Review: Love Crime

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

 

Love Crime
Directed by Nicole D’Angelo
CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch; MSC Productions
67 minutes, 2022
www.facebook.com/cineridge/
I have been really been impressed by this local collective of multi-pronged actors/directors/writers/filmmakers. They all support each other both in front and behind the camera, and still manage to be prolific on a meager financial means.

One consistency is that their films tend to be minimalist, taut, and more often than not psychological. I have reviewed a number of them, such as Quarantine Girl (2020; also directed by D'Angelo), Choke (2020), and Heartbeat (2020). 

Nicole D'Angelo

Our fare for today is a crime drama, founded somewhat on Arizonas-based Jodi Aria (director Nicole D’Angelo), who murdered her lover of a tempestuous relationship in 2008, Travis Alexander (Shane Ryan-Reid). I don’t obviously know what their real relationship was like, so when I refer to the actors’ role, I will use the first name, and for the real person, their last in this review to slow down the confusion.

Time is very fluid in this story, as the chronology is bounced around, yet the timeline of where we are at any scene is clear, thanks to some good direction and editing (more on that later). For the prologue, Jodi is already arrested and in holding as she interacts with grizzled police officer Ross (Sam Dobbins). He is stern, yet sympathetic to Jodi, unlike his boss, Detective Mace (Lisa London), who sees this as a case to be a publicity slam dunk (the real trial was heavily mediated).

Deeply religious, Jodi projects the same onto Travis, as the devout tend to do. She is way more committed to this relationship than Travis, yet she is still a believer. As I said, the real relationship was tumultuous, and this is expressed between break-ups and rejoinings. This is smartly symbolized in the editing, as some B-roll scenes are shown both going forward and backwards.

The personalities of the two main characters are also back and forth, in that they often complement each other, and yet they are quite different. Jodi is what I call god-delusional, grasping on to the weights of faith to keep herself steady. Travis, on the other hand, is a motivational speaker who is quite glib and sometimes impatient with Jodi’s questions about remaining “pure” in some ways; he is constantly using his experience with words and charm to console her, but you know he is being dishonest and it is almost as uncomfortable to watch as her divinity focus. As they swirl around each other, Mace makes like a bulldog trying to break Jodi’s façade, which may be her truth or her self-imposed wall to protect herself from what she has done.

Shane Ryan-Reid

It is easy to see the cracks in both Jodi’s armor of love of Travis and god, as much as it is to see through the weakness of Travis in both. Her overwhelming needs outweigh his lack of them, and in the film, there is no black and white personalities nor actions, as they both have their issues that they bring to the relationship. The fact is that this was a long-distance relationship, with him on the road a lot (Arias and Alexander actually lived in different states).

With multiple events happening over the overlapping timelines, I was quite impressed with the video editing by Michael Tang, which highlights the minimalist and stark (there’s those words again) cinematography by Gregory Hatanaka and Caleb Tou. For example, there can be two opposite events happening, such as an argument and a sex scene interwoven together, and it works. Occasionally, the writing by Jamie Grefe shows some nice flairs as well, such as when Mace states to Ross, “If truth is bitter, my coffee should be, too.”

D'Angelo’s double duty as both lead actor and director proves she is capable for the task. I was truly impressed with the artful directorial skill in which she handles the story. The film may be on the short side, but it was the perfect length to tell it.

The film is available to watch for free on Tubi, and on demand by Amazon and Vimeo.

IMDB listing HERE 

Review: The Wrong Sarah

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

The Wrong Sarah
Directed by Jason Toler
Sunrayz International Films; Cinema Epoch; Cineridge Entertainment
64 minutes, 2021
www.facebook.com/cinemaepoch/

This release is part of a prolific film collective (including Cineridge Entertainment and Mad Sinema) that I really respect, which includes the likes of Shane Ryan, Lisa London, Christina Lo, Sarah Brine, and Chris Spinelli, among others, who appear here. I have reviewed a number of their products, including Choke, Quarantine Girl, Heartbeat, and Sinful (all 2020). They promote new actors and directors as well, such as Jason Toler, who writes, directs, and stars in this one as FBI Agent Lance. The quality of the films may vary widely, but the effort is appreciated.

The most basic premise of the story is that a serial killer is, one by one, traveling around the ,country and killing off women whose name is Sarah, in search of a specific one. Of course, as with many others, my first thought was of the opening of The Terminator (1984), where the titular cyborg is killing off all the Sarah Connors, and wondered if that’s where Toler got the idea for the name character here. Doesn’t change anything, just curiosity.

