Director: Chandler Thistle
Year: 2021
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Taking a road trip together, a group of friends go out to visit a friend with the drug stash he shares with his friends, and as they spend the time getting high with the others at the house find that a witch has been released on a bloodsoaked rampage forcing them to try to stop it.
Review:
Overall, this was a decidedly tough film to get a handle on. Among the better features here is that there’s a dementedly bizarre and over-the-top set of imagery that makes up a large part of the running time. The psychedelic camera work, off-kilter setups, and just plain outlandish concepts about growing up in a society of friends who go about their days wanting nothing more than the next spectacular LDS hit or other similar drugs are quite impressive, adding a vibrant energy to the chaotic first half. With everything here enhanced by the storytelling aspect of the group getting high, stoned, or wasted that it comes off with a matching synergy towards that kind of kinetic visual style, there’s plenty of fun to go around in this regard.
The other really fun aspect to be had with this one is the setup involving the returning witch camping to life and attacking everyone. The initial attack on the couple in the car is fantastic, working with their induced state to disorientate enough without even needing their supernatural powers which come about any way to help provide some impressive visuals and gory deaths a later encounter in the woods where one of the friends snaps and takes out a group member as a sacrifice to the witch is a great setpiece enhanced by its otherworldly aesthetics, much like an encounter in the cave home where it attacks another victim. With the big finale featuring chases on a broomstick, psychedelic-fueled encounters that make it impossible to tell what’s happening, and some frenetic action and gore, these all give this a lot to like.
There are some issues with this one that drag it down. The major problem with the film is a lethargic tempo that causes the running time to get stretched out far beyond what it should’ve been. The endless inserts about the trouble with drugs, metal music, and open-ended sex at the beginning that aren’t all that necessary, the flashback scenes of their interactions with each other in the past rather than tell a simple story about it, or the interpersonal drama going on at the house are all fine in small doses that help to move the plot along and get to know everyone. However, this all manages to make for an overlong first half that paints a picture of drug-addled youth without much of any interest beyond their free-spirited nature and takes quite a while before anything actually happens.
Another big factor is that even though this one brings about the inability to recognize the danger of what’s going on with everything here taking place but not interrupting their partying or drug use. The group constantly wanders around the woods trying to find lost members of the party, head for a quiet place to get busy or go off looking for their significant other yet nothing comes about when the killings start. Even those who witness the incidents and survive don’t get much interest in anything happening, and while it works with their altered mind preventing them from recognizing anything, it all feels more like a contrivance to focus on drug use than how people would genuinely react to the situation. It feels somewhat off-putting and tends to bring this one down overall.
Overview: ***.5/5
A fun if problematic psychedelic-fueled witchcraft feature, there’s a lot to like here even if there are more than enough flaws to hold it back from being anything more than a fine curiosity piece overall. Those with a preference for this kind of material, don’t mind the flaws, or are curious about it will have the most to like while the drawbacks on display will harm this one considerably for most others.
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