Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows off the beaten path
Indies, foreigns, docs and shorts...

On this page: DIRTY BOY | GAZER | IF YOU SHOULD LEAVE BEFORE ME

< < I N D I E S > >

See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 22.Jul.25

Dirty Boy
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir-scr Doug Rao
prd Giles Alderson, Sarah-Anne Grill, Marek Lichtenberg
with Stan Steinbichler, Graham McTavish, Susie Porter, Honor Gillies, Alice Lucy, Ava Merson-O'Brien, Olivia Chenery, Katharina Scheuba, Ruaridh Aldington, Michael Kodi Farrow, Nick Sankar, Hanin Al-Jaar
release US Oct.24 tcff,
UK Jun.25 rff
24/UK 1h38

Is it streaming?

Dark and brooding, this shadowy thriller opens with glimpses of nutty, violent religious rituals as seen through the eyes of a young man who knows he's unhinged. Writer-director Doug Rao makes clever use of effects to add freak-out flourishes alongside glorious Austrian landscapes that echo with The Sound of Music. All of this plays out in a way that's over-serious and sometimes ponderous. But it's impossible to look away.

Raised in a controlling cult in a grand lake house, 20-year-old Isaac (Steinbichler) has been given meds to manage his mental illness, so finds it difficult to know what's real and what isn't. Leaders Walter and Verity (McTavish and Porter) welcome him back into the flock after being locked away for months. When he flees the breeding rituals, they try to cleanse the filthy demon out of him, but he continues to secretly seek clues about who he really is. As he challenges Walter and Verity for control, releasing secrets to the public backfires badly.

Set in the present day, these people live like a 19th century von Trapp family. The internet is banned, but they do have little apple-shaped video devices. Making even a mild comment against Walter and Verity's rule results in vile punishment. And then there's Isaac's more aggressive alter-ego Frankie, who appears on-screen urging him to take action. In conversations with himself, he becomes convinced that his so-called madness isn't real. And he wonders where he developed his love of off-colour jokes.

Both full-bodied and remarkably textured, Steinbichler's performance is riveting. Isaac is a sympathetic young man who's also more than a little scary. An offbeat voiceover continually lets us into his thought processes, revealing an inner determination and focus. This adds an eerie contemplation within the increasingly brutal situation. And the actors playing his wider family in this house convey a fascinating sense of disdain about Isaac that's mixed with wariness.

Anyone outside this cult is considered to be polluted with pornography and darkness. What they actually believe is rather blurry, but their practices are revealed to be startlingly grisly, based somewhat incongruously around procreation and murder. So Isaac's reaction is perhaps understandable, as extreme as it might be. But while the film is sharply well-made and expertly acted, which will please fans of folk horror, larger ideas are far too elusive for it to be truly satisfying.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 22.Jun.25

Gazer
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

dir Ryan J Sloan
scr Ryan J Sloan, Ariella Mastroianni
prd Bruce Wemple, Mason Dwinell, Mitchell Cetuk, Matheus Bastos
with Ariella Mastroianni, Renee Gagner, Jack Alberts, Marianne Goodell, Tommy Kang, Marcia DeBonis, Emma Pearson, Grant Schumacher, Sheilagh Weymouth, Frank Huerta, Wadiah Brown, Mitchell Cetuk
release US 4.Apr.25,
UK 25.Jul.25
24/US 1h54

CANNES FILM FEST

Is it streaming?

Strikingly shot on grainy 16mm stock, with an immersive ambient sound mix, this dark present-day drama has the tone of a vintage 1980s thriller. Set in working-class New Jersey, the film feels hesitant as it conceals and reveals mysteries. While everything is a bit uneven, director Ryan Sloan overcomes the low budget with a mesmerising mood and clever touches that ramp up our involvement as the story tightens.

Always in trouble for daydreaming, Frankie (Mastroianni) has degenerative dyschronometria, unable to perceive the passage of time. So holding down a job is difficult, even with cassette tapes she uses to focus her mind. Her memories are jumbled, including facts about her daughter Cynthia (Pearson), who's living with her mother-in-law (Goodell). Then new friend Paige (Gagner) offers Frankie a shady job that could solve her problems. Of course, this takes an unexpected turn when she catches a man (Alberts) following her. The question is whether she has witnessed a murder or perhaps participated in one.

