a zoo in hell

2.18.2014

Twixt (2011)

http://boxd.it/2CiPv

I was in the minority of people that enjoyed Tetro, I guess. In theory I was all for the legends of 70s cinema returning to small films now that they could, but if this sort of thing is the result, please run back to Hollywood right now Mr. Coppola. There is just so little good to say about this film. I like the concept and the conceit, dreamlands that intersect with the dead and undead is a great idea for a weirdo horror movie.

Of course, this is all derailed by the main character (Val Kilmer): a horror writer who seems unaware of most of the tropes of his own genre. What does not make a good weirdo horror movie is sub-SyFy dialogue quality, CGI which is almost as bad, and shot composition that resembles something you'd see in undergrad film school. Really, Coppola?

I saw someone joke online that this is his lost student film, and I have to agree. It's a good concept mangled beyond cool. It might live on as a cult film in the same way that The Room does. There are a few nice visual touches, and the treatment of the ghostly dead is an interesting touch, so there's the star and a half.

Maybe both Coppola and Lucas should lay off the wine for a while.