I used the word “basic” because this is a minimalist, stripped down storyline of a police procedural, as well as following the antics of the serial killer as he burns and stabs his way through his victims. As all the murder victims shown are named Sarah, the violence tends being towards women. I will leave that for what it is, you can make up your own opinion. I will say, however, how 1980s.

The title of the film comes from the aftermath of the killings, where the masked murderer leaves a spray-painted message near the body, “Wrong Sarah,” as he plows through them. Question is, if he knows they are the wrong Sarah, why kill them? He is on a mission, so this is not just random mayhem. Well, at least there is a decent amount of slaughter, but more on that later.

Jason Toller

There are three main points of focus to the characters in various degrees. The first is the lead, the aforementioned FBI agent (Toler) who is trying to suss what is happening and to capture the fiend. Of course, the murderer does have a cool name, “The Black Rose Killer” due to the black rose he leaves by the corpses. FBI Agent Lance and occasionally his team, including FBI Agents Linda (Lo) and Will (Spinelli), hunt him down, though the killer is seemingly, depending on whose perspective, as Roberts states more than once, either two steps ahead or the FBI is two steps behind.

The second spotlight is on the killer himself. He wears a really cool digital mask in a grid formation that produces a digital fire image. It looks so much better than the more common cowl or clown façade. He is silent but deadly, and incredibly prolific so there is a nice body count. Most of the kills, however, are off-screen, or use CGI; the digital fire for the first victim we see (Brine) is actually a bit comical due to it keeping between the lines. But for the budget, it is what it is, and I’m okay with that.

The third and final highlight is the final Sarah (model Elliott Woods), the only one of the attackees that we see in any depth, though it’s still wading pool deep. What I am trying to say with that last comment is that there isn’t much character development, other than Lance being contemplative while he works out at the gym and when jogging, and a secret from the final Sarah’s past involving her mother. While this is essentially a three-character play, we get to know pretty little about anyone of them, and forget about any of the secondary ones, such as Lance’s team or friends of the trio.

It is worth noting that in real life, calling 911 for a car break-in is a sure-fire way to get a summons as it is not considered a life and death emergency. Also, a fun textural error, Roberts first introduces himself as having been working on the case for 6 months, and later on says it was 2 months. Man, I truly love indie cinema just for reasons like this. On major films, this would be a continuity error that would be bounced back and forth among cinephiles with smug contempt, but here, it’s “cool, that was funny.”

In a similar vein of cinema easter eggs that are intentional and more allowable in indie films is a shot of the killer standing on a street corner with back to camera that is a dead (pun intended) reminder of the opening of the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008).

As for the masked killer? Well, if you haven’t guessed who it is by the time of the reveal, you just haven’t watched enough police procedurals, or slasher films. It took me all of a second of the introduction of the character in his real persona to know who’s who, and while not as obvious, you may even guess on some level why’s why. But again, honestly, it doesn’t matter because I really don’t believe the film was trying that hard to confuse or hide anything. Like I said, this is pretty basic and is obviously – and rightfully so – unembarrassed about it. I will say, however, I am hoping at some point Toler collaborates with someone rather than writing on his own, because I think that could give him a boost. This is the third film for the director, including Crack House of the Dead (2021), another police-based film, but involving zombies. And a crack house, but this is the first of his productions I have seen.

Elliott Woods

Here, there is the inevitable showdown between Toler’s FBI agent and the masked killer, after the obligatory sex scene; Woods is definitely attractive, more so than her acting chops at this stage of her career which will hopefully continue and improve. But to be fair, much of the acting here is on the deer-in-headlights range, but short of wooden. Toler definitely needs to push his cast (and himself) a bit more to emote.

I realize that this has nothing directly to do with the quality of the film, but its odd that the names of the characters on IMDB are listed different than in the film itself. For example, Toler’s agent is called Jack on IMDB and in the story it is Lance. Was this just a joke to see if anyone was paying attention (which I would respect), or was the page filled in before the actual shooting and they didn’t bother to change it (which would annoy me)? This is also true for the occasional plot hole (e.g., the reason for the black rose is never explained).

This is a pretty short film coming in at just over an hour, yet it feels padded at times, such as Lance’s workout scenes. On the other hand, I understand it from what I am assuming is from the director’s perspective in that he could film the scenes with minimal crew, as it is just him onscreen, and he can shoot these on his own schedule with whatever crew he can arrange at the moment.

