Review: The Torment of Laurie Ann Collum

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

The Torment of Laurie Ann Collum

Directed by Mark Dossett

Rock Bottom Pictures / Tolac / Terror Films

70 minutes, 2014 / 2020

www.terrorfilms.net/

www.cinedigm.com

www.facebook.com/TerrorFilmsLLC

The Torment of Laurie Ann Collum is being considered a “throwback” film to the slasher days of the 1980s, which feels appropriate since it’s supposedly based on a “true story” that takes place in 1988, in the small Florida town of Patoma. Now, just because I cannot find anything about the killing on an Internet search, nor the locale of Patoma, don’t mean a thing if the film’s got that swing (doo-dah).

Shannon Scott

Filmed just north of Orlando, FL, including Ocala, the making of the release seems as interesting to me as the story itself. Let me ‘splain (as opposed to mansplain): while there is a decent sized cast for a mini- (make that micro-) budgeter, there are actually only three people involved in what is described on IMDB as “90 percent of the film.” This includes the main titular character played by attractive and toothsome Shannon Scott, the hair-follicle-challenged Sheriff Parks (director Mark Dossett), and the invisible boom (sound) guy, Reynaldo Rodriguez. This makes for a much lower cost scale, of course, and an interesting read of the credits as the two leads play not only multiple characters (more on that later) but most of the crew. I love that they were brave enough not to feel a need to use pseudonyms.

Speaking of playing with names, I would like to imagine that Laurie is in part named after Laurie Strode, from Halloween (1978), and Sherriff Parks is named after Michael Parks, who played a similar police-related role in both Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror (2007) and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007). But that’s just me, and I digress.

And now back to our story: Laurie Ann is a homebody, as she’s developed agoraphobia, a common mental misfunction to those who have suffered from trauma. It’s been used a lot lately, such as with Ouija Room (2019), as it’s a great tool for there’s-someone/thing-in-the-house genre, as the PTSD-inspired illness makes the viewer wonder if the threat is real or imagined by the character in question.

Mark Dossett

Laurie Ann, who’s mom is away, is happily watching television (including Bugs Bunny!), having a Tom Cruise moment of miming rock into a stirring spoon, and eating a lot to take up some time. To paraphrase Monty Python, try to explain to the cell phone/Internet kids today, and they won’t believe it.” But weird things are starting to happen, and there may be someone else in the one-level house with her (no running upstairs here!). Or is there? Ahh, there’s that PTSD questioning thing that happens! She calls the cops, which is how Parks gets involved.

The first act is a light touch of curiosity, the second is more intense interactions, and by the third, we’re into the torment/terrorizing. There is a bit of a nod to some other films sprinkled throughout, such as When a Stranger Calls (1979), the closet and use of a wire hanger like Laurie Strode in Halloween, and just a wee bit of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

Part of the problem with the “based on a true story” trope is that there is a tendency to put in a title card at the front stating the end result of the character(s), usually in a vague way. This is also used a lot in found footage. To me, this is a mistake as it takes some of the suspense away. If we already know the character will live or die, that removes the big question. Though in this case, I’m sure people will still pay attention because of the “Torment” part of the film’s name (as a side note, to me the title sounds like a ‘70s porno flick directed by someone like Gerard Damiano).

I have to admit, I figured out who the masked person was in the first five or ten minutes of the film, but honestly, I still enjoyed staying until the end; and make sure after you read the credits, to stick around for some important story info afterward.

One aspect I both enjoyed and was baffled by was the use of religious tropes throughout the entire story. Yeah, I get that it’s small town America and the Church is a factor in many of their lives, but it was never really explained. For example there is a Christian magnet on the fridge, we see a shot of a church but it doesn’t invest in the story, and one of the songs is the splendid “Down to the River to Pray” (a different but also harmonious version than the Alison Krauss one from 2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?).

Most of the secondary characters are pretty superfluous and not a great source of acting, but the two leads do really well considering it’s their first film and play multiple parts (though, please, Shannon, don’t attempt a New York accent again, and I say that with kindness). Dossett moves in and out of the story but is memorable as Parks, but it is Scott that holds the film together as she is in a large majority of the scenes. Luckily, the camera likes her, and she carries Laurie through from carefree (albeit agoraphobic) to terrified.

