March 11-12
And… we’re back.
So another month (in spirit, if not
actual calendar days) has passed and it’s time for me to do another movie off
Netflix with horror movie bloggers Mermaid Heather and Zombie Dawn. The
previous two films were THE SILENCED and THE BLACK ROOM. This time Dawn chose
our film and we watched THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE, a simple and direct enough title
that I seemed hell-bent on saying wrong all
the time. I kept calling it (the godawful stupid title of) THEY LOOK LIKE
EVERYBODY. Why can’t I find this movie? Gee, uh, wrong title, jerk! Duh!
But I briefly digress…*
Anyway, for those latecomers to this monthly Netflix
Connection “Movie Club” (of which there are only three members), Mermaid
Heather, Zombie Dawn and myself pick a horror film off of Netflix and watch it,
post a review of said fear flick, and also have a SPOILER-HEAVY chat about it.
The chats themselves are separate posts from the actual reviews.
And now, ladies and gentlemen (if you ARE ladies and
gentlemen…), let us take a paranoid descent into the film that is…
THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE (2015, written and directed by Perry
Blackshear, with MacLeod Andrews, Evan Dumouchel and Margaret Ying Drake)
A young man named Wyatt unexpectedly discovers to his horror
that something is taking over us, slowly, mysteriously, but inexorably. Like
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, some people are no longer what they appear to
be. This fact is confirmed when he receives calls from a somewhat omniscient
source informing him that people are indeed turning into evil creatures and
that Wyatt needs to prepare for the impending war against them. As he readies
himself for this apocalypse, he goes to visit a close friend from years ago named
Christian for assistance, maybe....
Christian is a young man who is focused on being an impact
person, on “dominating” in life, especially at work. Wisely or not, he’s also been
focused for some time on getting a date with his boss, Mara. On the day he’s
finally going out with her, Wyatt comes into his life again.
These are the two disparate storylines that the film starts
with, and it’s fascinating and compelling to see how the story progresses as
the dynamics of each premise is complicated by the unrelated but still
intrusive issues of the other premise.
I liked this deceptively simple film a lot, with a large
part of its appeal being its simplicity. It’s all about the story and the
characters plus constantly thinking and anticipating the ramifications of the
situations we’re presented. Although the film has some neat CGI to pull off
some effects, those moments are really minor (including the scope of the
effects). The main attraction is the basic idea of Wyatt’s paranoia as it
simmers slowly to a boil with his preparation for a terrible war against
opponents he may not be able to discern, but also, is his paranoia mental
illness or well-founded?
The relationship between Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews) and
Christian (Evan Dumouchel) is fascinating to watch as each friend juggles his
own personal agenda but also the contrasting needs of the friend. Also, the
addition of Mara (Margaret Ying Drake) into the mix as an “outsider” to this
friendship was a great new element to the story with regard to both of the friends, especially the
uncertainty of her, for lack of a better word, because she was new. The
questions of trust and friendship for Christian that come when you are starting
a more intimate relationship with someone, especially your boss, were an
interesting parallel to Wyatt’s efforts to secretly prepare for his fight
against the invading creatures, but also Wyatt’s second-guessing if what he’s
fearing is real or all in his head. That was the main attraction to me of the
film, the human component.
All three actors offer solid and engaging performances.
Writer/director Perry Blackshear also did the
cinematography, editing and sound design. There’s an informative interview with
Blackshear about the film and I enjoyed and appreciated learning more about his background with
the actors, how the story came to be and what amount of research he did regarding mental health issues. Blackshear is to be commended for
fashioning a smart, thoughtful and effective thriller and also doing a lot of
the creative work for the film.
The writing is a great steady accumulation of details:
Wyatt’s uncertain, but sincere and lonely efforts to prepare for the horrors and uncertainties of
war – hiding a knife in the house, learning what sulfuric acid does to meat; Wyatt and
Christian rediscovering their past friendship after years apart – Blobby Wars!;
Christians’ transparent but equally sincere efforts to be a strong and “dominating" person, while also being a good friend; an awful moment when Christian learns
what other people have been thinking about him all along, which seems a perfect
counterpart to Wyatt’s paranoia; finally, the tension of the last scene and the
risky decisions both friends make and you wonder: what would I do in that
situation?
The limited CGI is probably due to economics, but it’s also
an example of less is more. The first times we see something strange is going
on, it’s like we peeked in on a secret and now our world has changed because
we’ve seen it. That was great.
As a film recommendation, I would say it depends on what
you’re in the mood for. If you’re looking for straight up horror and to be
scared, THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE may be too subtle for you. If you’re used to
independent dramas, this film’s creepiness and implications might really get
under your skin and be a great, thoughtful thriller. There are moments of
effective suspense and I think the film does a great job of making you
empathize with all three character’s situations. I found myself
considering what I would do in their shoes at various times in the movie. The
ending of the film also resonates one way or the other, I think, depending on what kind of genre film you’re looking for. Depending on
what kind of film you were expecting, the ending succeeds in varying degrees. Again,
depending on whether you’re looking for straight up horror or something more
thoughtful, I think your level of satisfaction will be affected. Paradoxically,
I liked the ending, but I didn’t find it immediately satisfying emotionally,
but I liked the philosophical choice.
Overall I really liked the film, and I plan to re-watch it
again, soon.
Having said that, I will say you have to allow for a couple
flaws:
First, an unanswered question: how much can you believe what
Wyatt said about the resolution he had with a visit to Mara?
Second, a bit of a convenient plot omission: At one point, I
think examining Wyatt’s phone for incoming calls may have drastically affected
the outcome of this film, one way or another.
On a side note, this film draws some similarities to THE BABADOOK, another excellent film that is perhaps more in the realm of horror in its particular telling, but reminiscent due to how it juggles themes of horrific reality vs. mental instability and how it keeps the audience off-balance as it debates which is which.
On a side note, this film draws some similarities to THE BABADOOK, another excellent film that is perhaps more in the realm of horror in its particular telling, but reminiscent due to how it juggles themes of horrific reality vs. mental instability and how it keeps the audience off-balance as it debates which is which.
Meanwhile, check out what Mermaid Heather and Zombie Dawn thought of the film.
And yeah, I’m looking forward to my chat with Heather and Dawn, hahaha!
* #OccupationalHazardsOfMovieReviewing #OccupationalHazardsOfBeingAStupidHead
And yeah, I’m looking forward to my chat with Heather and Dawn, hahaha!
* #OccupationalHazardsOfMovieReviewing #OccupationalHazardsOfBeingAStupidHead
I love your review! It’s really interesting to see how we thought or felt the same things at certain parts! I’ll save my points for our talk later, though!
ReplyDelete