A couple of short reviews for on-the-fringe genre efforts watched in the last few weeks.
The Aviary by Chris Cullari and Jennifer Raite
There's very little to like about this one. The plot to this one of the two trying to escape the life at the cult's compound is overdone and overbearing that there's very little intrigue or suspense to be found here. The whole idea of them going through the desert to escape the whole cult feels fine in general but nothing happens to show that there's any impact by them leaving since there's nothing about what the cult is like. It's all psychological in how the influences from the leader begin to affect them and turn the trip into a more overt display of madness in their trip the more it goes on. That does make for a highly engrossing setup that could've been a lot of fun dealing with internal anguish and torment had it done something more than just focus on the two of them endlessly rehashing a cycle of mistrust with each that becomes tedious and repetitive which renders much of the running time to come off dull. That the mind-games involving whether or not the influence still remains just falls flaws due to this lack of action that takes place here which is the main drawback despite the positives.
We're All Going to the World's Fair by Jane Schoenbrun
This one offers almost nothing to like overall. The central concept here is just not that interesting as it focuses on a wholly uninspired and dull individual at the center of the film. Nearly everything takes place with her as the focus and very little of what she does, whether it's on the internet or doing the regular life updates that she posts and neither of them are that worthwhile or thrilling. The descent into madness here is all completely inferred which never really comes off that well with her inane ramblings that don't mean anything and is all fueled even more so with the lack of explanation about what this game really is all about. Despite all the fanfare about how popular it is and how it's taking over the world, there's little actually about it to suggest taking over the community as it does since it's quite lame in execution which makes these scenes just feel like an absolute drag. As this is just a two-person show without anything else happening which really makes for a death knell in terms of this one where so little happens and nothing is that interesting. The concept of the films' exploration of modern internet culture could've been fun but in this context, there's little to enjoy about it.
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