This production crew seems intent on putting out as much content as it can, as quickly as it can. Personally, I would love for them to slow down a little, and pay more focus on each picture, instead of double- or possibly triple-filming at the same time. This would increase the quality of the product, and keep the plot holes to a minimum. That being said, I also am impressed how they all work together to showcase and promote their skills. In the words of Monk, their output is “a blessing…and a curse.”

The film is available on Amazon, Vimeo, and free on TubiTV.com (with commercials, which is where I viewed it).

IMBD Listing HERE 

 

 

Review: Quarantine Girl

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Quarantine Girl
Directed by Nicole D’Angelo, Gregory Hatanaka
CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch; Mad Sin Cinema
62 minutes, 2020
https://cinemaepoch.com/
www.madsincinema.com

As negative as the COVID-19 pandemic has been for world health, I have oft commented that a flip side to that has been the absolute explosion of artistic endeavors, especially in the cinema realm, that have been launched during the lockdown. Whether it be a Zoom-shot release or more traditional story-based as is this one, this film is a prime example of that – err – outbreak.

A lot of the leading cast is the same as the Gregory Hatanaka release Choke (2020; reviewed HERE), and with it being released around the same time, my assumption is they were filmed either back-to-back, or concurrently. Of course, this film has a limited number of players, considering the pandemic going on around while it was being shot.

Nicole D'Angelo

Ruby (Nicole D’Angelo) is a business woman who is returning from an overseas work trip, just in time for a pandemic to hit. Obviously, the disease in question in the story is COVID or at least COVID-based, but the disease is never mentioned by name, only that it effects the respiratory system, and that it is a Novel Virus. The timing of this filming is perfect, as we see Ruby walking through a supermarket early on, and the shelves are empty, especially the paper goods aisle.

We find out what is going on with her thought processes as she phones her dad (David Marc) and pal Anjie (Craijece Lewis), and on the television there is always alarms, read by the newscaster on KLOL (haha), Wendy (the Lisa London). There are some beautiful shots of nearly empty city streets, some from an overpass, or handheld cameras of city blocks devoid of humans. Her world, like the streets, is empty, but it is not vacant.

Slowly, but surely, the disease is getting worse, and those around her are affected, such as multiple shots of usage of hand sanitizer, even when not leaving the house. For a while, Ruby is still going out on jogs, has her friend Nate (Shane Ryan) over for company and a drink (there is a lot of wine, vaping and cigarette imbibing by our Ruby), a visit from her dad, and lots of conversations via media with Anjie (dammit, I keep hearing the Stones’ song in my head whenever I type her name).

Shane Ryan

Odd things keep happening, such as packages repeatedly showing up at her door (disease or not, Amazon sends its drivers out) with random things inside, and someone has hacked into the camera on her computer (the story does not try to hide who it is, but I will leave it for you to find out).

 While events worsen, and things get tighter and more closed off, it starts to wear on Ruby. Personally, I do not understand this completely. She has the Internet, a cell phone, and a television, though I did not see any books or magazines. Sure, that can be tiring to some point, but all one really needs is a hobby. One of them for Ruby is “deep cleaning,” but that’s not the same thing, nor does it last. I have been indoors for over a year (with four exceptions) and with my hobbies, such as this blog, I keep myself occupied and somewhat out of trouble. But, as always, I digress…

 By the end of the first month, as some unexplained medicines begin to run low or out, Ruby is already losing it. Not in the Gerald’s Game (2017) kind of supernatural way, but she’s starting to put on darker lipstick (for whom?), and talking to whomever is watching her through her computer, playing around with S&M with online dominatrix…Wendy the anchorwoman? Is this real or in her mind? Also, Ruby is contemplating doing some harm to herself in anger and frustration. After a month. Wow. She must be some serious Type A personality. It’s been a year and I’m still quite sane. Wait, who said that?!? Where are you?!?! Err, never mind.

Lisa London

There are some really good musical choices for incidental background, though there is also an odd use of a comical tone. Not quite Benny Hill level, but it sometimes feels out of place, such as with a neighbor peeking in her window.

By the conclusion of this story, which is hardly the end of the pandemic, as we are still in it and this was filmed before the vaccine, Ruby is a woman on the verge. But a relationship may be a change. Personally, I didn’t buy this for a second, and was ready to yell at the writer because it seems improbable, but the writer is also the main director and star of the film, D’Angelo.

