Reviews
[REVIEW] Panic Fest 2024: ‘The Ceremony Is About to Begin’ A Valiant Second Feature from Sean Nichols Lynch
As a found footage film, The Ceremony doesn’t do anything overwhelmingly original with shot composition and camera style. It feels like many other found footage films, and it doesn’t try much to distance itself from them. And that’s okay! Whether or not the wheel is reinvented doesn’t matter; it’s the relationship between the main characters that sells 70% of the film. With excellent performances, well-executed dialogue (or improvisation), and a finale that’ll knock your cartonnage off, The Ceremony Is About to Begin is a freakily fun found footage flick.
Three years ago I caught a film at Arrow Video’s FrightFest called Red Snow. It was a fairly campy, but fresh, vampire Christmas horror comedy. As someone who doesn’t really enjoy camp, or Christmas for that matter, there was very little reason for me to enjoy it as much as I did. There was something about Lynch’s script and directing style that spoke to me; it felt like a very sincere film. “I’m very interested to see what other horrors he can bring to life,” is how I ended my review of Red Snow. Cut to three years later. I’m looking through the screening library for Panic Fest, and I see this film. After seeing who co-wrote and directed it, I was excited to dive in.
The Ceremony Is About to Begin finds documentary filmmaker Keith Evans (John Laird), whose latest project centers on the Osiris Collective, a cult disguised as sort of a free-love commune. Through a series of interviews, Keith learns about a rift within the cult. After their leader, Father Osiris (Raul Delarosa), disappears under mysterious circumstances, the enigmatic Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) takes charge. Members of the cult started to leave in droves, with only a handful of people left. One of the remaining members left behind is Keith’s ex-girlfriend. With the hopes of getting her out of the cult, Keith accepts an invite from Anubis to come and film at the compound.
When I said I was interested to see what Lynch would do next, found footage was not at the top of that list. Red Snow is a horror comedy, and The Ceremony Is About to Begin is fairly serious in comparison. Part of the success of The Ceremony comes from Keith and Anubis’s characters and performances. It should be stated Keith and Anubis actors, John Laird and Chad Westbrook Hinds, are also listed as co-writers. It’s unclear whether their writing credits stem from them riffing in character, or if the script was methodically written this way, but Lair and Hinds have unbelievable chemistry. The way Anubis builds and subtly works his magic on Keith almost feels like you’re watching a cult leader groom a potential member. It’s haunting.
The atmosphere throughout The Ceremony could best be described as, “Dude, get the hell out of there.” Things ramp up slowly but surely to a third-act twist that, on paper, should not work. NOTHING about this finale should work. It’s absurdly ridiculous. But…it does. Completely out of left field, The Ceremony turns into an entirely different subgenre at the drop of a hat. This lean and suspenseful cult film shifts into something that has dire consequences of worldwide proportions.
As a found footage film, The Ceremony doesn’t do anything overwhelmingly original with shot composition and camera style. It feels like many other found footage films, and it doesn’t try much to distance itself from them. And that’s okay! Whether or not the wheel is reinvented doesn’t matter; it’s the relationship between the main characters that sells 70% of the film. With excellent performances, well-executed dialogue (or improvisation), and a finale that’ll knock your cartonnage off, The Ceremony Is About to Begin is a freakily fun found footage flick.
Reviews
[REVIEW] The Unconventional Extremity of ‘Demonlover’ (2002)
Demonlover (2002) follows a French-based company, Volf Corporation, which is in the process of acquiring a Japanese animation studio. Diane (Connie Nielsen) is leading the acquisition after successful corporate espionage takes her boss Karen (Dominique Reymond) out of commission. Karen’s assistant, Elise Lipsky (Chloë Sevigny), vows to make sure Diane doesn’t have an easy go with any of this. Once Volf Corporation takes control of the Japanese anime studio, they try to set up a deal with an American distribution company called Demonlover, which is run by Elise Si Gibril (Gina Gershon). It soon comes to light that Demonlover is nothing more than a front for an extreme interactive torture website called the Hellfire Club.
As a horror-centric publication, how do you follow up the month of October? It’s our Super Bowl, our Grand Prix! Curator of all things Horror Press, James-Micael Fleites had the best possible idea for the month of November: New French Extremity. New French Extremity has a few films that always come to mind when discussed with films like Martyrs, Frontier(s), and Haute Tension. But many great New French Extremity films don’t get the recognition they deserve–and the ones that don’t deserve it still need to be discussed.
The first one I think is necessary to discuss is one that teeters on the idea of horror: Demonlover.
Demonlover (2002) follows a French-based company, Volf Corporation, which is in the process of acquiring a Japanese animation studio. Diane (Connie Nielsen) is leading the acquisition after successful corporate espionage takes her boss Karen (Dominique Reymond) out of commission. Karen’s assistant, Elise Lipsky (Chloë Sevigny), vows to make sure Diane doesn’t have an easy go with any of this. Once Volf Corporation takes control of the Japanese anime studio, they try to set up a deal with an American distribution company called Demonlover, which is run by Elise Si Gibril (Gina Gershon). It soon comes to light that Demonlover is nothing more than a front for an extreme interactive torture website called the Hellfire Club. (If you thought reading that was tedious, you can only imagine how long it took me to write that.)