As micro-budget releases go, Dossett and Scott work together well to put out a freshman film that is watchable. It’s not necessarily super intense nor overly bloody – there is some sanguine stuff and one squeamish scene – but it holds up. Just not a great lot of boo scares, which is fine as this is equally (if not more so) a psychological study of the main character. Certainly enjoyable.

Review: M.O.M. (Mothers of Monsters)

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

M.O.M. (Mothers of Monsters)

Directed by Tucia Lyman

Indie Rights Movies / Aha Productions

99 minutes, 2020

www.mothersofmonsters.com/

www.facebook.com/M.O.M.movie/

The following statement comes with a caveat: films like The Blair Witch Project (1999) ruined the found footage genre for me, in most cases. It has come across as a cheap way to tell a story by either letting the actors be the filmmakers, or the use of mounted cameras, which takes it away from a human touch (sort of like a scan-it-yourself aisle in a supermarket). But, every once in a while, someone still manages to make it right. Hence, this exception.

We live in a world full of reflection through a camera, be it selfies or someone trying to make some kind of record of an incident (e.g., check out public meltdown videos on YouTube). Either way it is based on ego, such as believing the event is important, a way to point a finger of blame away from oneself to another (for example, the 1983 book And I Don’t Want to Live This Life, by Nancy Spungen’s mom, Deborah), or a deep-seated fear that compels one want to make sure your story is told. This film falls into all three of these categories.

Melinda Page Hamilton

The mother in question is Abby (Melinda Page Hamilton). Her teenage son, Jacob (Bailey Edwards), has a history of acting out in violent ways that Abby refers to as “Monster Time,” such as randomly dropping bricks off high buildings without looking to see if anyone is below. With a way of charming psychoanalysts that most true psychopaths have, he has managed to skirt his way around the legal system. This worries Abby because, in part, as she states early on, “Remember what happened to the Boy who Cried Wolf; he was eaten by the fucking wolf.”

The found footage aspect is either Abby recording herself on a cell phone to tell her side of the story, videos made by others such as Jacob’s friends, or the hidden cameras Abby has placed throughout the house. We get to view them, not necessarily in chronological order, thereby giving us a bit of perspective on Jacob to show that it’s possibly not just a puberty/hormone thing.

One of the brilliant aspects of this thriller is the question of absolutes. Jacob can be an outright shit, but so can Abby. The question is left hanging for quite a while whether Jacob is insanely violent, or is his mom over-vigilant – such as lack of respect of his privacy – due to aspects such as her over-drinking wine-goggles, or Adderall pills she sneaks from Jacob (or both).

One important way of looking at this is through a modern lens, both literally and figuratively. On the literal side, the tone of the film puts it clearly in the canon alongside the likes of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) with the mood of intra-family fear of threats of violence that keep escalating. Though in color, this is clearly a Noir piece with modern technology of cells, Skype and Spy Cams added in.

Bailey Edwards

As for the figurative, despite its gothic throwback mood, it’s placed in a modern situation, where teenagers are inundated with not just said technology, but the psychological damage of living in a post-Columbine era of increasingly frequent mass shootings, a fascination with Nazis, casual Anti-Semitism, and public spectacles of events like Charlottesville, all of which play into the story in some form or another.

Most indie films have some questionable acting, but every person here puts in a solid performance. Edwards is strong as he seems to flip back and forth between a normal kid and one that you are really not too sure about (I certainly would not want my daughter to date Jacob, but would understand why she might be attracted to him). But as the lynchpin, Hamilton’s portrayal of Abby is Class-A work, and would be deserving of Festival wins at the least. Her past experiences in the likes of numerous television series such as Messiah, How to Get Away with Murder, Mad Men and Big Love come through spectacularly. There is also a very short cameo by Ed Asner, for some added star power.

Lately, I have been feeling more and more as though those who write a film should not direct them because it helps to have a third party do some editing (Hereditary and Midsommar come to mind). However, Tucia Lyman balances the two like a champ, and makes me have second thoughts about that. Before this piece of psychological cinema, her directorial experience was a couple of documentaries and a few episodes of a television series about “real” ghosts, though you’d never know that this was her feature debut.

There are some scenes that are unexpected and downright shocking (again, figuratively and literally), with some squeamish bits, but mostly this is a psychological thriller. The game of “who is the crazy one” is played out in sharp detail, and there are lots of twists and turns to keep the viewer entertained from the first shot to the last.

