The "mumblecore" movement - a growing indie sub-genre predicated on a DIY sensibility and low-tech, true to life storytelling - has finally delivered its first horror flick. That is, of course, if you discount the similarly driven but ultimately more gimmicky and out of the loop Blair Witch Project from years prior, which is more a docu-fake guerrilla film than anything else. This time around The Duplass Brothers, they of the great and mighty Puffy Chair, set the stage for something that walks a fine line between romantic comedy and slasher flick. By far the most ambitious and commercial leaning of the mumblecore auteurs, the Duplass' blend great comic dialogue with sharp satire and a looming sense of danger here to create a creepy and fun feature that is wholly original.After seeing a screening of an old friend's shitty underground festival hit, out of work actor Matt (Ross Partridge) convinces fellow unemployed wannabes Chad (Steve Zissis), Michelle (Greta Gerwig), and Catherine (Elise Muller) to help him write a film featuring roles for each of them. The idea being that if this piece of crap - a hilariously self-important melodrama entitled "We Are Naked" - could earn someone notoriety than surely they can do the same with a film that is actually good. They set out to spend a weekend at a friend's cabin, locked in and forced to complete work post haste. Upon arrival, the scenario begets little accomplishment but much drinking and flirting. The quintet has a built-in self destruct in its complex and contradictory hook-up possibilities. Doe-eyed Chad loves Michelle who only loves him as a friend. Michelle is falling for hunky Matt. Matt has an on-again-off-again, and currently on, relationship with bombshell Catherine. Catherine resents Michelle for hitting on Matt. Chad resents Matt for hitting on Michelle. And so on and so on.
And so the sordid emotional entanglements roll on in traditional mumblecore fashion with long conversations and shapeless narrative form. Art fitting life rather than the other way around. But Mark and Jay Duplass have an ace up their sleeve. In what is predonminantly a character story there is also an added element of suspense stemming from the recurring appearance of a mysterious man in the woods with a paper bag over his head. In descriptive form it may sound silly, but the faceless image does wonders when filmed sparsely lit between the branches of shadowy trees. Adding to the suspense is the mystery of whether this spooky figure is simply a stunt being put on out of spite by one of the four friends or if it is really something to be feared. The whodunnit only fuels the character dilemma which further fuels the whodunnit in a wonderful hybrid of drama and big chills. Some twists may seem presumable, others inevitable. But there is just enough enigma in the air from start to finish to keep uncertainty present in the audience's mind. You can formulate how it "could be" or "should be" but there's never enough to make a certain estimation of the truth. Besides, even if you're convinced it's all just a hoax (which it may or may not be) the Duplass' clever horror photography is bound to affect you. It's blissfully unpredictable and genuinely thrilling at times.
And even for the haughtiest "told you so" skeptics, there is enough quirky meta-satire to smooth out the narrative wrinkles. The deadly stranger tradition of films such as Funny Games and The Strangers gets a wry comic treatment that's really just the third layer of this hard working little entertainer.
Grade: B+
