Director: Graham Skipper
Year: 2018
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological
Plot:
Working as an arcade repairman, a loner trying to carry on after losing his job at the store finds a likeminded woman to build a new relationship with only for her disappearance to coincide with a disturbing new game that begins to eat away as his mind the more he repairs it.
Review:
For the most part, this one was quite an enjoyable effort. One of the finer aspects of this one is that this genuinely builds up an effective relationship for the two of them that they embark on. There's a sweetness and innocense to the way they hang out and date with each other, bonding over their geeky thoughts and musings they each share, and along with the general nervousness of the way they talk to each other creates a truly winning couple that serves as the basis for the film. As that gets threatened by the other influences coming into play as he begins working on the restoration and the torments he's afflicted with, it is quite enjoyable to see them play out the early stages of their relationship in this charming manner.
Once this settles into the more horrific aspects of the story, there's a decidedly chilling look at the way it affects his psyche. Starting out with the chilling sequences of the flashing strobe-lights that are effectively reminiscent of the laser lights found in the games themselves while also witnessing strange shadowy figures or intense fuzzy static screaming in his head, this initial turning point into the supernatural allows the later scenes in the shop showing those who play the game to be affected greatly in some outstanding sequences. From the controls on the console turning into sensual objects and being tormented by distorted visions of everyone around being deformed and mutated, this is quite striking and far more gruesome as it goes along.
Once in the later half, with the complete sensual overload of the game trapping him in it's nightmarish world and subjecting him to the numerous rounds of mind-bending sequences of the console turning into mush, flashing visions of his friend's bloodied face screaming for help or the flesh melting off his face, there's a truly enjoyable and frantic energy created by this newfound setting. As this is combined with the big confrontation inside the game world for the finale which is full of impressively handled special effects and a great goopy body-horror aesthetic to the material as it shows both of them completely immersed in tentacle-like wire, dirt and plenty of liquids splashed around, it really creates a fine high-point to end this one on.
Essentially a two-person film, the leads here are quite accomplished and deliver stellar performances. Chase Williamson as our lead Oz is quite impressive, leaving a nicely layered performance here. Able to effectively convey the shy, quiet loner who would rather engage in his passion for repairing arcade games than enjoying human contact of any kind, his gradual descent into madness is quite fun to watch play out and he remains likable throughout which helps our sympathy for his situation. Fabianne Therese as his lover interest Tess is a great counterpoint as her quirkiness matches nicely to his and there's genuine chemistry there as they slowly work towards a romance together. She does disappear somewhat in the second half with her being less important, but that doesn't take away how much the opening works for generating interest in them. These here are what manage to hold this up over it's few minor flaws.
One of the biggest problems is the fact that the central machine is a complete mystery as there's absolutely nothing given here as to what it is or why it's haunted. The thing just shows up and starts messing with him, so the entire concept behind it is entirely confusing as to what it's purpose is or what it's trying to do which is based around a rather twisting and convoluted storyline that never makes any sense. Due to the shorter length, it has a bit more plot than anticipated offering a lot of different elements here which overlooks parts of the story including what the actual point of the device is supposed to do or even what the visitor later on is supposed to mean. These few small elements really hold this one down somewhat.
Overview: ****/5
With plenty of enjoyable elements present as well as a few minor quibbles, it does have more than enough to like here which makes this one a truly engaging effort. Give this a chance if you're into these kinds of body-horror styled genre efforts or find this one intriguing, while those looking for more overt horror scenarios or find themselves put off by the flaws should heed caution.
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