SOMETHING IN THE DIRT (January 2022)

   

SOMETHING IN THE DIRT

(January 2022)

“Well, a lot of things are still mysteries. You just don’t expect to witness one on a sh!tty afternoon in your cheap apartment.”

Yes, another Moorhead & Benson Film crash lands ‘round these parts…

“I mean, what’s crazier? Believing every single coincidence you ever see or just ignoring them all?”

In Something in the Dirt, Levi (Justin Benson) has just moved into his “cheap” L.A. apartment, when some strange phenomena start, drawing in neighbor John (Aaron Moorhead), and resulting in both deciding to make a documentary to get everything on record and hopefully, find an explanation along the way. (And maybe, make some scratch too, if they can sell the doc to, oh, say, Netflix?)

“Well, why can’t it be a group like the Freemasons or the Moose Lodge or… what’s the one that’s on Discovery Channel all the time? It’s the Rose Croutons.”

“‘The Rose Croutons’? The Rosicrucians?”

Moorhead and Benson’s latest--which, from a certain perspective, is essentially their attempt to make The X-Files today--is a fascinating exploration of how people impose their own meanings onto everything that surrounds them, and how, in trying to solve the mysteries that face us, our own imperfections and obsessions tend to obscure and tarnish what should otherwise be the purity of the unknown and the unexplained.

“Stop being paranoid. It’s weird.”

Parting Shot: The duo’s past ¡Qué horror! mentions can be found here, and here, and here, and here.

(Something in the Dirt OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

SYNCHRONIC (September 2019)

SYNCHRONIC
(September 2019)

“You drop the needle on the song you wanna play, but they’re all always there. These tracks are like time. Synchronic is the needle.”
 
The excellently adventurous Messrs. Benson and Moorhead are back* with the compellingly absorbing Synchronic.
In it, Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan play best friends and paramedic partners whose job brings them into the orbit of the latest designer drug to hit Louisiana, the titular “Synchronic.”
Originally “… meant to be a DMT-like drug,” Synchronic turns out to be something else altogether.
 
I’ve loved these guys’ feature work since their co-directorial debut, Resolution, on to Spring, and their contribution to V/H/S: Viral, “Bonestorm,” through till The Endless.
And now, we can add Synchronic to that list.
 
There isn’t much to say beyond that, except I suppose, to note to prospective viewers that, while Synchronic comes highly recommended, this doesn’t have the usual horror stylings of their past work.
While there are traces of horror here, it’s decidedly more muted and subtle than their previous films.
 
Okay.
That’s all you’ll get here.
Go on.
Check it out.
 
“The clock just… keeps tickin’ down and the lower that number gets, you realize how f*ckin’ amazing now is. The present is a miracle, bruh.”

* Actually, they're even more back with Something in the Dirt, which just screened last month at Sundance, so you can also look to Synchronic for a sweet Benson/Moorhead fix whilst we wait for Something in the Dirt to be unleashed upon us...

  
(Synchronic OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018 [2 of 10] THE ENDLESS (2017)

10 Slots for the Best Horror I've Seen in the Past Year
[2 of 10]

THE ENDLESS

(April 2017)

"Can you have power over yourself if you give up any amount of authority to something else?”

Okay, full disclosure, I have, thus far, loved all the cinematic work I’ve seen from co-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead:

Resolution, which landed squarely in the ¡Qué horror! 2013 rundown (check out the original Candidate post for it here; check the Comments!);

“Bonehead,” their contribution to V/H/S: Viral;

And Spring, which I talk about here, a post where “Bonehead” is also briefly mentioned.

They’re back with their third co-directed feature, The Endless, and yes, indeed, I love it too!

“So a decade ago, I tell you that you’re livin’ in some sort’a death cult, and not only were you not bright enough then to figure it out, you actually came back.

“You are not smart. You never have been, no.

“I mean, all kids are dumb, but you’re like some sort of retarded hobbit or somethin’.”

Benson and Moorhead, playing brothers Justin and Aaron, escaped a so-called “UFO death cult” and have been trying vainly to reintegrate into society for years, but find themselves returning to Camp Arcadia for a “visit” in the hopes that it can help get Aaron out of his “slump.”

Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), Aaron’s hopes for closure bear some bizarre and unsettling fruit.

For those of you who’ve already seen Resolution, the experience of watching The Endless will be enriched by that previous viewing of Benson and Moorhead’s initial co-directed feature, and what you saw in Resolution will likewise inform your viewing of The Endless.

Let’s be clear though: you don’t need to have seen Resolution for The Endless to make sense, but if you’ve seen both, it raises your appreciation for both films significantly.

And now, as usually happens here at the Iguana, I will need to leave it at that.

Best to come into The Endless knowing as little as possible, or, to co-opt a line from Hal (Quantico’s Tate Ellington), “Saying more would be like trying to explain an impossible color.”

“Don’t ever give in. Not once.

“The trick to this whole thing is to not be afraid of something that’s… horrifying. And everyone’s afraid of it.

“But if you let it control you one time, it’s gonna f*cking control you over and over again.”

(The Endless OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #9

THE ENDLESS

(April 2017)

"Can you have power over yourself if you give up any amount of authority to something else?”

Okay, full disclosure, I have, thus far, loved all the cinematic work I’ve seen from co-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead:

Resolution, which landed squarely in the ¡Qué horror! 2013 rundown (check out the original Candidate post for it here; check the Comments!);

“Bonehead,” their contribution to V/H/S: Viral;

And Spring, which I talk about here, a post where “Bonehead” is also briefly mentioned.

