Indie – Page 18 – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“Zola”

By Brett_G on July 11, 2021

5.8

Not what I expected from A24. Or really from a stripper movie. This was dumber than “Showgirls,” and that’s saying something. I guess the lesson here is don’t ever base a movie script off a chain of tweet and reddit threads. I don’t even think they re-wrote and polished them. Just printed screenshots and ran with it.

Another valuable lesson – don’t go to Florida with a stripper you just met to go dance. Especially when she travels with a duo of… questionable men.

I’ll fully admit that I may have missed some deeper meaning here, but I also feel almost as resentfully confused as I was walking out of “Uncut Gems.” Also slightly offended? Let’s just say I have new frown lines and almost lost my voice yelling “WTF?!?” at the screen throughout the runtime. (Don’t worry, I was the only one in the theater)

Horror/Thriller Indie

“Inside”

By Brett_G on June 14, 2021June 13, 2021

7.5

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?!

^Me through most of this movie.

Solid recommendation on this one! A super-tight claustrophobic thriller that kept up its believability and tension the entire runtime. Where most will stumble with minor details, this film doesn’t lose itself in becoming too crazy or too over the top. Similar to “The Strangers,” it invades your safe space and leaves you deeply disturbed despite the momentary victorious comfort at the close of the finale. The crime statistics at the beginning of the film perfectly set the tone for what’s to come. (It’s insane that this is a thing.) Well written, well acted, well put together. Well worth an hour and a half.

Horror/Thriller Indie

“Censor”

By Brett_G on June 13, 2021June 13, 2021

8.7

“Horror is already out there, in all of us.”

File this one alongside “Midsommar,” “It Follows,” and “Hereditary.” The originality and intelligence on display here are off the charts!

From the score to the cinematography, everything is as razor-sharp and as detail-oriented as Enid’s discretion as a member of the British Film Ratings Board. There are so many clues in the dialogue and scenes that this shouldn’t have caught me by surprise as strongly as it did, but nonetheless, I was left in a daze by the finale. This is not your traditional slasher-thriller, though it might play off of many of the same tropes and allegories.

This film perfectly encapsulates what I love most about the genre. Great films help us contextualize and process things in our world that we may have difficulty approaching traditionally. The irony in Enid being a film rating specialist who becomes numb to the violence she witnesses and suppresses, similar to the trauma in her real-life being her downfall, was superb. The very thing she is trying to save others from becomes the thing she can’t keep herself from. As I said earlier, there are many verbal and visual clues along the way in this film that come full circle. Some even in the trailer. My jaw still dropped multiple times.

Processing of disbelief aside, I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for something out of the ordinary and thought provoking. It’s not the scariest, it’s not the bloodiest, but it is so perfectly crafted that you can’t help but appreciate the art at its highest form on the silver screen.

Indie Suspense/Thriller

“Profile”

By Brett_G on May 23, 2021May 23, 2021

6.2

Entertaining enough, but fell flat in the end. I and the rest of row B spent most of the third act laughing at the stupidity of the reporter’s actions. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Hundreds of lessons of “what not to do” in the realm of personal security. Especially if you’re catfishing a terrorist. Like, come on!

Technically speaking, I understand why they chose this format for the film, but the screen capture genre seems to have met an appropriately timely death. It had a great deal of novelty in early indie horror films but now feels like it’s a cheap gimmick used to trim the budget of a poorly written project. The sleight of hand doesn’t cover for a story you won’t want to believe is based on a true story by the end. It’s similar to watching a video of a bullfighter being gored by a bull… We in row B left with a feeling of “what did you think was going to happen?”

Drama Indie

“Dream Horse”