Even though I generally liked the film, the dad character felt a bit underdeveloped, and there were definitely some cringy moments, which especially includes the wind-up. I did read someone who said they found it “sweet.” Huhwha? I am assuming that in real life, in those circumstances, that would not really happen. More likely someone would end up at the worst physically hurt, at the best, never talked to again. D’Angelo does an overall good job in presenting her material, and she is a good enough actor to pull it off, and I have seen her in several roles now, but that ending…

The overall film is a perfect hour-length for its story. Any more would make us all a bit restless considering the topic. Hopefully, you will get to see this film in a nostalgic way, as in “Oh, remember that pandemic; wasn’t that sumptin’?” Bet there are going to be people (me) who will miss sitting around all day in their pajamas, watching television, scanning the Internet, and shopping online. All the things that are driving people like Ruby a little bit cray-cray.

Review: Sinful

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Sinful

Directed by Rich Mallery

CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch; Napalm Love Productions

75 minutes, 2020

https://cinemaepoch.com/

www.madsincinema.com

For a pandemic, the gay community is the one to look for when it comes to dealing with it day to day. Their experience with AIDS has – er – grandfathered them (sorry about that term) into being years ahead of most. While sure, it more directly killed gay men, it was their lesbian sisters who often were the caregivers, so they still experienced that loss first-hand.

Why bring this up for this review? Two reasons: first, the film is based on the occurrences around a newly-married lesbian couple, Salem (Nicole D’Angelo) and Remy (Christine Lo), and that it was filmed in the middle of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a lot of art that has come out of the isolation the disease has brought, and cinema is certainly included.

A pandemic calls for a small cast, and this one consists of a trio, including the two mentioned above and a mysterious masked man (Chris Spinelli) who shows up on occasion, and disappears just as fast. These three actors have been working on films together for a while now (e.g., Choke and Acrylic), so they are comfortable around each other and feeding off the other’s energy. This is important in creating cinematic synergy.

Salem and Remy are recently married and on the run from a bloody, “horrific” (as the film’s descriptor states on IMDB) crime, waiting in a house for some new identification to beat it on the lam. But their paranoia is deep and their distrust for anyone, including each other on occasion, tends to get the better of them. This is especially true with high-strung Remy, who is on the verge of a breakdown (or appears to be), while Salem is trying to hold it all together and be solid, but even she is having the heebie-jeebies (wishing she were at CBGBs?).

The film is essentially a character study of these two women, and how they are either coping – or trying to – with various levels of success. The tables often change and the dance around each other and their situation ebbs and flows.

This is a psychological drama more than a “horror thriller,” though there are hints to support both classifications. Sure, they might be in a multi-dimensional space where things repeat or change, it may all be in their increasingly paranoid minds, or perhaps this house is like a The Twilight Zone episode and they actually are in purgatory (hell?). It’s often left up to the viewer to decide.

Nearly everything is sparse, from the walls to the hallways, to the fact that you can’t see out the windows, giving the film a bit of claustrophobia and paranoia to the viewer as well. The skewed angles also throw us off a bit as I try to put it together with the two protagonists. And what’s with the pop-up man in a mask? The personification of guilt? Well, I am certainly not going to tell you.

As I said, the two leads play off of each other’s energies really well. Lo may get a bit shrill at times as Remy tries to sort out what she’s doing and what is happening, and D’Angelo does well to show emotion on her face as Salem is torn between her love for Remy, not wanting to get caught, and trying to find patience while the new IDs are out there somewhere. While Chris Spinelli doesn’t do much other than stand around in a mask, I have seen him in other works recently, and I have no question the man can act.

The film is emotionally draining, between the pent up fear of the characters, the shifting of the plot line to match the tilting of the camera angles, and even the complexity of the story against the starkness of the setting. We are thrust into a situation of panic, fear, and varying levels of trust, and we just have to hold on for the ride.

It is a well-scripted story, the acting is at times breathtaking, and the direction by Rich Mallery shows a sense of style that makes me want to see more.

The film is available on various media platforms, and will soon be available on Blu-ray.

Review: Heartbeat

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Heartbeat

Directed by Gregory Hatanaka

CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch; Mad Sin Cinema

73 minutes, 2020

https://cinemaepoch.com/

www.madsincinema.com

For his third feature release of the year (with another one, Quarantine Girl, expected by year-end), prolific director Gregory Hatanaka has gathered his standard troupe of players and delivered a bit of a different twist of a thriller. There is so much cast overlap with his last film, Choke (reviewed on this blog), I wonder if they were filmed concurrently. The reason I believe that is quite often the smaller the role in Choke, the more prominent the one in Heartbeat, and vicey-versey (yes, I’m leaving it that way).

