Why So Blu?

Encapsulated Movie Reviews – Nine New Indie Titles

Trying to do my critical part during this time of quarantine and no open theaters, I thought it proper to take a gander at the wave of indie flicks hitting home for those in need of some good movie comfort.  And despite the lack of current productions, there are still a massive amount of movies hitting various services to help those with a hankering for their film fix.  I weed through a whopping nine titles, from well-woven dramas about father and daughters to horror outings set down under, I brave a batch of nine hopefuls to give you the skinny on what’s hot and not.  Check out the Encapsulated Movie Reviews for Guest of Honour, YES, GOD, YES, Relic, Two Heads Creek, We Are Little Zombies, Parallax, All Hail The Popcorn King, The Beach House and Superhuman: The Invisible Made Visible below!

GUEST OF HONOUR
(Kino Marquee)

Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan heads back into much welcomed rich emotional territory with this tale of a stern food inspector and his incarcerated daughter.  Like any Egoyan outing worth it’s salt this one peels back the story and characters like the layers of an onion that can make one cry – very, very slowly.  Plus matched with a career best performance by lead man David Thewlis as the wrestling with life lead examiner firmly and undeniably makes the viewer the real guest of honour.

YES, GOD, YES
(Vertical Entertainment)

Occupying an interesting place somewhere between drama and comedy what makes YES, GOD, YES so engaging is when the film dares to feel real.  A journey of a young teen girl who must wade through religious waters all the while having natural budding sexual feelings works best when real life situations are explored head on and writer/director Karen Maine pulls no punches in her very entertaining execution.  But the films’ biggest saving grace is the standout performance by Stranger Things alum Natalia Dyer as the confused and guilty Alice – not matter what the moment Dyer delights.

RELIC
(IFC Midnight)

Unnerving and steeped in a menacing mood, Relic scores much more on tone than story.  Meaning this first film from filmmaker Natalie Erika James that deals with three generations of women – a daughter, mother and grandmother – and tackles everything from dark dementia to haunted houses plays best when atmosphere is front and center.  An interesting director to watch for, James does have a flair for the frightening.

TWO HEADS CREEK
(The Horror Collective)

A horror comedy with more quirks than quivers, this story of a brother and sister who head to a small wacky town in Australia in search of their birth mother is entertaining enough – think Shaun of the Dead light.  Not that there isn’t enough blood and guts to satisfy the gore crowd, as this one gives even early Sam Raimi as run for his macabre money, but this one shines brightest when colorful characters strut their stuff.

WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES
(Oscilloscope Laboratories)

An odd egg that owes more to Edgar Wright than George Romero, the zombies in question here are four kids who find themselves orphaned and utterly unemotional about it.  The films’ stylish visual eye candy and kinetic pace via helmer Makoto Nagahisa is notable for sure, but paired alongside a familiar rags to riches morality play its blatant overuse will make even those who felt The Blair Witch Project was too jumpy yearn for the days of shaky cam.  Nagahisa is one visually daring filmmaker no doubt, but he’s a free spirit in need of a little stability.

PARALLAX
(The Primal Group)

A flick that begins decent enough dealing with dementia, then moves to time travel and finally a third act that comes out of nowhere, Parallax is not unlike the mind of the lead character – all over the place.  Not that all three avenues don’t have their own interesting bits (the jumps through paintings to different settings is trippy!) or players (actress Naomi Prentice can hold the viewer with merely her mesmerizing gaze!), but writer/director Michael Bachochin moves at a snails pace and over complexity reigns making it tough for even the most engaged viewer to come along for the ride.  A drug trip with much requisite euphoria, Parallax has a knotty narrative that’s hard to enjoy.

ALL HAIL THE POPCORN KING
(Squee! Projects)

Hailed as the most well known unknown author, genre novelist Joe R. Lansdale is the subject of this doc that feels more like a love letter to him than about him.  Not that we don’t learn some interesting tidbits about the man behind such work as Hap and Leonard, Cold in July and personal favorite Bubba Ho-Tep, but there are seemingly more fans stories then first person ones.  So while the causal fan should appreciate King, those looking for a deeper dissection will have to do it themselves.

THE BEACH HOUSE
(Shudder)

Grim and altogether unfun flick about two young adults who head for a beach house and things go seriously awry.  Confusing story directions (is the enemy a water or air based contagion?!), missed opportunities (why make the lead gal a smart budding scientist who specializes in the current disaster conditions…and not use it to full advantage?!) and gore just it’s own sake (what does a long worm in the foot have to do with tainted fog?!) makes this ill timed tale one to skip – a sunny vacation to the beach this ain’t.

SUPERHUMAN: THE INVISIBLE MADE VISIBLE
(1091)

While this doc proclaims to “provide tangible evidence and real-life examples for the power of the human mind over matter” there’s a serious lack of “wow” moments within.  Besides between dull scientists citing obvious evidence and coincidence riddled consciousness experiments (“look lights – I wrote down lights!”) Superhuman frankly just isn’t all that super.  (Even guest Corey Feldman looks dubious!)  Far from mildly entertaining days of Pageant Wagons and slight of hand showmanship, there’s not so much nothing to see here, just nothing you’d want to see.