A couple of directors I really like in this surreal/odd category are Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
Resolution (2012) It's just such a weird...strange concept. The Watcher who supernaturally uses recorded media on these two guys out in the middle of the desert on this old Native Reserve. This film in a duo of films, explores one man's obsession with understanding the machinations of this "thing" (is it a creature? Is it a being?) and what that means for not only his own life purpose but also the impact of reality itself. It also explores a little bit the flaw in knowing your future, even just a few moments ahead, and how this can either spur you to action or paralyze you. It comes off as dirt cheap, very simple, yet does so well capturing that dream-like bizarreness.
The Endless (2017) This is the sequel to Resolution but both films can stand on their own. The only thing they really share is a world and we see the events and characters in Resolution briefly in The Endless(but even not knowing who they are, it doesn't hurt the film or the concepts they're trying to portray). It's the same Watcher concept in this desert Native Reserve except now there's a cult that lives out there and seems to worship this thing. This also explains some of the time aspects and the "bubbles" of captured time with people trapped within them. Again, there's this hidden story and lore that tickles the imagination. I felt like Resolution explained a bit more about this creature/being that records and takes pictures while The Endless explained different ways people interact within these time bubbles. But neither film offers any complete answers and leaves a lot of mystery unfulfilled.
Spring (2014) This guy traveling in Italy trying to find himself and mourn the death of his mother meets this enigmatic and beautiful young woman. It feels like a typical European traveler romance for the first 20-30 minutes. Then you start to realize, there's something strange about this woman he's met. This movie felt incomplete and rushed and I found the concept they were trying to explore with this woman, Louise, was a lot less captivating or interesting than other concepts they've explored.
Synchronic (2019) Probably the most polished and high-profile of their films(starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan who have been in big Blockbusters) yet it is the least interesting of their movies. It's a weird concept, a drug that pushes you back in time (for only 7 minutes each time) and different moments in time depending on where you're standing. But they didn't do anything with it. The one guy's daughter gets stuck in the past and the other guy uses the drug to try to find her. It feels sloppy and simple, like they simply threw the idea together. Also, there was a bit of a hiccup narratively where for the first 20 minutes of the film, there is no story. We're dropped into this world where drugs have been made legal and these two guys are paramedics showing up in places where people have been killed by things in the past by taking this time drug. But they don't understand that until later. But Jamie Dornan is not charming and has no chemistry with anyone I've seen him on screen with. He's got a "quiet guy brooding" energy. So, for the first 20 minutes, you're watching these paramedics do their job and it was very fly on the wall, watching Dornan murmur and do things while Mackie silently emotes because he's the main character and supposed to be discovering this drug and doing the time thing. It was essentially waiting for the story to start because it felt directionless in the beginning.
Synchronic and Spring aren't really on my list but since I was going to talk about Benson and Moorehead, I thought I'd talk about all of their work that I've seen.
Resolution (2012) It's just such a weird...strange concept. The Watcher who supernaturally uses recorded media on these two guys out in the middle of the desert on this old Native Reserve. This film in a duo of films, explores one man's obsession with understanding the machinations of this "thing" (is it a creature? Is it a being?) and what that means for not only his own life purpose but also the impact of reality itself. It also explores a little bit the flaw in knowing your future, even just a few moments ahead, and how this can either spur you to action or paralyze you. It comes off as dirt cheap, very simple, yet does so well capturing that dream-like bizarreness.
The Endless (2017) This is the sequel to Resolution but both films can stand on their own. The only thing they really share is a world and we see the events and characters in Resolution briefly in The Endless(but even not knowing who they are, it doesn't hurt the film or the concepts they're trying to portray). It's the same Watcher concept in this desert Native Reserve except now there's a cult that lives out there and seems to worship this thing. This also explains some of the time aspects and the "bubbles" of captured time with people trapped within them. Again, there's this hidden story and lore that tickles the imagination. I felt like Resolution explained a bit more about this creature/being that records and takes pictures while The Endless explained different ways people interact within these time bubbles. But neither film offers any complete answers and leaves a lot of mystery unfulfilled.
Spring (2014) This guy traveling in Italy trying to find himself and mourn the death of his mother meets this enigmatic and beautiful young woman. It feels like a typical European traveler romance for the first 20-30 minutes. Then you start to realize, there's something strange about this woman he's met. This movie felt incomplete and rushed and I found the concept they were trying to explore with this woman, Louise, was a lot less captivating or interesting than other concepts they've explored.
Synchronic (2019) Probably the most polished and high-profile of their films(starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan who have been in big Blockbusters) yet it is the least interesting of their movies. It's a weird concept, a drug that pushes you back in time (for only 7 minutes each time) and different moments in time depending on where you're standing. But they didn't do anything with it. The one guy's daughter gets stuck in the past and the other guy uses the drug to try to find her. It feels sloppy and simple, like they simply threw the idea together. Also, there was a bit of a hiccup narratively where for the first 20 minutes of the film, there is no story. We're dropped into this world where drugs have been made legal and these two guys are paramedics showing up in places where people have been killed by things in the past by taking this time drug. But they don't understand that until later. But Jamie Dornan is not charming and has no chemistry with anyone I've seen him on screen with. He's got a "quiet guy brooding" energy. So, for the first 20 minutes, you're watching these paramedics do their job and it was very fly on the wall, watching Dornan murmur and do things while Mackie silently emotes because he's the main character and supposed to be discovering this drug and doing the time thing. It was essentially waiting for the story to start because it felt directionless in the beginning.
Synchronic and Spring aren't really on my list but since I was going to talk about Benson and Moorehead, I thought I'd talk about all of their work that I've seen.
