Shudder Saturday: Paint It Black (2016)

There's nothing inherently wrong with Paint It Black. Nothing that makes it stand out as a terrible film. In fact, I'd say quite the opposite. The cast, the performances, the script, it's all good stuff. Which makes it a shame that I, and many others, end up discovering it on Shudder. Although I am always happy for Shudder to show work that pushes at the boundaries of horror (and they've included a number of Japanese crime movies that aren't really horror at all, but either have moments of horrific violence or simply have that crossover appeal), Paint It Black isn't a film that horror genre fans will enjoy, if they're expecting a horror film. Or even a film with some elements of horror. This is not one of those films.

Alia Shawkat plays Josie, a young woman who ends up rocked by the sudden death of her boyfriend, Michael (Rhys Wakefield). While trying to process her feelings, she ends up at loggerheads with Michael's mother, Meredith (Janet McTeer). Meredith wants to find someone to blame for the death of her son, wants to share memories of him, and wants to prove that she retained a strong bond with him, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

I'll admit that it took me a bit longer than it could have to warm up to Paint It Black. I initially wondered where the horror elements were going to come into play. When I realised that this wasn't a horror movie, not by any stretch of the imagination, I settled into it more easily, enjoying it more for what it was than what I expected it to be.

The first feature directed by Amber Tamblyn (who has been acting onscreen for over two decades now), Paint It Black is an impressively interesting and unique work. Tamblyn also helped to shape the script with Ed Dougherty, adapting the book by Janet Fitch, and she shows a real knack for treating dark drama in a way that is thoughtful, stylish, and a step removed from the norm.

It helps that the cast is so good. Shawkat puts in yet another great performance (when has she ever been bad?) and McTeer attacks her role with gusto, giving and taking the hits in her battle of wills with Shawkat. Wakefield does well enough to make his presence more impactful than it otherwise could have been, Alfred Molina pops up to steal a couple of scenes in a supporting role, and Simon Helberg does exactly the opposite.

Grief is processed by people in many different ways, and that can depend on many different factors. This is what Paint It Black scrutinises, and it's not necessarily saying one person has more right to grieve in their way than any other. Yes, there is one character here who is certainly a villain of the piece (almost a pantomime villain, at points), but things go on longer than they would because of others trying to offer them room to battle through the grieving process in their own way.

This is definitely worth your time, and I'll look forward to whatever Tamblyn does next when she's behind the camera, but you can't go into it expecting a horror movie, or something even containing a hint of the supernatural. That will only lead to disappointment, does a disservice to both the film and the viewer, and may stop you seeing a great little drama for what it is.

7/10

Shudder Saturday: Bliss (2019)

Dora Madison plays Dezzy, a young artist who isn't really in the best place. She isn't making the progress she hoped to be making on her latest piece, she seems to be saddled with a guy (Clive, played by Jeremy Gardner) who is happy to freeload his way along and coast through life, and she's dropped by her agent. But thank goodness for drugs. Dezzy heads to see Hadrian (Graham Skipper) to purchase some recreational mood-enhancer, and she ends up getting some Bliss, which is not to be taken lightly. What follows is a crazy rollercoaster of sex, unconsciousness, productivity, and blood. Quite a lot of blood.

Written and directed by Joe Begos (who impressed a lot of people with his directorial feature debut, Almost Human), Bliss is a very nice pairing of form and content. Viewers are dragged along with Dezzy as her senses are bombarded, with inventive and varied visuals often paired up with a loud and pounding soundtrack. I liked the full audio-visual experience, although it's easy to see how this could end up putting many people off.

What I liked a little less was the lack of specific points that could have been made. I appreciate that is my own thing, and it's unfair to be too critical of a film because of what it isn't when there's a lot to appreciate about what it is, but it held it back from being as great as I wanted it to be. I kept waiting for Bliss to step up to a higher level, but it always seemed poised to make a leap without ever committing. Having said that, Begos certainly pulls out all the stops in the third act, which certainly takes a step up in terms of the wilder moments, the bloodshed, and gore. There's one moment, just beyond the one hour mark, that is absolutely incredible, and major kudos should go to Begos for getting hold of enough resources/talented people to help him complete his vision.