All of this is cleverly shot and edited to create a strong sense of Frankie's perspective, exposing her thoughts and feelings. And the effects work is particularly skilful, adding flourishes reminiscent of Lynch or Cronenberg. Time flickers disconcertingly for Frankie, with sudden jumps between day and night. She doesn't see much hope for her life, but she takes a proactive approach to her cognitively impairment. Still, her blood-soaked dreams about her late husband (Schumacher) are increasingly disturbing.

With her sleepy but watchful eyes and slight physicality, Mastroianni has terrific presence as the continually perplexed Frankie. She beautifully underplays the role, drawing us deeper into Frankie's mindset as she tries to get to the bottom of a confusing situation that feels like it has engulfed her. Gagner finds a way to make Paige elusive and genuine at the same time. And around the edges, supporting actors play up their heightened characters as seen through Frankie's eyes.

While the film is badly in need of a story edit, it takes in enormous issues relating to suicide and abusive relationships. It also revels in the escalating twisty grisliness, and there's even a nosey cop (Kang) trying to disentangle things. The script intriguingly parallels Frankie's condition with how grief lingers, and how time doesn't necessarily heal. So her troubled past is affecting what's happening to her now. This offers surprising emotional textures that linger even after our interest begins to wane.

themes, language, violence 21.Ju1.25

If You Should Leave Before Me
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

dir-scr The Andersons
prd Boyd Anderson, J Markus Anderson, Chris Pegut
with Shane P Allen, John Wilcox, Tom Noga, Merrick McCartha, Brooke McCormick, Vu Mai, Susan Louise O'Connor, Chris Pegut, Sarah Sawyer, Evan Lucas, LeeAnne Bauer, Coen Conrad
release UK Jun.25 rff
25/US 2h00

Is it streaming?

While this low-budget comedy-drama feels rather deliberately offbeat, it's also warm and observant as it explores things that remain unspoken between a middle-aged couple. Filmmakers Boyd and Markus Anderson ambitiously use colourful hand-made effects, visual flourishes and goofy jokes to tell interwoven stories that touch on love and death. With its overriding existential afterlife narrative, there's plenty to chew on, even if the movie feels indulgent and overlong.

As Mark (Allen) bickers with his husband Joshua (Wilcox) over morning coffee, a loud knocking leads them to a cardboard world hidden Narnia-style behind their closet. On another day, it's an over-emotive woman (O'Connor) in a room full of china. Then there's the Nazi (Noga) in his cluttered home. Or a destructive ninja (Mai) who descends through the ceiling. Everyone spins stories of lost loves from beyond the grave. So as Mark is preventing both himself and Joshua from moving on, these encounters help them become closer, and they allow Mark to cope with reality.

With a strong nod to Everything Everywhere All At Once, the kaleidoscopic approach encompasses Mark and Joshua's 27-year marriage. Although they act like they've only just moved in together, bickering about superficial things. The film is visually fascinating, with in-camera effects depicting stories and events, plus eerie visions of the characters' thoughts and feelings. It quickly becomes apparent that all of this is taking place in Mark's mind, as he refuses to let Joshua go.

Heightened rather than naturalistic, even the at-home scenes with Mark and Joshua have an artificial feel to them, which turns full-on cartoonish with each of these outrageously nutty sideroads. Thankfully, both Allen and Wilcox find tiny moments in which they express honest sentiments. And it turns out that Mark is a coroner who has a connection with the recently deceased, especially those whose lives are unresolved.

These kinds of big ideas keep us watching, even if it plays out in a way that is perhaps far too wacky to properly engage with. Adding a blast of topicality, this couple wonders if being gay has condemned them to some sort of purgatory. But even the Nazi's awful bigotry is watered down by the script. That said, the final scene brings a strong blast of honesty, revealing what is really going on in a way that's surprisingly moving.

themes, language, violence 26.Jun.25

< < I N D I E S > >
See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL