Dir - Joe Begos
Overall: GOOD
The second of three films to be released in the last four years titled Bliss is another in a stream of horror entries for filmmaker Joe Begos. Though its protagonist is detrimentally unlikable, (not the performance from Dora Madison but the character herself), and it is rather difficult if not outright impossible to feel sympathy for anyone else on screen either, the movie gets by with a heaping amount of style. Seedy, sleazy, coked-out, and ultra-violent, it takes a uniquely over the top approach to its subject matter of the abandonment of the soul through barbaric drug use and artistic frustration. By using such things as mounted cameras, striking and dark purples, reds, and blues, seizure-inducing editing, surreal visuals, and a soundtrack that blends doom metal, punk rock, retro 80s horror synths, Eric Clapton-esque Lethal Weapon guitar solos, and eerie atmospherics, it is consistently feverish. Since it is low on actual story, unfortunately it becomes one-note after awhile with people screaming the word "Fuck" every three seconds and spastic, loud, gooey blood spewing everywhere. That said, such extremities do enhance the mania and it works as a grandiose nightmare above anything else.
Dir - Rose Glass
Overall: GOOD
Another in a current line of powerful, challenging, intellectually potent debut horror films being made, British writer/director Rose Glass' Saint Maud takes a highly atmospheric approach to a story centered around the co-existence of religious fanaticism and schizophrenia. From the slow, opening shot and unsettling, ambient sound design, Glass structures a simmering, dreadful mood. Spending the entire movie in the very disturbed psyche of the title character, (played fantastically by Welsh actress Morfydd Clark), who narrates her direct communication with god, things become increasingly concerning as the tole and struggles of her self-maintained, nomadic lifestyle grows disturbingly unhinged. The conservatively used horror genre tactics almost seem unnecessary not just because Glass hardly bothers with them in the first place, but also because the psychological aspects unfold very slowly and offer up a far more eerie picture than one or two creepy CGI face morphs or loud jolts on the soundtrack. The story is clear cut enough that there is not much to decipher as far as what is real or not, but as a character study for such ominous neurosis, it is quite fascinating and artfully done.
Dir - Matt Bettinelli-Olpin/Tyler Gillett
Overall: GOOD
The team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from Radio Silence fame comparatively improve upon their full-length, rather lousy debut Devil's Due with Ready or Not. While the script from Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy is not the tightest in the world and some of the humor does not quite land, it has a goofy charm that carries it through most of the way. The premise, though flimsy, does lend itself to some amusing, violent mayhem due to the filmmakers and cast not taking anything very seriously. As the movie's version of a final girl of sorts, Samara Weaving is charming and sympathetic, which is necessary to make the rest of the film's flaws more forgiving. Just when things seems to get too darkly serious and emotional, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett usually find a way to swing it all back around, never completely losing the objective to take the piss out of upper-class self-importance and "tradition and family over everything" type nonsensical thinking. As a whole, it is certainly imperfect, but the multitude of clever moments that hit their mark are probably enough in number to suffice.
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