Review: DIS

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet

DIS

Written and directed by Adrian Corona
1922 Films / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual
61 minutes, 2017 / 2019
www.facebook.com/Disthemovie/
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com

Sometimes, ya just feel like watching a film of mindless murderous mayhem, which is all well and good, and other times you may want to dig deeper for something a bit thoughtful and arty. DIS falls into the latter category; it is dark and gloomy, with very little dialogue.

The basic premise is that there is a demonish creature called the Mandragora, who uses the seed of murders (be it semen or vaginal fluids) to feed a mandrake garden. The mandrake, mentioned in the Bible a couple of times, is also a plant used in classical witchcraft stories as it is a hallucinogen, though poisonous.

Into our story comes Ariel (Bill Oberst, Jr.) an ex-soldier who has a mysterious and not so kind past, who has run away to a forest (shot on a mountain top in Veracruz, Mexico). Along the way he stumbles into a deserted and graffiti-filled building (an old asylum in real life) that is merely a shell of its former self. Here he runs into two equally shadowy and masked figures, a bare-breasted woman and a man in a… I want to say tuxedo, with a red sash, possibly evoking a knife slash.

Soon, Ariel is captured and chained to a wall where he is fed some disgusting meat, and has both blood and semen drawn out to feed said garden. He is tortured along the way, though this is not actually a very gory film, despite the occasional signs of blood. Mostly it’s the uncomfortableness of the viewer to the situations, including scary looking needles and masturbation.

The surroundings are stark and dark, as is the mood, and the dialog is infrequent (the first spoken works are 20 minutes or so in, in a black-and-white flashback segment). Of course, Oberst is up for the task of pure pain and emotion, being one of the best character actors around; he’s generally a critic’s choice for actors, especially in the indie film game. He is the central figure in nearly every scene after the prologue.

Most of the color saturation has been sucked out of the picture, giving it a dull tone that is perfect for the mood. Even with characters on the screen, the feeling is one of loneliness and sorrow, giving the viewer hints of where this is all taking place (I surmised it out pretty fast), and to some extent why it is all happening to our protagonist.

There are some nice extras on the Blu-ray, such as an intense, 2-minute introduction by the director who stares right at the camera. The sound is a bit low, that but’s what volume control is for anyway, right? Included is the short film, “Portrait,” which unfortunately I could not get to play, be it a problem with my player or the disc. After that is a “Making Of,” consisting of three short behind the scenes of particular – err – scenes. Next is a Photo Gallery of 37 pictures, nearly all from, again, behind the scenes, which I always find more interesting than just screen shots of the film itself. Lastly is an interview with Oberst, seemingly shot by himself.

Creepy as all hell, but not scary in a jump scare kind of way, the film is more about the feeling of despair and inevitability for the characters. Oberst’s scream in one part is harrowing, for example. And as Oberst says in his interview segment in the extras, the scope is vague, whether it’s in his head or reality, and where it all is taking place. The picture is short, if not sweet, but it’s a beauty to watch.

 

Review: Dark Vale

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

  

Dark Vale

Written and directed by Jason M.J. Brown

Wild Eye Releasing / MVD Visual

90 minutes, 2017 / 2018

www.wildeyereleasing.com

www.mvdvisual.com

Let me start off with the obvious, in case there are any questions: this British film is not the video game, and has no relation to it. Honestly, I’ve never played the game, but now I have seen the film, so let’s move along.

In our household, we tend to watch a lot of British television mysteries. In England, they have a different sense of the temporal, such as with literature such as Dickens, which has a history of an author being paid by the word rather by action. It could take a whole paragraph for someone to open a door (for example, it could be “He reached for the door knob, his hand hesitating over the round globe of metal. The coldness on his hand felt like…” etc.; that kinda thing). Of course, this isn’t true of everything from the Isles, as with films such as 28 Days Later... (2002) that is at Mach 10, but generally things take a bit longer there, and I believe it is culturally expected to be that way.

For a non-Brit who is used to Americanized MTV speed editing and shorter attention spans, this can be an issue, something for which I am occasionally guilty as well. This film is closer to the Dickens than the music video in its pacing.