Review: Mommy: 25th Anniversary Widescreen Double Fe

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

This is a nice set. Presented along three discs are the main feature, Mommy, and the sequel Mommy’s Day. The first disc is the two films on Blu-ray, the second is the same two on DVD, and the third, a DVD, is the extras. And there are a lot, but more on that later.

While not directly linked to the 1956 film The Bad Seed that shot child actor Patty McCormack to temporary stardom (though she has acted consistently through the years, I’m happy to say), many people consider these to be unofficial sequels of the character of the film if she had grown up and become a mother herself. Director Max Alan Collins, more known as a writer of a multitude of books often in the dark and detective genres, has not public denied that, either, as far as I can tell.

Mommy

Directed by Max Allan Collins

M.A.C. Productions / VCI Home Video / MVD Entertainment

89 minutes, 1995 / 2019

www.vcientertainment.com

www.mvdb2b.com

Truthfully, I haven’t seen Mommy since I rented it out from my local Video Video (that was the store’s name) emporium back in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, when it first came out in VHS. What did I think of it then? I barely remember it; I was renting out so much and it didn’t reach the replay heights of the likes of any directed by Stuart Gordon. At the time, I did not yet know who was Max Allan Collins.

I have always wondered if somewhere this was inspired (or vice-versa) by the John Waters’ film, Serial Mom (1994), which also deals with a mother who is out on a killing spree without guilt through righteous indignation, though with a bit more humor and camp. Either way, they are both interesting bookends of the same state of homicidal mind.

Taking place in the real town of Muscatine, Iowa (the director’s birthplace), the madre in question (Brooklyn-born Patty McCormack) is upset that her daughter, Jessica Ann (Rachel Lemieux) – who narrates the film – is not picked for an award as Outstanding Student in the local school. She’s upset that it has gone to a child of Mexican background. While the whole film is not socially weaponized, this particular incident of racial politics sticks out a bit as Mommy comes across as a raging racist, rather than just an upset mother. Jessica Ann doesn’t really care, but will the apple fall far from the tree? That is kind of where the film seems to be heading, but whether or not that’s true, well, you’ll have to see for yourselves, now, woncha?

Of course, Mommy’s reaction to the above incident leads to a very unfortunate series of events that affects her, her family such as her sister Beth (Brinke Stevens in a strong, supporting role), and the police detective on her trail, Lt. March (Jason Miller, an amazing actor, mailing it in for this one; d. 2001). In supporting cameo roles are the likes of Majel Barrett (d. 2008) between all her Star Trek duties and mystery writer Mickey Spillane (d. 2006).

Through it all, Mommy keeps her wits – well definitely with a bit of icy hostility – as she nonchalantly excuses the events of her own causing. This is beautifully summed up in her comment to Jessica Ann after a murder, “A little unpleasantness is not going to stand in the way of good nutrition!”

Collins uses his screenplay to both give a nod to both the original Bad Seed film, and the novel it was based on. For example, the police lieutenant March is obviously a shout out to the novel’s author, William March. Also, in the book and film, the titular character kills for a nod in scholastic achievement; here it’s the Outstanding Student award, while previously it was over a medal for perfect penmanship.

Also, in the original story, it’s the apartment’s maintenance man who catches on to what is going on and pays the price for it, and now it’s the school janitor, Miss Jones (Sarah Jane Miller) who pushes the right buttons at the wrong time.

While this isn’t classic and great cinema, it is a strong low-budget feature and that is obvious. It was also an early outing for Collins. For what it is, it’s more a character study with some thriller thrown in than just a shoot-em-up slasher kind of thing. The body count isn’t huge, but you understand the motivation behind each one, which makes up for that.

McCormack is wonderful in her role, playing both panic and icy at the same time (not easy), gnashing her teeth behind dark red lipstick with glee. This was a collaboration between her Bad Seed character and the adult Mommy. Clearly Jessica Ann is going to need a lot of therapy to get over all this mess. And, luckily, there is a sequel.

