A couple of recent indie horror films, to wash away the lingering funk of how bad Beyond the Gates still remains!
The Eyes of My Mother: Just a wholesome story of a young woman that has to take care of the farm all by herself! While that's not entirely inaccurate, one must mention that it is through the lens of a horror film, and specifically that of the arthouse variety. That's generally shorthand for "in black and white, has subtitles for a foreign language and is generally disturbing for what it doesn't show rather than what it does," which this film follows to a T. It's far from being predictable, though, which is the biggest reason why the film is compelling to watch. The film could almost be described as politely unpleasant, which helps give it a eerie power of nontraditional suspense as it relies more on the knowledge of the situation being bad and wondering how much worse it could actually get from there. With crisp photography and a kind of restraint on how much it's willing to show visually, it certainly looks the part and plays it well, but to what end? That's my biggest problem with this, as it doesn't really have a lot of depth to it that could have given it the potential to really bore in and stay with you longer than the jolts it provides. It's a weird situation where it doesn't have a quality problem per se, but one gets the sense that the sheer quantity is present because the filmmakers were aware that what they're working with was a bit on the thin side and didn't have the time or the money to keep it in the oven longer for a bigger impact. As it stands, it definitely disturbs and feels like what hopefully pans out as an emerging talent to watch, both in front of and behind the camera, but even a little bit more substance could have gone a long way.
Prevenge: While she's better known for her more outright comedic roles, it's hard not see Alice Lowe finding a different set of inspiration for her directorial debut from one of her other collaborators in Ben Wheatley. While this is a bit kinder and gentler, this film nevertheless exhibits the same kind of cutting dark humor sprinkled every so often with bouts of ultraviolence and atmospheric unease delivered through a nice editing rhythm that you'd normally find in Wheatley's output. Don't call it a ripoff, though: with the unique perspective here, aided by Lowe's real life pregnancy at the time, the direction takes a nice turn with the focus on the normal hazards of pregnancy that stand to get in the way of all the slashing, with Lowe writing some delicious barbs that she delivers about as perfectly as you could ask for. The one-woman-show here is impressive on its own merits, but that it also feels so confident makes for a surprisingly satisfying feature debut. It's frequently hilarious while also not downplaying the grimness of the subject matter, and for a premise that relies on believing that a woman is being broadcast murderous intentions by her unborn child, it never gets to be too audacious to feel like it goes too far. The ending does perhaps feel a bit rushed given the momentum it's been building up, but it's not too grave an error to come anywhere close to sinking the film. Who knows when Lowe will get the chance to mount another spotlight like this again, but I'll definitely be there to eagerly anticipate it.