IFC Midnight
2015 Color
101 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Chloe Sevigny, Timothy Hutton Taryn Manning, Natasha Lyonne, Balthazar Getty, Sadie Seelert, Haley Murphy, Bridget McGarry and Emma Adler star.
Written and Directed by Tara Subkoff
Rated R for language, violence, gore and sexuality.
The debut feature of Tara Subkoff has received a lot of bad buzz undeservedly so in my opinion. #Horror isn't a perfect film, it isn't even a great one but it's aspirations are insightful and more prevalent than ever. The film centers around a group of very mean young girls who meet up at one their houses to hang out. At first it's fun games of dress up and gossip with spiteful comments here and there. It soon turns into an all out attack on each other's psyches as their threats and insults become more aggressive. All the while people are seemingly being murdered on the premise and they'e been abandoned by the girl's self serving smarmy mother played deliciously by Sevigny and than one by one they start to disappear. The film is executed in an overly chaotic fashion with unnecessary quick edits and flashy visuals. Subkoff chooses a lot of the touches because they look good and don't really serve a purpose. At times the film can be confusing but running throughout is an intriguing social commentary about youth and their disconnection from society and each other as well as the parenting that has a hand in making them the way they are. Not all of it works and when it does it can feel slightly convoluted but the performances are mostly impressive and the film is shot with a unique visual pizzazz. Subkoff hasn't fashioned a perfect genre piece and if 'm being honest it's more of a thriller than a horror movie with most of it's run time falling into the dramatic zone. But it is an impressive first feature from a film maker who needs more control but has a viewpoint worth exploring. ***.5/5
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