FLOWERS

FLOWERS

Directed by Phil Stevens

Release: 2015

Format: online screener


STARRING - Krystle Cuervo Fitch, Anastasia Blue, Makaria Tsapatoris, Tanya Paoli, Kara A. Christiansen, Colette Mckenna

SPECIAL MAKEUP AND EFFECTS by Anastasia Blue with Krystle Cuervo Fitch.

COSTUMING AND WARDROBE by Makaria Tsapatoris.

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Phil Stevens

"Abstract and surreal, FLOWERS is a return to the dark art-house horror film.  A movie that tells it's story in silence.  Without any spoken dialog and surrounded in a cryptic and dark visual atmosphere, FLOWERS is a film that builds on the journey and not the destination."

Trailer: http://youtu.be/J7NFEZt6_eA

Thunder.  Ominous rumbling.  The very first audio heard. It sets the tone for the nightmare that will follow.  A beautiful nightmare where nothing is as it seems.  Twisted and perverse,  filled with despair and hopelessness, this is the type of film that will stick with you forever. 

FLOWERS is carefully constructed to keep you engaged on a surreal dreamscape that is bleak and dark.  This film is by no means normal,  and therefore I could not do a normal review.  You know, I put on the film, take notes here and there, come back afterwords, tighten things up... nope. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  I got lost in this film.

You ever have one of those weird, fucked up dreams, where you didn't know what was going on, you were confused, shit was crazy?  You woke up from it disoriented and unsure of what just happened? This film is like that dream, except when you wake up, it all makes sense.  Its a nightmare puzzle and the pieces all come together in the end. Darkness permeates this film and when you see the bigger picture, its just raw. There are hints along the way, and I'm certain the more I view this film, the deeper the rabbit hole will go.  FLOWERS is the type of movie that demands multiple viewings.

There are so many things I want to talk about here, but I really must stay away from specifics.  You need to experience this for yourself.  I absolutely love the way this was all put together.  There is no dialog, the entire story is told using only sound and imagery. This film is extremely artistic. Phil had a very distinct vision and he executed it masterfully.  Some of these set pieces are mind-boggling. A few of the visuals reminded me of Joel-Peter Witkin.  Simply incredible work, outstanding. For a film this cruel and fucked, it does have delicate spots of beauty.  These moments just make the grim reality of it all that much more unsettling. 

I'm not even touching the plot or the story.  I went into this having only viewed the trailer once. I had read no other reviews.  I had expectations of what I might encounter, those individual elements in perhaps a checklist of what I thought I would see.  It didn't take long to find out it was nothing like anything else I've watched.  

I will say that is on the extreme end of the spectrum, and I wouldn't be surprised if some found this to be a challenging watch.  I'm fighting the urge to tell you why, but I won't.  Some scenes are claustrophobic and uncomfortable.  Some would certainly be considered sickening by normal standards.  Of course, I absofuckinglutely loved it all.  

Camerawork, imagery, sound, music, acting, fx, writing... everything is 5/5.  5 of fucking 5.  DO NOT MISS THIS ONE.  There is passion and intensity to this film, I had no choice but to love it. Destined to be in the top films of 2015.