Mommy 2: Mommy’s Day

Directed by Max Allan Collins

M.A.C. Productions / VCI Home Video / MVD Entertainment

88 minutes, 1997 / 2019

www.mvdb2b.com

The sequel was released just a couple of years later, largely with the same cast, sometimes in different roles. For example, the three female leads, Mommy (McCormack) – still no first name given – Jessica Ann (Lemieux) and Beth (Stevens) are the same. However, the janitor Sarah Jane Miller returns as her own conniving sister, and the late Michael Cornelison, who played the dubious love interest for Mommy in the first, is a totally different character here, again in a wannabe relationship with Mommy.

There has been some growth since the first release, both in style and in the literal sense. First the latter: Jessica Ann is older and into her early teens with braces. She’s also developing a teen attitude and is a bit of a mean girl. I’m sure it’s supposed to imply she’s her mother’s daughter. Her Aunt Beth, who was so sweet in the original, is now quite forceful and snarky in her taking care of Jessica Ann, perhaps showing some things run in a family? This is leading the viewer in directions I am not going to discuss as it is a key plot point, but I was expecting someone to start singing “Lucy Harper took an ax…”

Adding to the cast is Paul Peterson (where’s Shelley Fabares singing “Mommy Angel”?!) as Beth’s husband and the person who wrote the tell-all book about the Mommy murders. With this mix of the new and the old, Mommy’s Day actually turns out to be a better picture than the first. Collins has now had some experience with filmmaking under his belt, there is less reliance (even ancillary) on The Bad Seed, and everyone seems more comfortable working with each other. Yes, there is still some self-referential stuff going on, such as Mommy saying, “Don’t you know the sequel is never as good as the original?!,” though in a different context, this is played more for a wink and grin than anything else.

While in need of some shortening and editing – especially a ridiculous death row prison segment near the beginning – the writing is a bit tighter than in the first release. Here there is some actual tension, and the inclusion of a Jerry Springer/Sally Jesse Raphael-type audience participation talk show that goes from bad to worse in a bang works really well in the story, especially for the timeframe.

The bloodletting is a bit more, and there are hints of (female) nudity – even an obligatory shower scene which rose to prominence around then – shows more bits (though nothing complete).

This sequel is definitely more fleshed out in personalities and plot devices, but I would honestly say to watch the original Mommy before watching the second. And then, maybe, throw in some Serial Mom after for an additional hoot.

Disc 3 Extras

Of course, if it needs a separate disc, you know there will be extras abound.

The start is from a 1995 “Entertainment Tonight” episode (3 minutes) where the premiere of the film is discussed by Leonard Martin (what, no Siskel and Ebert? Joe Bob Briggs?). Basically, the theme is that there is even film life in Iowa. Interviews include with director Collins and star McCormack.

After the Mommy original trailer is the “Mommy Bloopers” (17 minutes), which is just what you would expect, but in this case, it really shows that the cast and crew were both having fun, worked in a collaborative fashion, and got along. Many other bloopers reels I have seen of late tend to show the same takes over and over until tedium sets in for the viewer. Here, there are some duplicates, but nothing that is wearying. A cool collection.

A “Mommy PBS Documentary” (8 min.) follows, which essentially is very similar to the Entertainment Tonight one, namely “the film shot in Iowa.” There is a bit more context on Collins’ role as writer and director, but it’s still fun to watch the backstage fervor.

“Mommy's Day: Patty McCormack Interviewed by Max Allan Collins” (17 min.) is from 1996. It starts off strong with McCormack discussing and dissecting her Bad Seed character and the title role. She also talks a bit about her history in the theater and television back in the 1950s. It’s a good talk and you get to know her as an actor a bit better. Would have liked to have heard more about being from Brooklyn, but I have my own personal reasons for that.

Last up is “Conversations with Interesting Characters: The Making of the movie Mommy - A Documentary by J. Rigler” (29 min.). I’ll be honest, I have no idea who J. Rigler is, but he does a pretty good job in getting the idea of the “Making of” project. He interviews the cast and crew members, including ones you wouldn’t necessarily expect, but of course focuses mainly on director Collins and James Hoffmann, Collins’ best friend since fourth grade, who was Executive Producer the flick. It’s informative and fun, though I still would love to hear why Collins replaced the original director of the film, which is mentioned in passing a few times in a few of the extras, but never really brought to light other than “artistic differences.”

