#Horror (2015)

The Trailer:

Director: Tara Subkoff
Writer: Tara Subkoff
Cast: Sadie Seelert, Bridget McGarry, Blue Lindeberg, Mina Sundwall, Emma Adler, Haley Murphy, Chloë Sevigny, & Timothy Hutton
Plot Summary: A group of adolescent girls— Sam (Sadie Seelert), Ava (Blue Lindeberg), Francesca (Mina Sundwall), Georgie (Emma Adler), and Cat (Haley Murphy)— are celebrating their friend Sophia's (Bridget McGarry) birthday at her grand, art-filled house. Between Sophia's mother, Alex (Chloë Sevigny), being careless in her parenting as she's more concerned with her own issues and Cat's father, Dr. Michael White (Timothy Hutton), with his maniacal calmness, there isn't a lot of stable parental guidance at hand for these young girls. And as the night wears on and the girls become more detached from the world outside the large emptiness of the house, it is clear that something isn't right.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that #Horror is some cinematic horror masterpiece, because it's not. This film suffers from a few issues, but had it not it really could've been a modern horror classic. There is so much potential here and it's so disheartening that it just couldn't quite reach greatness. The acting is superb, the cinematography is haunting, and the setting (the house) is a character all its own. The only problem (and it's kind of a big problem) is how it is all constructed.

The young actors we see are impressively fantastic. They hold their own up against the heavy weights of the film: Chloë Sevigny and Timothy Hutton. The young girls are the callous stars of #Horror. Perhaps it is because they are so young and malleable that they can be directed so easily or whether they each possess a natural talent, I don't know, but they each have a moment that is theirs alone to shine through. To talk about each of them individually would be too much and mostly repetitive. What I have to say about one is nearly the same as what I have to say about another, so I won't bore you with details about each of them. Collectively, they accurately and genuinely portray innocence and sweetness yet are stained with brutal adolescent cruelty. Each of them possess this weird dichotomy of opposing characteristics. At one moment they are compassionate, protective of one another, and devoted to their friendship: the picture of girl empowerment. And then in another instant they are tearing each other to shreds; their words are spiked with venom, they force each other's insecurities to the surface in order to crush their spirit, they single one girl out and gang up on her. It's madness that is totally jarring to watch, yet, while a bit exaggerated, a mirror to the cold reality of adolescence. Which, especially prominent here in this film, has only been amplified with the advent of the internet and the consequential birth of cyber-bullying (we'll get back to this idea later). Each of their abilities to portray, and most probably draw from their own lives, the struggles of being a teenage girl in this social media driven society we currently reside in is beyond believable. They each give a jarringly potent performance. I definitely believe that each of these girls will have a soaring career and we should definitely all look out for future films featuring them.

As you may or may not know, I am a total sucker for a visually striking cinematic experiences... In other words, great cinematography. #Horror may be lacking in some areas, but it does not skimp on the visuals. The entire production is artistically crafted with stark aesthetics in mind. Every single frame in this film is a masterpiece: there's odd angles, bright artificial lighting (which plays into the tone of the film), just overall gorgeous camerawork. In fact, not only is the camerawork amazing, but all the details to create a visually stunning picture are perfection. To contrast with the richness of the blood, the colors of the film are quite bland: lots of greys, dark blues, and stark whites. The girls throughout the film have a few costume changes, yet are always dressed alike which creates a sense of unity or conformity, depending on the tone of the scene. Then there's the animations: #Horror utilizes two very different kinds of animations to evoke two very different reactions. First there are the phone app game looking animations that are used sporadically throughout the film. These animations create a sense of fun and are used in a more satirical sense, like look how much our phones have become so integrated into our lives that we are basically living in a giant game. While I do like these animations, I wish they had been utilized better and with more consistency. Second type of animations are the artwork animations, and these ones are creepily amazing. These animations gradually build a sense of unsettling, eeriness and the feeling of constantly being watched. Among these animations, my favorite has to be the egg-face animation (an Urs Fischer painting come to life... Eeeek!), where the boiled egg masked over someone's face starts to beat like a heart. It's weird and makes this strange fear that settles deep in my stomach. Also, there are other art pieces of people (paintings, sculptures, etc.) where the eyes move. This is where the idea that the house is its own character comes into play. With all the artwork essentially coming alive to torment the girls, if only in their minds, then there's also this large house that we learn has separate entrances for each member of Sophia's family. So even when Sophia's mother, Alex, is home it feels as if they're alone because everyone has their own separate quarters that don't intermingle. This instills an air of abandoned fear for the girls and for us viewers. All of this adds to the overall theme of the film: that with technology we have isolated ourselves, creating small bubbles in which others cannot permeate and while this may sound safe we've actually created more dangers for ourselves. Another layer of the film focuses on how we've become completely jaded with real life beauty, that we fixate on the fake worlds and illusions we build around us (i.e. filters on photos, making it seem like our lives are so great via instagram and facebook). Francesca even states at one point "Fake is better", and while yes she is talking about e-cigs, there is so much more that is being said in that statement.

And now we come to the issues I have with this film. #Horror, with all of its great attributes fails with its lack of focus and a storyline that just seems to spiral out into the abyss with no direction. From early on it is clear what is happening, so there's no suspense. And when the big "twist" is revealed, it's just like "oh we already knew this". Further there are events that occurred prior the present time in the film that are vaguely discussed, but I wish had been exposed in full detail. Like Timothy Hutton's character, Dr. Michael White, keeps mentioning a bullying episode executed by the other girls a year before that emotionally damaged his daughter, Cat. What happened in this situation, we never find out which is bothersome because it would've given a weightier context as to why Cat treats the other girls the way she does. Another thing is Sam's "sensitivities", which are never fully disclosed. This bothers me because it feels as though this is important information that we are going to find out, but instead it is simply stated that she has "sensitivities" and then static, never mentioned again. This detail almost feels like a red herring, but I don't think that it is intentionally so. There's a lot in this film that feels that way, actually. Like small details and occurrences that are supposed to throw us off the figurative scent, but really I think it's just too many ideas being pumped into the this movie and then not having anywhere to take them. So we end up with a film that has an abundance of ideas, but not enough of them are tied together in any coherent way. If I'm being honest, though, the story is not the point of this film and I don't think Sara Subkoff was too concerned with the aspect of plot. The story is just a conduit to display a bigger statement on the current state of society, and how this current state is molding our youth. So, while I can get over the fact that the plot is more fluidic and less structured, I know that this may be a dealbreaker for some viewers.

Overall I really really like #Horror. It's got the visuals and a kind of cautionary tale thing going for it. It is a wake-up call to the horrors of the internet and technology when used with malicious intent. Plus it's just creepy and weird and it feels fresh in a world were horror films are being pumped out as though on an assembly line. In other words, they're all the same. Would I watch it again? #Yes