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Runtime: 90 mins
Directed by: #DavidMarmor
Starring: #NicoleBrydonBloom, #NaomiGrossman, #GilesMatthey, #AlanBlumenfeld, #TaylorNichols, #CelesteSully, #SusanDavis, #ClaytonHoff, #EarnestinePhilips
Grimmfest Feature by: Darren Tilby
Synopsis: After leaving behind a painful past to follow her dreams, Sarah scores the perfect Hollywood apartment. But something is not right. Unable to sleep, tormented by strange noises and threatening notes, her new life quickly starts to unravel. Caught in a waking nightmare, Sarah must find the strength to hold onto her crumbling sanity…or be trapped forever in an existential hell.
Grimmfest say: You’ve seen them in dozens of movies and TV shows: those anonymous-looking Hollywood apartment complexes. Places where dreams come to die; motel rooms turned permanent residences. And just as likely to be crime scenes. What kinds of people live there? What kinds of communities can possibly develop? Writer-Director David Marmor’s stunning debut feature offers a few uncomfortable suggestions. There are obvious parallels to be drawn with such real-life Hollywood-based cultism as Scientology and NXIVM, but in its cold, alienated atmosphere, the film also recalls Philip Kaufman’s 1970s LA based version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. And the final scene is genuinely bone-chilling. What price Hollywood? Trust us – you really don’t want to know.
What I'm Expecting: Talk of #cults, #alienation, and "crumbling sanity" immediately makes me think this could be narratively and tonally similar to #Hereditary. For me, this is both a blessing and a curse: I love that sort of set-up, the mix of social commentary and atmosphere of lingering dread can be devastatingly effective weapons for a #horror movie to wield, but I am one of them—admittedly few—people who didn't enjoy #Hereditary. Which has left me feeling slightly cautious of such films. What I need from this film is a more understated and creepy film, and one with a considerably less obvious and ridiculous ending. And from what I've read, I remain hopeful that #1BR can be that movie.
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