Review: Get Gone

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Get Gone

Directed by Michael Thomas Daniel

Future Proof Films / Sweet Nelly Productions / Phoenix Worldwide Entertainment / Cleopatra Entertainment / MVD Entertainment

91 minutes, 2019 / 2020

getgonethemovie.com/

www.facebook.com/GETGONETHEMOVIE/

www.cleopatraentertainment.com

www.mvdb2b.com

Back in the late 19th Century, a family known as the Black Donnelleys moved from Ireland to Ontario, living off the land. The problem was that the property they cleared and farmed did not belong to them. They just figured since no one was taking care of it except them, they would get the squatters rights deed since the landlords were not around. They found out the hard way that this was not the case, which led to a bloody “war” between them, and the owners and local government, leading to numerous deaths. Yes, this really did happen.

What does this have to do with Get Gone? Well, the premise is somewhat similar. Here, the Maxwell family has lived on a farm for three decades and now the local government and the Mining Company that owns the land wants to frack it. This sets up another bloody and revenge-filled confrontation.

Lin Shaye

For the Maxwells, there’s Mama (horror stalwart-of-late Lin Shaye in a full, non-cameo role, who is better known as the backbone of the Insidious franchise) and Daddy Don (underrated character actor Robert Miano), the huge Patton (Weston Cage Coppola… gee, I wonder if he’s related to any other actors/directors…), and mentally challenged film cover boy Apple (Bailey Coppola), who likes to wear masks. Y’see, the water they’ve been a-drinkin’ has been affected by the drilling in the area over the years, and they’ve all gone a bit plumb loco. The sons have a genetic mutation that makes their skin look like they’ve been slathered in Zinc Oxide. Then there’s Pug (Joel Macha). In general, think more of the siblings in Spider Baby (1967) than the buffoons of the classic Mother’s Day (1980).

Robert Miano

Between the family and the Mining Conglomerate is the de facto hero of the film, local ranger Rico (Rico E. Anderson), who sympathizes with the family, but is legally obligated to the Company.

But there is another complication added to the mix: a group of podcasters who produce shows about revealing the truth behind other podcasters’ faking of murder and supernatural goings on are on a camping trip that is supposed to be for team building (how can a podcast channel afford that, I wonder). Led by the zealous Rocks and Roots guide, they wander into the Oregon woods (around Cascade Locks, where it is filmed) and run straight between the squatters and the Mining Company, both of which have blood on their minds and hands. Luckily, most of the podcasters are superfluous and shallow characters – not to mention unlikeable Brett Kavanaugh-types – and make part of a nice body count.

Weston Cage Coppola

References abound from other films, with the likes of the obvious The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), though one could easily add House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) without the weirdness, or correlate the Marshalls with the feral family from The Hills Have Eyes (1977), but there is a significant different in tone and especially the purpose of their homicidal tendencies. Another trope that is used here is one that is in too many films to mention, the local who warns the team building group off, only this time he’s a drunk, and no one pays any attention to him.

The acting level is varied, but sufficient, with some good moments and clumsy ones, much of which could also be said about the dialogue. One thing I liked, though, is that it takes to task the overuse of sexist language and behavior that is oft present in genre releases, and other verbal negative ticks such as something being “so gay.” So, back to the acting, most do fine, though Cage Coppola goes from pretty good hulking villain to ridiculous wide eyes crazy that’s laughable (like his dad, Nic).

Bailey Coppola

A consistency with all these groups as units, it’s a local vs. stranger dichotomy. Essentially it is the former fighting against the latter two, be it the family, the Corporation, or the reluctant campers, though for the team building group it’s more a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time led by the wrong team leader who brings them to camp on questionable private land. Why this triggers such violence I’m not sure, but perhaps it literally could be in the water.

Rico E. Anderson

This is definitely low budget, and the obvious way to tell is that there is no gore to speak of, hardly any blood, and no nudity.

The DVD extras are minimal, being chapters, a bunch of Cleopatra Entertainment trailers (mostly of films that have been reviewed on this blog) including this one, and a nice and large stills gallery that is mostly behind-the-scenes shots with a few being taken directly from the film itself.