Let’s get the two positives out of the way first. At its soul, Demonlover tries to exist as a commentary on our extreme desensitization of violence in the modern age. Much of this desensitization started in the late ’60s when the Vietnam War was televised into people’s homes and furthered by Ted Turner’s obsession with money and the creation of the 24-hour news cycle. That was all the catalyst. When Al Gore invented the internet, that’s a joke, we had no clue just how awful the outcome would be. Demonlover’s commentary on violence in consumed media is important, but that’s really all it has going for it. Is that one piece of commentary worth an over two-hour-long student film? (More on that later.) There’s also the commentary on corporate espionage, but it falls flat compared to the rest of the film’s commentary.
The second, and final, positive aspect of Demonlover is the acting and specifically Connie Nielsen, Chloë Sevigny, and Gina Gershon. Simply put, they are bad bitches and I love them. The ‘extremity’ of this film (I watched the unrated director’s cut) wasn’t really anything to write home about, leaving the majority of carrying to these three women. It’s hard to say I didn’t like this film when the performances were as powerful as theirs were.
And that’s it. The film as a whole feels like a first-draft freshman film school drivel. It’s unfocused when it needs to be focused and focused when it doesn’t. The only other film I’ve seen by writer/director Olivier Assayas is his segment in Paris, Je T’aime so I can’t effectively comment on his overall style. But Demonlover feels like Assayas had an overall grand idea that became bogged down by personal preference, kinks, and an overinflated ego.
If I had a friend who said they wanted to watch a real art film, there is no way I would show them this. Because that’s all Demonlover is: an attempt to make an art film with some commentary. Assayas tries to assault your senses with sex, blood, and “authentic” violence but fails at nearly every aspect. Demonlover feels nothing more than self-masturbation; a film that proves he’s holier than thou. And let me tell you, he is far from that. At its core, Demonloveris a two-hour-long horror-adjacent exercise in futility.
Reviews
[REVIEW] BHFF 2024: ‘Timestalker’ Is Timeless
Timestalker follows Agnes (Alice Lowe) through multiple decades throughout her shared life; from the 1800s to the present day, to the 1980s, and countless other decades. Agnes happens to run across the same guy in each life: Alex (Aneurin Barnard). Their strained, often one-sided love, spans their respective lifetimes in fascinating ways. While Agnes searches for her love she finds herself on the receiving end of a scorned lover by way of Nick Frost. Can Agnes and Alex find the love they are seemingly destined for?
As someone who reviews horror content, I tend to be picky about what I decide to watch. I know what I like and what I don’t like. I cannot stand time loop films. They just don’t work for me, from Groundhog Day to Happy Death Day. And time difference love films like The Lake House? Don’t even get me started. That being said, if I stumble upon one of these types of films that pique my interest, I will go out of my way to check it out. When I read about Alice Lowe’s directorial follow-up to Prevenge, I was excited but still skeptical. Prevenge was an exciting and well-put-together horror film that caught me off guard and I knew I had to watch whatever Alice Lowe made next.
Timestalker follows Agnes (Alice Lowe) through multiple decades throughout her shared life; from the 1800s to the present day, to the 1980s, and countless other decades. Agnes happens to run across the same guy in each life: Alex (Aneurin Barnard). Their strained, often one-sided love, spans their respective lifetimes in fascinating ways. While Agnes searches for her love she finds herself on the receiving end of a scorned lover by way of Nick Frost. Can Agnes and Alex find the love they are seemingly destined for?
Since I mentioned it at the top, let’s discuss the time aspect. It should be noted that this is definitely not a time-loop movie in the typical sense. Writer/director Alice Lowe handles the time-jumping aspect of Timestalker with ease and class. Rather than trying to find some overcomplicated and underdeveloped explanation for the film’s timeframe, Lowe does something rarely seen. You can take what Lowe tells you in the third act at face value. Do you believe it or not? There’s probably no wrong answer. But if you dig a bit deeper, and believe in love and whimsy, there’s a whole other element to Lowe’s craft. (Getting into it would be too much of a spoiler.)
Honestly, I’m happy to say this is one of the very few time-based films that works incredibly well for me.
Lowe struck gold with her casting and brought multiple A-list British actors on board. First, and foremost, Alice Lowe. Lowe stuns with her lead portrayal of a character I’m pretty sure she wrote for herself. And rightfully so. Lowe’s comedic timing is unparalleled, and she’s not afraid to make herself the butt of the joke.
Scipio (Jacob Anderson) is an intricately written character and almost a mouthpiece for the audience. Jacob Anderson is, aside from devilishly handsome, a thrill to watch. He blends into the background when necessary and chews up the scenery when needed. But it’s Nick Frost who steals the show. Whether he’s huffing and puffing after Agnes or literally barking like a dog, you can’t help but giggle (and sometimes gasp in shock) at his performance. Also, it’s always a blast to see Kate Dickie in anything.
Timestalker was introduced by a couple of people. Caryn Coleman, of The Future of Film is Female, said something incredibly interesting about Timestalker. There will be discussions about whether or not this film is considered horror or sci-fi but according to Coleman, “It’s a horror film about love.” I couldn’t say it any better myself.
This film is not your typical horror film. It’s a deconstruction of what horror means to people. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to love or be loved. In this modern age where Vice President nominees tell you you’re less of a person for not having kids or being married by a certain age, the idea of love is being retconned. If your love isn’t the way it’s “supposed to be” then you’re wrong. And that’s bullshit.
Timestalker is a fun and fascinating breakdown of what is. I don’t think this film will work for everyone, and I’m about 80% sure a particular group of people (looking at you, Vice President nominee, and fans) will take away the wrong message from this film. Those who get this film will get it. Those are the people Alice Lowe made this film for.