Darren Randall

It’s also a much smaller film in scope of cast. While there are other, peripheral characters that pop in and out occasionally, especially in the mandatory and in this case gratefully expository prologue, this is essentially a two-and-a-half person cast. The main protagonists are a couple, Leah (Cara Middleton – no relation to Kate, I assume, though she does bear a resemblance to Indian actress Priety Zinta) and Tom (Darren Randall); the “half” is the seen-in-spurts murderous ghost of Lady Lucy (Chloe Clarke).

The first third of the film is the audience getting to “know” the couple who have been together for a while, but only now just talking about moving in together. They go on a vacation, and on the way back, their car breaks down on a backwoods road in… The Vale (da da-da-DA) of the title. They walk to the house down the road and start going through stuff, and when they hear footsteps in the hall, they hide. Wait, what? If I was in someone’s house, especially if I didn’t know them, (a) I would call out asking if anyone was there, (b), I would not go through their possessions, and (c) if I heard footsteps I would check to see if it was the owner, not go slinking under furniture, especially if I didn’t know the Lady Lucy legend. This felt either disingenuous to me at least, fookin’ rude at most. But what do I know; I live in Canada, eh?

The ssssssllllllloooooowwwww pace (note that this is an observation, not a complaint) gives the viewer a chance to think about what is happening and to notice small things. For example, Ben walks into a cathedral and the candles blink on. It’s obvious to tell, however, that the film is just shown backwards due to the wafting candle smoke going downward. Still, a nice and easy way to get a decent effect.

I’m tempted to call the film arty, and on some level it is, but it is not so overpowering that it gets in the way to make the film obtuse. Don’t get me wrong, I have some issues with the it, which is far from perfect, and I’ll get into that a bit more in a mo, but the level of art actually aides in the texture and mood of the film, especially considering it appears to be all shot on a single camera. I do believe this is what one might call an old fashioned gothic ghost story, rather than an Insidious style of shock-a-thon.

The plot borrows liberally from the likes of Wuthering Heights and the first season of “American Horror Story.” And like Cathy and Heathcliff, Leah is annoyingly needy and whiny, and Tom is overly macho and overbearing. Perhaps there’s a bit of Lost, too, if The Vale is some kind of purgatory?

Thing is, by the end I had, in the words of a character from the TV show “Girls,” so many follow-up questions, even trivial ones that built up in their mere volume, such as (and I’m trying to pick some that won’t be spoilers) how does a light, tan backpack stay clean after years of use; who stocked the basement with that much food and tea candles; and how did they manage to get out when our protagonists are stuck there for years? And why would a ghost be scared of fire when it had nothing to do with her death? And why did Tom only run into that guy who gave him instructions once? And why would the footprints be seen walking towards the flour spread on the ground rather than from? And how could a walkie-talkie or mobile phone still be charged after an extended period? I could go on for a couple of more paragraphs.

Cara Middleton

Perhaps my post-graduate education has failed me, but I just don’t get so much of this. Maybe it’s artier that it appears and I’m getting lost in the zeitgeist of the whole enchilada? There are successes as I can see in that it is atmospheric and with rare exception, it’s pretty gray other than the occasionally sunny day, which stands out for that reason

As for the nitty gritty for those interested, there is almost no blood, a small body count, and no shots of naughty bits, which isn’t necessary to keep my attention, but for those who keep track, well, there ya go. Actually, considering the use of mood, having those elements may actually take away what they are going for in the long run, and I believe it was the right choice on all accounts.

Along with a whole bunch of trailers (including for this film) that have the general theme of people going to a building where there are malevolent ghosts, there are two other extras. One is a 28:17 “Making Of” which is essentially the setting up of shots, with any real interview with cast members (Randall and Clarke) starting at 13:00 and lasting the most interesting 3 minutes of the piece. It is, however, the only chance to get a decent view of what Clarke looks like, even if under the white pancake make-up and a veil.

Last up is the full length director’s commentary, including Randall and executive producer Martin Farmilo. It’s okay, nothing very earthshaking, but some good stories about the personalities, the shooting, some explaining what you’re looking at, and a bit of self-backslapping; though personally, I would have liked to hear more about motivations of actions onscreen.

The film looks good, and there are some smart moments, such as Leah walking around in the dark with a lantern where you can only see her and the light, and rather than popping in the ghost where you expect it, they hold off. That’s a wise choice, of which there are quite a few. This has gotten some really nice reviews, but overall I was hoping for a bit more, I guess. Not a bad film, but there are a few gaps in thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mppQaTp3P0