Word had certainly got around about Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s mysterious horror film, Resolution, by the time I had a chance to watch it. Having no idea what I was getting into I was expecting a film that would scare me, freak me out or get under my skin, instead what I saw was completely different and unexpected. Resolution is definitely one of the odder films I’ve seen this year but one full of plenty of twists that make it all worth your time.
Resolution starts off with a video Michael (Peter Cilella) was sent by his nomadic druggie friend Chris (Vinny Curan) tripping out in the middle of a field to some weird effects. Deciding to be a good friend, Michael takes a trip to see Chris and convince him to go to rehab. When that fails, he cuffs his friend to a wall in the unfinished home that he’s been squatting in, forcing him to sober up the hard way. During their stay, Michael comes across some pictures of people and all of a sudden a trail of sadistic bread crumbs start to appear as Michael later finds a record player with odd recordings and a film projector with nasty footage. Throughout all of this a crackling effect occurs on screen, like something you would see on old film in a movie theater, as if someone was recording them and creating a story. Eventually they start to see pictures and recordings of themselves, perplexing Michael but not bothering Chris. As things begin to escalate with the seemingly paranormal, Chris and Michael must also deal with Chris’ angry druggie friends who want their dope back while criminal looking Native Americans try to swindle Michael of all his money as he stays at a tribal owned house.
It’s hard for me to put into words what exactly happens in this movie without spoiling its fascinating aspects. The above synopsis doesn’t really do the film justice, especially as it builds up to its jaw dropping ending but I’ll try my best. As I mentioned earlier, Resolution is one of the odder films I’ve seen this year and it’s one of the few films I’ve seen where, after a couple weeks I’m still thinking about it. It’s a film that requires repeat viewings in order to help bring clarity to what is going on throughout the bulk of the picture. All I’m certain of is that there is a paranormal entity filming these two guys, creating a story that eventually catches up to the present but the question of why it’s doing is still a mystery to me.
The filmmakers do attempt to give us some sort of explanation about the strange events occurring during the picture when Michael goes to meet a Frenchman living alone in a trailer. Having lived in the same spot for years on end, the Frenchman gets high and explains in a very philosophical way what the other French people who came to America to study with him were researching on this Indian tribal land. It’s a really important scene and one you shouldn’t zone out on.
The coolest part about Resolution is its final 10 seconds when yo
u finally have an idea as to what is happening. The intensity and suspense continually builds throughout the final 20 minutes but once that tension snaps it’ll leave you temporarily speechless. Once you snap back into reality you’ll likely start to scratch your head in bewilderment as you try to make sense of what happened and what it means. This is one of those endings where you wish you had a commentary track so that you don’t feel left in the dark about the crazy events, particularly what is supposed to happen next.
Resolution is a lot like the 2012 version of Kill List, which Kevin and I both reviewed. The difference between the two is that you know there is something strange going on relatively early in Resolution whereas Kill List starts running it’s weird course much closer towards the end of the picture. It’ll also remind you of Sinister in the way our leads are provided footage from an unknown source that creepily push the story along.
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead strengths lie in the way they are able to string you along throughout the film, piquing your curiosity as much as Mike’s since, like him, you don’t have a real good sense of what is actually happening. Mike keeps going along for the ride and won’t ignore these weird clues unlike Chris who says just leave it alone. It’s this difference of opinions that perplexes you as a viewer because on the one hand you want Mike to avoid the typical horror cliché of going into the rabbit hole, but at the same time you don’t know where the film is going so you secretly want to egg him on as well. It’s a conundrum for sure but it’s the first time I chose the cliché over being smart because I wanted to know what the hell was going on.
Resolution is an attention-grabbing low budget horror that takes you to a dark place you least expect it to. It’s an original picture that has an ideal balance of intelligence, chills, plot twists and turns that makes the ending completely worthwhile and a film certainly worthy of your time.
Rating: A creative, engrossing and moody film that takes you on an unexpectedly eerie journey (7/10)
Recent Comments