Nicole D'Angelo

Jennifer (Nicole D’Angelo) is a hard-bitten and prickly news journalist who has written about a company recently, whose employees and owners are getting whacked. We get to see one of them in the prolog, which is beautifully done, though the victim (Sarah Brine, the star of Choke), is stabbed with a barber’s razor? This type of instrument is meant for slashing, not for stabbing, due to its blunt, flat top, but I’m nit-picking.

For slashing, not stabbing

What I find interesting, and I mean this not as a criticism, is that for an award-winning investigative journalist, Jennifer doesn’t really seem to be very inquisitive. When a photographer, Rick (Shane Ryan), tries to show her the connection between the murders and the article she wrote, even with evidence, she brushes him off. I feel that a good journalist would see this as another article, possibly award winning, and would jump on it. Our gal is too aloof. She has trouble even entertaining helping the local police detective on the case, Santoro (Chris Spinelli).

She’s also that way with an ex-boyfriend, the Norwegian-named Torsten (Scott Butler) – which means Thor’s Hammer, or literally, Thor’s Stone – who is a bit aggro with her boss, so I can understand why she dumped him, though they are pretty similar in the bellicosity department. Jennifer, albeit the protagonist, doesn’t really seem to try to ingratiate herself with the audience, but perhaps as the plot thickens, she’ll become less hostile like a good heroine (I’m 20 minutes in at this point); she seems to lead an extraordinarily lonely and mundane life for such an exciting profession. Though, I must add that the fact that she doesn’t follow the expected lead’s stereotypical pattern is a brave step, and I applaud it.

As the death toll rises, it circles around Jennifer until it is bound to be directed at her, much like the Saltsraumen Maelstrom, a strong eddy that whirls around her, dragging her into the fray.

Chris Spinelli

The film has an Italian giallo feel, sort of like Dario Argento’s Bird with the Crystal Plumage (aka L’uccello dale piume di cristallo, 1970), though the whispery voice on the phone, especially for the first kill during the prolog, sounds a bit like the quacky one from Leo Fulci’s The New York Ripper (aka Lo squartatore di New York, 1982).

The acting of the leads, or at least the usual suspects of what I’ll call Hatanaka’s troupe, is rather good. D’Angelo, despite her character’s bristle, does well in the lead role, making her interesting even if not overly likeable, which is a decent balancing act. Spinelli is pretty solid as the detective, easing his way into Jennifer’s life. Ryan plays against type by becoming a nerdy, almost simple-minded photographer who takes candid pictures (snap-snap, grin-grin, wink-wink, say no more) of events and people through their window, obsessing a bit on Jennifer.

With a few of the minor roles, the actors sometimes seem to stumble over their lines. Ah, the joys of indie film making; as usual, you get a mixed bag. It is part of the fun of watching these kinds of films, actually. You want perfection? Go watch an A-List overdone production, not one with a heart, like this one. But I kinda digress…

For an indie, low-budget film, this is certainly well populated with characters, which is noteworthy. And with all these people floating in and out of the story, thirty minutes in, I had it down to three suspects. Though despite the gruesome murders, like most giallos, this is essentially a crime drama about the Chinese mob and, well, I won’t go into it and give it away.

Share Ryan

The kills never come as a surprise. They are always telegraphed by POV shots and, well, the plotlines. Despite the blood, there is nothing actually gory and this relies more on the story and the fact that people are murdered to further the action, rather than just relying on SFX splatter, like Argento and Fulci did in the 1980s. Also, again, there’s that budget.

At 40 minutes, I was back down to one suspect, the first one I picked. I won’t give away who it is nor who it isn’t, as I’m not that kind of reviewer, but I will say I was right. The location of one of the murders was the giveaway for me. But that’s okay, and honestly, that’s part of why I like these kinds of films, trying to figure it out along with the protagonist.

If there is one real fault I would pick, it would be that the soundtrack is sometimes turned up too high, which at times makes it hard to hear the dialogue, such as in the final reveal. I had to watch the ending a couple of times to make out what was being said over the plunking piano and high-pitched screech on the music track. I wish I could have had some subtitles.

