind-the-scenes feature, so I could know just how some of those...things are made.
And the soundtrack, as expected, is very good. With such musicians as the ones I've listed above, how could it not?
It should explicitly be noted that this is not for the faint of heart, and ESPECIALLY not for those with a weak stomach. People walked out of this movie for a damn good reason. Basically every bodily fluid that exists is spewed out in spades. Not one human being in this film looks completely normal. Every time you think you've seen the most messed up scene here, you get proven dead wrong. I don't know if this is the grossest movie out there like some people claim it is, but it certainly is the grossest movie I've personally seen.
So yeah, this movie can best be described as "a thing". And it's a thing I can't get enough of. I should also note that, as of right now, there isn't any physical release of this movie out. Apparently FlyLo sold some DVD copies at his live shows, but otherwise, nada. Instead, it got released through Shudder. I didn't even know Shudder was a thing until I found that out. Even after 5 years, nothing.
Mad God (2021)
It certainly is mad, all right...
Mad God is the passion project of legendary special effects artist Phil Tippett. Some of Tippett's credentials are the OG Star Wars films, Robocop, and Jurassic Park. This took countless years to make, and looking at it, it shows. Apparently Tippett had a mental breakdown near the end of production. Luckily, he seems to have recovered. Even then, however, I don't blame him for letting this... thing get to his head.
Given Tippett's background, it would be a crime if this film ended up looking dull. And it looks anything but dull. It certainly looks like a movie that took a long-ass time to make. Although the film is a stop-motion/live action hybrid, it's hard at times to tell the two mediums apart here. The animation is so good at times, it could easily pass off as live action. Combine that with the endlessly creative set design, and you have one stunning-looking movie.
One main criticism to have, however, is that the spectacle gets in the way of what little plot there is. All I can tell from just watching it is that there's this guy who travels to a hellish, oppressive place. You really have to make up your own interpretations in order to understand even half of it. Tippett doesn't seem to be all that concerned with making a coherent plot here, though. He seems to just want to show us what he's fully capable of. And what he's fully capable of is quite something.
The movie focuses more on disturbing and stunning visuals than really telling a clear story. And a lot of the scenes here really are freaky. This film is not for the faint of heart. The whole thing brings to mind the animated music videos by Tool and the work of Robert Morgan. There are some rare bits of humor, however, so it's not all darkness.
Bottom line, its unfathomable that this even came from a human being. But it did, and Phil Tippett is that human being. Those who prefer more coherent plots and less ugliness will no doubt be alienated by the freak show on display. Those who aren't looking for a plot and just want cool visuals, however, are going to get quite the feast. A feast where all the foodstuffs are 2 years past their expiration date, but a feast nonetheless.
L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps (2013)
Quite the enigma of a movie
The first project I saw from the Belgian duo of Bruno Forzani and Hélène Cattete was their segment on the horror anthology The ABC'S Of Death. It was an interesting contribution to the film. Less a short horror movie and more a THX demo disc inspired sex-scene, for lack of better words. Reminded me a lot of Chris Cunningham's Flex. And while it wasn't among my favorite segments from that film, it did make me interested to check out their other works.
I'm honestly not sure where to start with this. I guess I'll start with the obvious inspiration of giallo. Although the genre was seemingly exclusive to Italy, this seems to be a Belgian/French attempt at a modern giallo. Wikipedia even flat-out calls it a giallo. And it certainly has a lot of staples of the genre. A mystery plot, a black leather gloved killer, a memorable soundtrack, gorgeous scenery. Dario Argento must be pleased with this.
But there are a lot of other influences that make themselves clear throughout the film. A pet peeve of mine is when someone calls a surreal piece of media "Lynchian", as if David Lynch invented surrealist film. I don't see anyone make similar comparisons to Luis Buñuel or Georges Méilès, despite them making surreal films long before Lynch was even born. That being said, "Lynchian" is a pretty apt descriptor for this movie. There are scenes that brought to mind the stranger moments of Twin Peaks and its movie adaptation, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and even Eraserhead to a small extent.
I can also detect the avant-garde style of Buñel, the fast editing of Darren Aronofsky, the maximalism of Luc Besson, and even traces of 2000's horror near the end. The opening credits even use a very similar typefont to the one that Gaspar Noé often uses. This takes as much from Torso as it does from Un Chien Andalou. Yet despite all the influences here, it feels like it has its own vision.
Befitting of its surrealist inspirations, the movie is quite hard to follow. The main plot is clear: a man is looking for his missing wife. Yet the weird narrative structure and all the visual flourishes throughout make things very hazy. I don't normally rewatch something less than a couple months after my first watch, but for this, I felt I had to make an exception. There was that much to unpack here.
And this really does benefit from multiple watches. Not only are plot points more clear, but certain parts end up becoming easier to understand amidst the sheen of surrealism. It's still somewhat incomprehensible in parts, but decidedly less so. And with each watch, I find something new about it.
A lot of the violence here is done more artistically than anything else, which is another trait it shares with giallo. As a result, they are among the more standout moments here. One such scene that particularly stuck with me is the (possibly a dream) sequence with the killer literally getting inside a victim and using his body to stab himself, like a deranged form of possession.
I do think the ending could've been trimmed a bit. It does seem to drag somewhat by then. Otherwise, this seems to be one of those films that, the more you watch it, the more there is to uncover. There is even a shot of a Matryoshka doll, which I'm sure is a cheeky way to remind the audience of how layered the whole film is.
Bottom line: this film is firmly recommended for fans of arthouse, giallo, and David Lynch. And if you're in the Venn diagram of all three, that's a bonus. Those who prefer a clearer structure in their film might have to look elsewhere, however. Regardless, it certainly is a film that sticks in my mind.