They’re back with their third co-directed feature, The Endless, and yes, indeed, I love it too!

“So a decade ago, I tell you that you’re livin’ in some sort’a death cult, and not only were you not bright enough then to figure it out, you actually came back.

“You are not smart. You never have been, no.

“I mean, all kids are dumb, but you’re like some sort of retarded hobbit or somethin’.”

Benson and Moorhead, playing brothers Justin and Aaron, escaped a so-called “UFO death cult” and have been trying vainly to reintegrate into society for years, but find themselves returning to Camp Arcadia for a “visit” in the hopes that it can help get Aaron out of his “slump.”

Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), Aaron’s hopes for closure bear some bizarre and unsettling fruit.

For those of you who’ve already seen Resolution, the experience of watching The Endless will be enriched by that previous viewing of Benson and Moorhead’s initial co-directed feature, and what you saw in Resolution will likewise inform your viewing of The Endless.

Let’s be clear though: you don’t need to have seen Resolution for The Endless to make sense, but if you’ve seen both, it raises your appreciation for both films significantly.

And now, as usually happens here at the Iguana, I will need to leave it at that.

Best to come into The Endless knowing as little as possible, or, to co-opt a line from Hal (Quantico’s Tate Ellington), “Saying more would be like trying to explain an impossible color.”

“Don’t ever give in. Not once.

“The trick to this whole thing is to not be afraid of something that’s… horrifying. And everyone’s afraid of it.

“But if you let it control you one time, it’s gonna f*cking control you over and over again.”

(The Endless OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2015 The Preliminaries

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2015

The Preliminaries

This has been, shall we say, an “eventful” year. You can tell if stuff’s happening by the number of posts I make (which of course, reflects the number of excellent, ¡Qué horror! worthy films I’ve managed to see).

Now, while it’s entirely possible that most of the past 12 months’ crop of horror just wasn’t really up to snuff, it’s also equally possible that I didn’t have enough time to go around to sit down and see stuff.

To be fair, maybe it’s a bit of both.

At any rate, here we are, another October, and another ¡Qué horror! 13.

Before we deep dive into the final rundown, let me just say for the record, 12 of the following films came from the Candidate posts, and the 13^th, the TV entry, I wasn’t able to make a separate Candidate entry for, so you’ll just find out what it is at the very tail end of the rundown. (Though if you’re a regular ‘round these parts and have been following the annual ¡Qué horror! rundowns, then it won’t be too hard to guess which TV show takes that slot this year…)

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this title before we hit the main rundown…

SPRING

(September 2014)

Brought to us by the dynamic duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead* (whose Resolution--go ahead! Click! Monsieur Benson was cool enough to leave a comment!--carved out a slot for itself on the ¡Qué horror! 2013 rundown), Spring has some horror elements in it, but is decidedly not a horror film.

Ultimately, it actually plays opposite of how usual entries in the specific horror hybrid genre that it finds itself in unfold. (Yes, I’m actively avoiding spilling the beans here, but if you’ve seen the other one sheet, then you’ll know what kind of horror hybrid it is…)

So, aside from the 13 titles in the main rundown, make it a point to check out Spring, with Martin Kefauver himself, Lou Taylor Pucci!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system… the 2015 main rundown…

* Additionally, their contribution to V/H/S: Viral (“Bonestorm”) was also one of the few brazenly bright and audacious spots in an otherwise… problematic anthology.
(Nacho Vigalondo's "Parallel Monsters" was awesome too!)

(Spring OS courtesy of twitchfilm.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2013 [3 of 13] RESOLUTION (2012)

A Rundown of the 13 (+1) Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[3 of 13]

RESOLUTION

(April 2012)

Michael (Peter Cilella) and Chris (Vinny Curran) are the best of friends. The thing is, Chris is a junkie caught in a downward spiral who’s been given up on by virtually everyone he knows, so Michael makes a last ditch effort to save him by forcibly making him go cold turkey in an isolated, ramshackle shack.

Things do not go according to plan.

Co-directors Justin Benson (who also wrote the screenplay) and Aaron Scott Moorhead (who also shot the film) bring us this excellent piece of ambiguous, oblique horror.

If you’re the type that needs to have the whys and wherefores of your cinematic horror underlined neatly by running time’s end, then this may not be the film for you.

If however, you appreciate tone and character, Resolution* is definitely something to watch out for.

* Brilliant title, that, given what the film is ultimately about…

(Resolution OS’ courtesy of impawards.com and twitchfilm.com.)

¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #19

RESOLUTION

(April 2012)

Michael (Peter Cilella) and Chris (Vinny Curran) are the best of friends. The thing is, Chris is a junkie caught in a downward spiral who’s been given up on by virtually everyone he knows, so Michael makes a last ditch effort to save him by forcibly making him go cold turkey in an isolated, ramshackle shack.

Things do not go according to plan.

Co-directors Justin Benson (who also wrote the screenplay) and Aaron Scott Moorhead (who also shot the film) bring us this excellent piece of ambiguous, oblique horror.

If you’re the type that needs to have the whys and wherefores of your cinematic horror underlined neatly by running time’s end, then this may not be the film for you.

If however, you appreciate tone and character, Resolution* is definitely something to watch out for.

* Brilliant title, that, given what the film is ultimately about…

(Resolution OS’ courtesy of impawards.com and twitchfilm.com.)