The story is both simple and complex at the same time, which is part of what works. It’s simple in that it goes in pretty much a straight line, and doesn’t get bogged down in complexity, even as the viewer wonders why something is happening (that will be eventually explained). The complex part is the myriad of characters, including some mandatory red herrings, that get thrown at us to help try to throw us off the track.

Is it a good film? Yes, and an enjoyable way to spend some time if you appreciate this genre. It’s a noble homage to the Italian crime giallo cinema of the 1980s, and it works in style (love the stop frames) and formula. Does it match the likes of Fulci and Argento? Well, my answer to that is, does anyone? As a fan of giallo, I kept finding myself unconsciously nodding when Hatanaka hits the right note, which was often.

Review: Choke

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Choke

Directed by Gregory Hatanaka

CineRidge Entertainment; Cinema Epoch

73 minutes, 2020

https://cinemaepoch.com/

Choking is a fetish I have never understood, but like many other fetishes in films like Fetish Dolls Die Laughing (2012) that cover tickling, bondage, and other sexual sports, they have been creeping into an ever more common sub-genre in the indie scene. Just ask David Carradine (what, too soon?).

Most fetish-related films, if they aren’t comedies, are finger-on-the-side-of-nose to those who enjoy the topic, but Choke takes itself very seriously while drowning in artiness. The art is another fetish – albeit a more stylistic one – that sometimes disguises itself in the ends justifying the means. In other words, while it’s trying to be special, sometimes it can – err – choke on its own petard (yes, I’m mixing metaphors, to be artistic, of course).

Shane Ryan

Brandon (Shane Ryan, who directed 2012’s My Name is ‘A’ By Anonymous, reviewed HERE)  is a possible serial killer who disposes of his (female only) victims by, well, you know. Or does he? Is it real, or is he another Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)?

The film follows his relationship with Jeanie (Sarah Brine; back in the day, this role may have been played by Lauren Ambrose), a 17 year old he meets on a train; jailbait, anyone? Their relationship is interspersed with scenes of his partaking of his life in general (such as visits with his ailing mom) and his hobby. Which parts are real and which are in his imagination are the questions of the day. Perhaps he’s fixating on a past victim, Payton, and creating this fantasy life with her?

Meanwhile, policeman Robert (British actor Scott Butler), who is down and out with both his girlfriend (Bella Cruz) and a prostitute (Jennifer Field), is also having a sado-sexual relationship with his psychologist, Stephanie (scream queen Lisa London), in which he is the M response to her S. But he’s just been given a case of someone found strangled. Wanna guess? The story flips back and forth between the lives of these two twisted men, Brandon and Robert, each significantly damaged in their own way.

Sarah Brine

The set up – and as far as I will go plot-wise – takes almost half the film. At this point it leaves so many questions, just the start of which is who’s lives are real, or just a figment. Is this like the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890; clips of the 1959 television presentation based on this is interspersed throughout) and all in the mind of a person in the moment before they die of asphyxiation? These are just some of the ponderances that were ricocheting through my mind by the halfway mark. But no, I won’t answer any of them; no spoilers.

Scott Butler

One might call this a psychological thriller, and I would be okay with that (as if I had a say), but it really feels like it is trying too hard to make no point. It’s certainly beautiful to look at, but the structure needs a better foundation. For example, there is too much dialog that doesn’t really progress the story by being too vague, or it just seems to go on way too long, such as a motivational speech by a New Age-y snake oil salesman (Sal Landi), who promotes self-choking.

Though the film is relatively short, it feels too padded by throwing montages left and right, as people wander over music (good soundtrack, mostly, though). I’m sure they were trying to show developing relationships, but the point was made, and then made, and then made, all the while the emphasis was on style and the story seems to have been lost in the shuffle toward making “art.”

Lisa London

I appreciate “art” in a film, but not if it takes away from the narrative. That is where the biggest fault lies in the release, in my opinion, that there is not enough story and motivations given to the viewer – even with all the narration, including by characters and over the soundtrack like thought bubbles – to support the foundations on which the zeitgeist and synergy is built. If you’re going to use a loose form, say, like Slaughterhouse Five, it needs to be built on something to stand on, not just float over. I’m not sure I’m making sense. The end results in something that looks good, but its aspirations are lost in its pretentions.

The film isn’t a failure, though if one is looking for a good fetish film or murder spree (both of which are present), it’s like looking through a fog. I see this film as an exercise by the director, to test his stylistic wings in the cinema art. He has been quite prolific, but in this case, I mean, working out some kinks.

Meanwhile, now I have the desire to listen to Detroit-based punk band, Choking Susan.