I try not to focus on negatives when it's a film I am being generally supportive of. It's not good to mistake insults and unnecessary nastiness with constructive criticism. With that in mind, I will say that Madison is slightly uneven in the main role, disappointing in the scenes in which she has to act more "normally" opposite people (it feels very much like her attitude, both to others and to her art, is something that doesn't fit right on her), but fun to watch when getting wild and vicious and bloody. Gardner continues to be as impressive an actor as he is as a director (so I will happily watch anything he does), and he's a highlight here. Tru Collins and Rhys Wakefield are a hedonistic couple who help to start Dezzy on her main journey, Skipper is just fine as your friendly neighbourhood drug dealer, and you get some nice little supporting turns from George Wendt, Abraham Benrubi, and Jesse Merlin, as well as some other familiar faces who have become part of a loose collective of impressive artists within the horror community.

I've yet to check out some more of the offerings from Begos so far, after being one of the few people underwhelmed by Almost Human, but I'll hope to change that soon. He certainly isn't afraid to make some bold decisions, and that helps to freshen up a central concept that doesn't really shake up the subgenre it's working in as much as it could. He deserves credit for this singular vision, as does everyone, from cast to crew, who helped him get it all onscreen.

7/10

You can order the disc here.

+1 AKA Plus One (2013)

During the opening scenes of Plus One we see David (Rhys Wakefield) royally screwing things up with his girlfriend, Jill (Ashley Hinshaw). The rest of the movie sees him trying to win her back while attending a party, accompanied by Teddy (Logan Miller) and Allison (Suzanne Dengel, or maybe Alison, played by Colleen Dengel . . . . . . . . apologies for my confusion, I'll explain shortly). The party is a typical American teen party with one or two major differences. First of all, Teddy miraculously manages to charm the gorgeous Melanie (Natalie Hall). Second, it turns out that doppelgangers, slightly delayed in time, are appearing at the party. The doubles suddenly appear, and then continue to carry on in the way that the original people were doing about fifteen minutes previously. But there are times when they disappear, only to reappear again with less time having elapsed between whatever they are up to and whatever their "originals" were just doing.

Did you follow that? If not, don't worry about it. The frustrating thing about Plus One is that it takes an interesting idea and then almost completely wastes it. David takes this strange turn of events as an opportunity to get things right with his apology to Jill, a lot of other people at the party are oblivious to what's going on, and it seems clear that the doppelgangers don't really have any sinister agenda. They just appear, and end up as bemused as the people who discover them.

Director Dennis Iliadis, who also wrote the story that was adapted into movie form by Bill Gullo, has to shoulder most of the blame here. The central idea is such a good one, something that could be developed in any number of ways, but it's completely squandered. Even during the first half hour of the movie, before things become completely clear, there are too many moments that stand out as cues to be used later in the movie. You know when things aren't just signposted, but planted right in the middle of everything else and allowed to flash in the brightest neon colours?

And that wasted opportunity is felt all the more because, well, the rest of the movie looks good and most of the cast do a good job, even while they're being ill-served by the script. Wakefield and Hinshaw may be the nominal leads, and they do well, but their characters are hard to care about. Miller and Hall, on the other hand, are much more fun to spend time with, thanks to their warm humour and the sheer gorgeousness of Hall. Left on her own during much of the movie, Miss Dengel (be it Suzanne or Colleen) does a great job as the calm centre, the one individual who feels comfortable enough to just see how everything plays out.

Plus One is worth a watch, mainly because of one or two ideas almost buried by their mishandling, but it's not one to prioritise above many other, far more interesting, sci-fi movies from the past few years.


6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Plus-One-1-Rhys-Wakefield/dp/B00FUABIQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390493846&sr=8-1&keywords=plus+one