#STRICTLYINDIE FILM VIEWS: "HERE COMES THE DEVIL"

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Here comes a sexually-driven Indie that's bound to become a cult classic among foreign horror buffs. Adrián García Bogliano wastes no time in unveiling just how much sexuality will drive the film, opening on an explicit sex scene between two women. If you're an extreme gore fan, you'll get a few scenes to enjoy. But Here Comes The Devil is much more than an on-the-surface slasher or paranormal fright. 

The plot is simple but Bogliano lets the story wander off in some really interesting directions. A family drives through Mexico and stops at a rest area near a large hill. The two kids want to venture up the hill to play and their parents allow them to do so while they fool around in the car. After the kids don't return by the curfew given by their mother, the parents are stricken with fear and grief. The cops inform them that they can't begin the search until the next morning. Lo and behold, the kids pop right back up in the morning, but there is something different about them. Something wrong.

Apart from the sex and violence that you usually get from horror films, it's the Mexican folklore that drives the mystery and horror like something out of a Rudolfo Anaya novel. It is the little things that make Here Comes The Devil so intriguing, allowing us to uncover the mystery with the parents at a deliberate and well structured pace.

To some, the forthrightness of sexuality and esoteric undertones may seem a tad excessive in relation to little children; but it is far from being labeled as tasteless. It is strange and fantastical, and held together by some great performances from Francisco Barreiro and Laura Caro.

If you classify yourself as a horror genre fan, this isn't a film to miss out on. It is now in select theaters and available on iTunes.

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Review by Ryan Kramer

#StrictlyIndie Film Views: "Upstream Color"

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Upstream Color is one of those films to which you need to give your undivided attention. This was also the case with Shane Carruth's breakout feature film, Primer (2004). Carruth packs a lot of information into fast-moving shots with little dialogue or plot; and even if you do try your best to soak it all in, it can still be difficult to grasp. The film begins with a mysterious individual who seems to have found use of a certain worm living in the soil of his garden. He experiments with the worm as a parasite, slipping the insect onto a woman named Kris (Amy Seimetz). The parasite strips Kris of independent thought and, before she knows it, the mysterious individual has conditioned her into forking over her money through the equity of her home. A series of strange events then unfold. Kris meets a man on the train named Jeff (Shane Carruth), who she seems to share a biological connection with. He may have also been experimented on. Their strange affair turns suddenly serious and Carruth begins to delve deep into the films many themes. 

From disease to the power of solitude, Carruth's vision is heavily filtered through the work of David Thoreau's "Walden," which is constantly shown and quoted. Ultimately, the film feels like a social experiment and a voyage of spiritual discovery that never really connects you to the characters, but rather keeps you distanced and clinical in speculation. Carruth's usage of blues, grays and whites, along with constantly lingering on the verge of overexposure, does a good job of supporting that theme quite powerfully.

Upstream may not be a film for everyone to enjoy; but it can be compelling to a good many, leaving its images ingrained in your mind long after viewing. It's intriguing. It's bewildering. It's thought provoking. One of its more basic themes of human connection may get you wondering if there's another person out there, going through the same exact movements as you, somehow bound to you just as they are to everything in nature.

The film is currently streaming on Netflix Instant. Be sure to add it to your queue if it sounds like your kind of movie. 

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Review by Ryan Kramer

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