If you wonder about the origin of the title, “get gone,” it is something that is said numerous times by Cage Coppola’s character. The reviews on IMDB are consistently either “It’s the best” (10 out of 10) or “It’s the worst” (1 or 2 out of 10). The polarization is enough of a red flag. Truthfully, it’s neither. While not a film that will probably be considered a future classic, I’m certain, it does do the job. Neither brilliant nor all that bad, it kept my attention even with the exploitation of overused tropes that the filmmakers probably hope will be recognized by the audience; this is a common rookie directorial mistake but oft forgivable if not egregious, which it is not, here.

Review: Ever After (EndZeit)

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Ever After (aka EndZeit)

Directed by Carolina Hellsgård

ARTE / Das Kleine Fernsehspiel (ZDF) / Grown Up Films /
Juno Films / MVD Entertainment

90 minutes, 2018 / 2020

www.junofilms.com

www.mvdb2b.com

You say you’re looking for something lighthearted with zombies along the lines of Zombieland (2009)? Man, you’ve come to the wrong Blu-ray. However, if you’re looking for a deeply serious Euro-centric post-Z-Apoc universe where everything is dire, well, have I got the film for you!

When the film opens, the Z-Apoc happened two years previously, and in Germany, there are only two barricaded cities left. In one (Weimer), that I think of as Republican, the zombies are shot on site with zero tolerance. In the second (Jena), which I envision as Democrat, they are working hard to find a cure. We start off in the former, and meet our central character, (dyed) redhead Vivi (pop and soul singer Gro Swantje Kohlhof), who suffers from severe PTSD from an experience as the munching pandemic virus took a bite into humanity. We see it in snatches of flashback. She’s withdrawn and nearly child-like.

Gro Swantje Kohlhof and Maja Lehrer

She manages to get out of Republicanville and meet up with fellow ex-pat Eva (Maja Lehrer), who is also running away after an incident. Eva is the opposite of Vivi in that she’s hard as nails and not exactly cuddly. They both decide to try to make it to the Democrat land by cutting through the Black Forest.

Along the way, Vivi befriends an older, mother-figure type (Tryne Dyrholm, who played the title role in 2017’s Nico, 1988). She’s a philosophical flower child who sees what is happening around the globe in a specific purpose as part of the natural world. Of course, we don’t really know what set off the Z-Apoc, whether natural or man-made, but it is all part of what nature is, according to her (I’ll leave most of her philosophizing for when you see it).

For this adventure, the zombies are fast, growl like beasts as their only verbal communication, and of course are ruthlessly vicious with no sense of their previous personhood. Like sharks, they’re mindless machines lookin’ for a snack of gristle and gore. An odd thing about that is even though there are some cringe-worthy moments, this is definitely not Fulci-like. It is more story-driven, so there is a dependence on character development rather than focused on shots of viscera.

There is also a philosophy that runs throughout, and that is to ponder what our place is in a world in which society as we know it is no longer strong enough to support us. Everyone seems to be searching for an answer to that, either directly or unconsciously.

In other words, while the zombies are fast, the storytelling mostly is not. There are thrilling moments where it’s do-or-die with Vivi and Eva against either single snackers or a group of them (or, horde, as the case may be).

Although essentially a three-person film, this is mostly Vivi’s story, and we basically see it through her eyes. It’s a world that is both harsh and beautiful as she mentions that one can see the stars again.

Despite the zombies roaming around snackin’, this is a very slow-moving film that makes Hereditary (2018) look like Mad Max: The Road Warrior (1981). This isn’t something you just pop in for a quick fun ride on a Saturday afternoon in your mom’s basement, this is a piece of cinema that is quite serious and deep, albeit that it keeps up the tension. I enjoyed it a lot, but it took some thinkin’ work to get through it all.

In German with subtitles, this picture is essentially a three-person piece, and except for the flesh eaters, all the main characters and most of the secondary ones are female. Director Carolina Hellsgård presents a bleak world yet filled with beauty, as I said, and takes us on a physical and philosophical journey that needs to be taken one step at a time.

The extras are chapters, sound choices, and two versions of the trailer: the original German and English. My one real complaint about the film is that although I’m happy to have the subtitles, they are pure white and small, and hard to read more than I would like, especially with a film this deep in its dialogue. Plus Vivi wears a white top and if the subtitles are superimposed on them, it’s damn near impossible to make out.

I’m not surprised this has won some festival prizes as this is the kind of film the serious viewers are itching for, rather than some found footage goofball release. With patience and thought, it’s worth a gander.