Review: Jug Face

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet

                            

Jug Face
Written and directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle. 
81 minutes, 2013
www.jugfacethemovie.com
www.Moderncine.com
www.Werenewco.com
www.moderndistrib.
www.MVDvisual.com

This film has had quite a number of festival selections, won some awards, and is listed on quite a number of Top 10 lists of the year. I can certainly understand that, as the acting is superb, the direction well handled, the tension palpable and the story is engaging through most of it. But for some reason it left me cold.

In the deep backwoods of Tennessee, there is an ancient creature living in a relatively shallow hole in the ground (called “the pit”) that has a few inches of water in it that trades good health in exchange for a sacrifice of its choosing, in a relationship similar to the Morlocks and Eloi. Whoever’s face appears on a potter’s jug (inspired by the unnamed being), they must have their throat cut and the blood spills down into the hole, satisfying the bloodlust until the next jug face.

We meet Amy (Lauren Ashely Carter, looking younger than her years), who is a teenager in trouble in many ways, including an affair with someone close to her, a friendship with a much older man (the potter, played excellently by Sean Bridges with just the right amount of pathos and innocence), promised to a rotund and boring neighbor nearer to her age, is pregnant (it says it right on the box, so I’m not giving anything away) in a society that demands virginity, and now she had found out she’s the next jug face. To make matters worse, if that’s possible, she’s stolen the jug before anyone sees it, causing death in her wake.

Because the thing in “the pit wants what it wants,” the community will do whatever it takes to keep it satisfied, due to its “taking” others until its chosen wants are met. On top of that, those who die by its hand that have not been chosen are cursed to wander the woods for eternity.

This sounds like it could be a hoot, but it fails in my opinion. Why? For many reasons, not all of which I will tell because of giving away too much, but here are some thoughts. The tentacle being, which we only see in extremely quick edits and blurs of motion – to keep the suspense, I’m sure, but c’mon – is supposed to be a religion of sorts, perhaps being an analogy of the fanaticism of those who follow Jeebus, in some way. Well, with the exception of what was written and rewritten and transcribed and rewritten and transcribed, religion is based solely on faith that something had happened a long time ago, can happen now, or will happen at a later point. The being in the hole, however, is now and visceral, its effects immediate and destruction by its figurative hands a real consequence. This is not religion, because there is no faith in the unknown. It’s desires are made known and you damn well better obey.

Due to this, I wonder why this community is committed to keeping its number small. I mean, the more who live there, the better the odds of survival. If you live in a community of 20 and every couple of years someone has to go, well, I don’t like the odds. Why they don’t all leave is another question. Is it a matter of “my land, my honor”? Screw that. If there was a creature living on my block that demanded that someone from the block has to be fed to it, well, I’m not staying in that neighborhood, never mind the city. It defies logic to me.

Everyone in the area treats every day like its normal. I’d be shitting bricks wondering if it was me, my partner, or my kids who were next. In a community that small, I would be heartbroken if anyone was chosen. These people are poor as dirt, Amy’s father sells moonshine to store owner in town to make any money.

Perhaps I’m reading this wrong. Maybe it’s not about religion, but politics. I mean, poor people – especially in the deep south, it seems – tend to vote against their own best interests (i.e., Republican) so maybe it makes sense they would stay around, even if it means the possibility of self-harm. That could be why I was so frustrated by the relationships in the film.

There are some decent gore applications, including a dismembered hand here, an unconnected intestine there, and especially some throat slicing, but much of the action is a whirl of motion and editing that leaves much of the actual attacks as wanting, for me.

Lastly, I found the ending to be unsatisfying, and an easy out. I’m not going to say what it is, but surely there could have been a more going against the grain, rather than… well, what it is.

As a side note, I think it’s cool that the central character’s parents are played by Larry Fessennden and a frumpy looking Sean Young, who also played the parents of the central character in the 2005 film, Headspace (reviewed HERE).

As for the extras, there is an interesting albeit standard “making of” documentary that lasts for 30 minutes so you get to hear the origins and meet the cast / crew, the trailer, and a short written and directed by Kinkle called “Organ Grinder.” That was fun, even in its six-minute length.

Pay attention to what I say, or listen to the others, it’s all good. I have no ego in this, as it’s not my film. Considering that more have liked it than I have, it may be worth your checking it out. Actually, listen to no one and make your own choices, unlike the people in this film.

 

Review: Headspace: Director’s Cut

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2012

Images from the Internet

                            

Headspace: Director’s Cut

Directed by Andrew van den Houten                    

Modern Cine, 2005 / 2012

84 minutes, USD $14.95   

moderncine.com

MVDvisual.com

As this film shows, it’s not who you know, it’s where you go to film school. Put together by recent New York University film school grads, it is absolutely astounding the sheer level of talent that is present in this production.

But first, let me step back. The director is one Andrew van den Houten (I thought the Dutch were chased outta New York in 1674?*), who started as a director (he looks like he’s about 12 in his cameo as an EMT), and is currently a producer who runs Modern Cine, helping others who choose to direct (including some of the actors here).

Starting in a small-town, we see an idyllic family as they celebrate one of two pre-tween brothers’ birthday. From here, thing turn strange to ugly very quickly, resulting in one of the best effects in the film, and there are many.

