by Andy Motz
Compliance
Shockingly based on true events Compliance is a chilling disturbing film that cannot help but raise some uncomfortable, but important questions about human nature. The film takes place on a normal busy Friday afternoon in a small town fast food restaurant. The workers are all recognizably human and are no different from anyone of us: The teenagers who dread work, the middle-aged boss who is in love, and the older experienced part-time janitor. Then the phone rings. It is a police officer with unfortunate news. All too quickly an already stressful day takes a dark turn. Within the next couple hours many of these folks lives will be shattered and destroyed. Compliance had the entire audience squirming in their seats, yet no one could budge or leave. Yet despite the disturbing subject matter no one left the theatre. It is a tense well-directed film that contains a cast of talented unknowns that all add a dimension of realism to the film. Without their performances Compliance wouldn’t be as successful as it is. I’m not sure if I’d ever watch it again or at least again anytime soon, but I’m thankful for its serious probing of our potentially dangerous instincts to trust other humans above our own moral beliefs.
Excision
Playing as one of the features in the Midnight Sundance Selection Excision is undeniably a lot of fun. High-class art? No. A solid gross shocking unique vision of adolescence? Most definitely. Paula is a stereotypical social outcast whom all the popular girls make fun of. Her relationship with her mother is constantly strained and her Dad is emotionally absent. Her only comfort in life comes from two places: Her younger sister and her psychosexual fantasies that fuel her actions in real life. An example is her own bizarre and sick desire to lose her virginity while she is menstruating. Excision certainly pushes the envelope, but one can’t help but appreciate writer/director Richard Bates understanding of the horror genre and how it can be used to reveal deeper truths. It one looks past all the awkward sex, bloody fantasies, and a fantastically disturbing finale Excision is a story of growing up in a suburban landscape where to be considered a real woman one has to conform to socially constructed rules. Unfortunately Bates has not quite acquired directing skills needed for a full-length theatrical feature. The framing and cinematography gives the film a very cheap and made for TV feel limiting the films ultimate potential. Still Excision is a quite a fun ride and Bates has a lot of potential as a future horror filmmaker.
Image Sources:
http://www.sundance.org/images/articles/leads/Compliance-Article-1.jpg
http://www.saltlakemagazine.com/site_media/uploads/excision-still.jpg
