Missing on your first attempt at horror is almost an American cinema tradition.
“#Horror” is a film that I’ve been sitting on reviewing for awhile. The film is a high horror concept of those kids on the internet be doing things that I don’t want them to do. Some have already compared the film to being the work of a Sofia Coppola disciple wanting to take mumblecore to the teen horror scene. However, I feel that betrays a sense of understanding behind what mumblecore and Coppola offers up to their film fans. This film is just dumb.
While wanting to play up a nouveau riche sense of what’s fancy enough for upper class teenagers and not wanting to play like a knock-off of Unfriended, the film ends up farting on both parts. Timothy Hutton, Chloe Sevigny and Balthazar Getty all try to lift the film out of its basement of teenage cyberbullying faux horror. The film marks the feature debut of noted fashion designer Tara Subkoff. While I can see that she has an eye for visuals, the script is so weak that it undermines everything else going on in the film.
Are we supposed to laugh at the kids or feel for them? At times, I didn’t know if I was watching a satire about social media obsessed teenagers not realizing that a maniac was bumping them off. But, that train is never acknowledged long enough as we’re knees deep back into a story about some random psycho artist. The film never knows where it wants to go and the audience gets whiplash while trying to follow it. #Horror is a reminder that horror isn’t suited for many first time directors, yet they keep trying to put their stamp in the field. I want to see what Subkoff does next, I’m just hoping that she worked the horror bug out of her system.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!