Spiral (Starring Amber Tamblyn, Joel David Moore) - $13.49
From the very beginning of the movie, two things are clear.
First, this isn't some big-budget Hollywood thriller whose
high-profile casting and slick production values are meant to lure you
into believing the film is markedly better than it actually is.
And secondly, despite being a low budget movie, that this is indeed
a well made film that grabs your attention right away and promises to
be a compelling tale. And for me personally, this movie pays off on its
promises quite well.
This is the story of Mason (portrayed brilliantly by co-writer and
co-director Joel David Moore), a withdrawn and clearly disturbed man
who has many problems, including severe asthma, and a past that seems
to haunt his every day life. From the very first scene we're led to
believe that he's done something terrible involving a woman whose
portrait he has drawn or painted several times, and fills his
apartment. Without going too deeply into the plot (which other reviews
have already explored, I'm sure), suffice it to say that over time,
Mason meets and begins to fall in love with a new woman, Amber Tamblyn,
whom then becomes the new object of his obsession.
What I like about this story is that it seems to intentionally
avoid turning into one of the gory, slasher, blood-bath movies that
seem to be all the rage these days. I think the comparisons with
Hitchcocking horror are a bit stretched, but it's not completely
irrelevant either. This is a psychological horror tale that explores
the human frailties and the desperate need for acceptance that most of
us face on some level each day. Both the lead character, Mason, and his
new girlfriend Amber seem to both be looking for that special someone
who will fill out the missing parts and make them whole. The fact that
they find each other, and that for a while you really begin to hope and
pray that this ends in the proverbial "And They Lived Happily Ever
After" is a direct testament to the acting of Moore and Tamblyn.
The movie's plot isn't the greatest, but frankly, it's a simple
movie and a simple tale, and I think it's the perfect vehicle in which
the actors themselves should be allowed to carry the movie, which they
did to great effect. And given the fact that this is a horror movie and
are fairly certain that a happy ending just isn't in the cards, it's
hard to expect a film like this to have a new and innovative ending.
And yet, I have to admit that the twist that ensues did in fact
surprise me and left me feeling sad. The movie treats Mason as a flawed
human being who is worthy of compassion, rather than the mindless
monster of a man without a soul that populates most horror stories
today, and I found that, and the lack of copious amounts of fake blood
splattering the screen, to be quite refreshing.
The movie is not perfect, but in my opinion nothing ever is anyway.
But what it is is a very well done, straightforward, psychological
horror of a man for who you expect the worst from, but find yourself
hoping for the best for. And as a writer who fancies himself merely an
old-fashioned storyteller, this is one of the better told stories I've
seen in a while.
The Month of Remember by France Lee (Porpoise Press) - $9.95.