From there we head off to New Amsterda… I mean New York in the present (well, 2005, anyway), where we meet handsome and shy Alex, the protagonist of the story (not counting in a brief prologue, making all of this either a backflash, or a backflash within a backflash). Alex’s job is house-sitting (in my head, I hear a Yiddish accent asking, “Nu? From this he makes a living?”), giving him time to roam around the city. Newcomer Christopher Denham (who has since appeared in the likes of Shutter Island and Sound of My Voice) plays Alex at first with a bit of awe and shyness, and then towards the end of the film with, well, some froth and madness. He’ll really powerful as an actor, with a wide range.

Also strong and a newcomer as well, is Erick Kastel, as Harry, who uses the money the makes as a chess shark to fund his paintings. As with Alex, who he casually meets in a park while playing the master’s game, he goes from a bit bitter yet together, to completely manic as time and events progress. When Erick and Christopher work together, they feed off each other’s energies and make a really powerful team. Their scenes together are especially fun.

One of the main motifs of this film is whether it is monsters of the mind (they play with possible substance abuse or schizophrenia) or demons of the pit , making them both possible or improbably. This also leads to one of the questions I have about the film, being does bleeding lead to you being attacked by creatures, or does it turn you into one? Or perhaps it could go either way, and if so, what makes the choice? This comes across as a hole in the story for me, but it is not enough to put a dent in its strength. Though I also need to say I say that while the final “shock” came as no surprise at all, it was fun nonetheless.

Now, about those guest stars… One of the first scenes (though the last one filmed, apparently) has Catwoman wannabe Sean Young as the nice mom of the brothers. Yep, the Blade Runner’s squeeze (1982). And, of course, she does a great job with the little time she’s onscreen. Glad she’s back in action.

In the story, for some reason, a page is taken from Phenomenon (1996), and Alex gets headaches and starts becoming smarter in increasing degrees. After passing out, he is sent to a series of doctors, each with their own increasingly physical to metaphysical agendas. We start of with the first pair of neurologists in a hospital: one is played by Dee Wallace (Stone), more famously known as the lead in the classic The Howling (1981; a publicity still of her and real-life late husband Christopher Stone from that film is framed on the wall of her character’s office) and as E.T.’s “mom” (1982). It’s always good to see her as she has such a naturalistic acting style. The other doctor is William Atherton, most famously (infamously?) known as Walter Peck, the officious idjit-stick who shuts down the grid in Ghostbusters (1984; I do hope he embraces the often-used reference, because he helped make that movie the hit it was). They both bring a level of legitimacy to this nearly-student film.

When nothing can be found with the neurologists, Alex then gets directed to a spiritualist-based psychiatrist played by Olivia Hussey. Now, any straight male my age most likely had some level of crush on her when she starred as the lead in Romeo and Juliet (1968).  Sadly, she goes through the film looking like she’s in a confused daze, with eyebrows knit and a blank expression on her face. She’s a much better actor than she lets on here, but it’s still great to see her and I am certainly glad she accepted the role.

Then, of course, there is Udo Kier as a priest in a small, yet pivotal role. Supposedly, he was asked to play one of the neurologists, but thought the priest would be more fun, and he was right. Now, Kier is – and never has been – a great actor, but he is always fun to watch, even going back to the Andy Warhol versions of Frankenstein (1973) and Dracula (1974). I think I can say quite honestly that I would rather watch Udo do some scenery chewing than, say, Leonardo DeCaprio’s arguably top-notch acting. And Udo’s in fine, bloody form here. I stand to salute you.

Now that I’m sitting again, I’d also like to mention, while we’re talking talent, Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays an incidental role (and the only female nudity, which is stunning), but shows she has some chops by stealing many of the scenes she’s in; I’m looking forward to see her star turn in another Modern Cine release, The Woman (2012) at some point. The trailer for this film and others from this company is included in the extras.

Let’s get back to Headspace. It isn’t just the star power that makes this such a watchable film, it’s the entire zeitgeist. But you’re asking yourself, how are the effects? Nearly all of them are prosthetics (there are exactly two quick CGI shots), and the feature is certainly the better for it. Sure the blood is juuuuust a bit too thick and dark, and the creatures look a bit like people in rubber suits (something I know they were trying to avoid by the commentary) covered in slime, but most of the look of gore, make-up and FX is totally enjoyable, especially the first big set piece, as I said earlier.

 There are a number of good extra features here. Usually when there is more than one commentary track, I think, oh, great, that’s 4 hours I have to spend with a film. However, they are both worthwhile, I’m happy to say, to hear process, some exposition, and many other annecdotes of dealing with the star cast. Then there is the choice of captioning (I usually like to turn it on, for some reason), an Edited, Extended Scenes and Alternate Takes segment (though I understand why most of it was removed, it helped clear up some storyline questions), and a selection of FX photos. And…

There are two documentary featurettes attached, at about 20 minutes each. The first is called “Fractured Skulls: The Making of Headspace,” which was filmed at the time of creation and is enjoyable from beginning to end. The second is “Headspace Revisited,” where director van den Houten and star Christopher Denham meet up in 2012 and sit in a park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where some scenes were shot. They discuss windmills… I mean reminisce about the shoot through a rearview mirror, with hindsight. While not as appealing as the first feature, it is still interesting enough to sit all the way through it.

Usually when graduate film students try to take themselves seriously, they fall flat on their faces (though sometimes it’s worse when they try to do a comedy). Not this troupe. This film has rightfully won a bunch of film festival awards, and it’s no doubt in my mind why.

* That’s a joke