I’ve seen a number of indie films on the big screen in recent weeks, so it seems like a good time to talk about some of my favorites. These films cover a wide range of genres from horror to thriller to a blend of horror and thriller. Very diverse. Without further ado, here are some of my favorite recent indie films I’ve seen in cinemas.
Longlegs directed by Osgood Perkins
Of all of the films I plan on discussing today, this is the one you’re most likely to have seen. I say that because it has raked in a staggering $103.5 million at the box office thus far on a budget estimated to be under $10 million. That’s an astonishing number for an original R-rated horror film without any major studio backing. I chalk that up to one of the best marketing campaigns I’ve ever seen. The premise is an interesting one. It’s about a serial killer (played by Nicolas Cage) who somehow convinces a father with a daughter born on the fourteenth of any given to murder his entire family before then also killing himself despite there being no physical evidence that this killer is even present at the scene save for a letter left behind signed “Longlegs.” Maika Monroe plays an FBI agent tasked with solving these murders. I really enjoyed it. The film borrows heavily from movies like Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and Zodiac while also being infused with the dread that has become commonplace in films directed by Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter being the most obvious example). It’s not an especially gruesome movie despite the subject matter, but it’s extremely effective in how it keeps the audience on edge throughout its runtime with its deliberate pacing and and unnerving score. If that isn’t enough to sell it, then you also get one of the most unhinged performances of Nicolas Cage’s career. You know that’s saying something if you’ve followed his career.
Cuckoo directed by Tilman Singer
Giallo is back, baby! Between this and MaXXXine, there has never been a better time to be a fan of the horror subgenre. For those not familiar with the subgenre, these are horror films that tend to combine slasher tropes with murder mysteries and focus more on stylistic choices than logical storytelling. They are largely based on vibes and operate under a kind of surreal dream logic. Cuckoo operates in a similar fashion. It’s about a teenage girl named Gretchen (played by Hunter Schafer) who travels with her family to a secluded German resort operated by a wonderfully creepy man played by Dan Stevens. Strange ailments start to befall various women at the resort, and Gretchen finds herself being stalked by a mysterious woman. I had a fun time with this one. It’s weird, gross, funny, and scary, and it features one of my favorite Dan Stevens performances to date. My recommendation would be that you not get too caught up in the details and just let yourself go along for the ride.
Strange Darling directed by J.T. Mollner
This has become a bit of a cliche, but it has never been more true about a movie than this one: go into this one knowing as little about it as possible. In fact, stop reading this piece and go see the movie first. I’ll wait. For those of you willing to stick around, I’ll keep this as devoid of spoilers as possible. Strange Darling is a cat-and-mouse thriller starring Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner told over the course of six chapters and an epilogue. What makes this film so unique is that those chapters are not told in chronological order. The movie starts with the third chapter and bounces around from there. It allows the audience to constantly recontextualize what they are seeing as more and more information is presented. It’s an extremely tense viewing experience, and it’s buoyed by the phenomenal performances of Fitzgerald and Gallner. Fitzgerald in particular deserves recognition for her performance, but the various awards shows rarely honor genre films like this. This is easily one of my favorite movies of the year, and I hope more people are able to see it.
Red Rooms directed by Pascal Plante
This film really came out of nowhere for me. I first became aware of it while scrolling through Rotten Tomatoes the day before its release in the United States. It seemed to be garnering a lot of critical praise, so I bought a ticket to see it opening night with no real knowledge about what it was. I could not be happier with my decision. I found Red Rooms to be the most profoundly disturbing film I’ve seen this year. Featuring an incredible performance by Juliette Gariepy, it’s about a model named Kelly-Anne who becomes obsessed with an ongoing murder trial for an alleged serial killer accused of murdering three girls and filming their deaths to be sold to wealthy degenerates on the dark web. It’s ultimately about how an unhealthy obsession can unravel a person’s life and harm those around them. At no point in the film did I ever get a good grasp on where it was going or how it would end, and that is part of why I loved it so much. Gariepy’s performance makes it next to impossible to get a good feeling about what her motivations are or what end goal she has in mind, and that constant unease and sense of danger carries the film. It also has one of the best and most unique scores I’ve heard courtesy of Dominique Plante (whose brother wrote and directed the film). This is definitely not a movie for everyone as evidenced by a couple who walked out about halfway through my showing. It’s very deliberately paced, explores extremely disturbing themes, and is almost entirely in French (it’s a French-Canadian film set in Montreal). It’s made with the intent to make the audience feel as uncomfortable as possible, and it is wildly successful at doing exactly that. It was paradoxically mesmerizing and repellent as I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen while dreading what I was about to see. I would classify it as a psychological thriller, but I wouldn’t dispute anyone who considers it horror. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something challenging yet compelling. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.