Sundance movies are an eclectic mixed bag and it’s so much fun to be a part of the unpredictable nature of the festival. This year’s festival was cut down from the standard week and a half to six days. Also, the standard list of selections went from over 100 films down to 70. Thankfully, watching from home allowed me to watch more movies in the time I usually spent traveling and waiting in line. So here’s part two of three from my recent Sundance watching experience.
Flee
Flee tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.
There’s so much to Flee that goes far beyond the film’s description. This documentary uses portions of news footage, but mostly tells its story through an interview with Amin (both on the record and off), through animation in his current life and youth. His story of immigration is not only thrilling because his family risked their lives to escape from Afghanistan in the 80s, but unique because of his sexuality and what would happen if officials from his home country found out. Some of the grand reveals try to make themselves bigger than they actually are, but he’s still a good subject for a doc. Documentaries are often hard to dive into because of the storytelling structure, but the format makes it feel like a thrilling and heartbreaking fictional story. B-
Knocking
A woman leaves a psychiatric ward after a nervous breakdown, only to start hearing mysterious knocking sounds in her apartment.
Psychological horror works when it puts you in the mind of the unreliable narrator and you see things from their scattered points of view. Knocking fails at this because you see her coming from a psych ward right at the beginning of the movie. Knocking takes the most obvious storytelling path, possibly to subvert our hopes for more or possibly save on budget. It also suffers from the indie movie trope of constantly alluding to previous trauma (through several flashbacks), but never showing what happened to make the character descend. It turns into a visually strong experience, but this Swedish movie falls short on tension and relatability. D+
In the Earth
As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.
Ben Wheatley writes and directs this pandemic era folk horror. This film, with a very small cast, follows Joel Fry and Ellora Torchia’s characters as they travel through the woods where they are relatively safe from big cities and a mysterious pandemic that has affected the rest of the world. Though, while they are traveling, they meet a shady hermit with a seemingly higher purpose. This film gets into some Lovecraftian lore of old gods that are ready to awaken. Though, even more scary than a world-ending prophetic beast, is the believers of said beast. Our two protagonists go through some horrific situations and still don’t know if they are safe in comfortable surroundings. If you didn’t care for Annihilation, you may want to skip In the Earth. The ending will absolutely put many viewers off with its intrusive sound design, constant strobing and surreal coloring, but the tension of In the Earth will stay with you. That, and the score is so perfect. B
The Sparks Brothers
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
One of my favorite directors, Edgar Wright, shamelessly brings us his passion project – the story of Sparks. This band has been going from the 70s and still continues to produce music. I’m shocked that I’d only ever heard references to this progressive rock band before. This doc shows just how influential the band has been for so many artists. With The Sparks Brothers, Wright has made everyone a visual playlist on what we’ve all been missing out on. The music is a lot of fun, the interviews with celebrity fans are perfect and the shift in music popularity throughout the decades is perfectly captured. The problem is (and it’s a huge problem) that this doc is over 2 hours 15 minutes. It’s great to share a love with fans, but Wright (who is typically a master editor), can’t seem to shave off any time for fear of not being able to tell the story correctly. And the story isn’t all that much of a rock-and-roll tragedy you’d expect. Though, I have to say, I’m now a fan of Sparks. (Grade may change the more I listen to them) B-
Eight for Silver
In the late 1800s, a man arrives in a remote country village to investigate an attack by a wild animal but discovers a much deeper and sinister force that has the manor and its townspeople in its grip.
Now this is the horror film I have been waiting all festival to see. I worried that a movie about a gypsy curse would turn into a cryptic film of style-over-substance and takes its sweet time for the scares, but Eight for Silver delivers in spades. Even when the horror starts to unfold, it’s difficult to figure out what type of scares you’re in for. Boyd Holbrook plays the brave traveler that seems to be the only one looking for the truth in this gothic thriller. There is some spotty CG and I’m shocked that a low budget movie like this attempted it, but other scenes highlight the practical creature effects that make this movie memorable. This is a fun experience I’d happily watch again. It’s far from perfect, but it kept me engrossed in the thrills. B+
Coming Home in the Dark
A school teacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters takes him and his family on a nightmare road-trip.
Coming Home in the Dark is the New Zealand equivalent of Funny Games meets Wolf Creek. It’s a nightmare scenario of a small family going for a wilderness hike and being accosted by two malicious people only looking to cause death and pain. This is a movie that revels in making the survivors and audience feel powerless. Daniel Gillies (Vampire Diaries, Spider-Man 2) plays a character that you love to hate. He is a great villain in an okay movie. This is a road trip of torment and discoveries of a purposely forgotten past. And while it’s just over an hour and a half, the sluggish pacing stops it from being a tight experience. Only watch this if you’re okay with constant grimness, but be sure to watch a cheerful guilty pleasure after. C
The Blazing World
Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
Director and actress, Carlson Young gets my vote for most potential. I say that because this dark take heavily inspired by Alice in Wonderland has no humanity to it. The entire journey feels aloof to its own zany goals. However, the visuals in this low-budget movie show the vision that Young has that may one day be akin to Guillermo Del Toro and Tarsem Singh. Cult movie fans will be overjoyed to see Udo Kier be as weird as he typically as the movie’s version of the The White Rabbit. It actually made me quite sad that a movie that is so visually and audibly gripping felt so hollow. C-
Comments are closed.