13 Nights of Shocktober: Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

 by A.J.

Night 4: Art Horror Night

 “An epic saga of violence and madness”

Velvet Buzzsaw

It took me a long time to get around to Velvet Buzzsaw, released on Netflix and lost amongst the regular deluge of “content” to the service in addition to all the titles already in “My List,” but it is an entertaining horror film well worth watching. Set in the high art world of Los Angeles, Velvet Buzzsaw is Nightcrawler writer-director Dan Gilroy’s foray into horror. While he does not try to reinvent the genre, this is not a formulaic genre exercise either. Gilroy clearly understands what makes an effective and lively horror movie. 

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a highly influential art critic named Morf Vandewalt, whose thick framed glasses, Caesar haircut, exaggerated facial expressions, and obviously affected speech will clue you in to the broad tone of the movie within the first three minutes. To invoke an art metaphor, Velvet Buzzsaw does not use the light, meticulously planned, almost imperceptible points of Georges Seurat (A Sunday on La Grande Jatte), but the thick and clearly visible brush strokes of Vincent van Gogh. This is not an “elevated” horror film but instead plays like it is an exquisite, high end feature length episode of Tales From the Crypt; a high compliment from this critic. 

Josephina (Zawe Ashton), an employee at a posh art gallery, discovers that her neighbor has committed suicide and left behind a note to dispose of his prolific body of unseen artwork and paintings. Encouraged by her boss, Rhodora Haze (Rene Russo), Josephina says she found the paintings in a dumpster without a note. This allows Rhodora’s gallery to claim ownership of all the macabre, mesmeric work by the late artist Deese. In exchange for a review and profile, Morf takes some of Deese’s paintings, sure to become very valuable very soon. His research uncovers not only Deese’s suicide note and final request, but the dark and violent past of the mysterious artist who mixed his own blood into the paint. It is somewhere around here that you, unlike the characters, realize that the art is cursed and all those who profit from it will receive their comeuppance. 

Like a Tales From the Crypt episode, this is basically a morality play—bad people do bad things and reap their sour rewards—used to deliver shocks, thrills, sex, and violence. Nearly every character is unlikable to some degree–except for the sweet and out of her depth Coco (Natalia Dyer), who floats from one unfortunate employer to the next, and John Malkovich as a now sober but washed up artist. Yet, all of the characters are drawn with such broad strokes that they are understandable, to some degree, and entertaining. 

The killer artwork provides for some very memorable and visually interesting “kill scenes.” Cinematographer Robert Elswit ensures that every scene, even the non-supernatural ones, look impeccable and eye-catching. The scenes of the artwork coming to life and moving and bleeding are creepy and scary and exciting too. Every moment of Velvet Buzzsaw is stylish, which is only appropriate for a movie set in the high art world. 

The screenplay has fun with and lampoons every art type: critics, gallery owners, rising artists, washed up artists, art bloggers/influencers. I suppose the weakness of the movie is that at times it thinks it is delivering biting satire but actually offers no real insight or critique of characters more concerned with profit and status than art or merit. The exaggerated characters and art allow for amusing moments without fully turning the movie into a comedy. A scene where a dead body is mistaken as part of an exhibit is one of the darker moments of humor. Another scene of a gallery owner first mistaking a reproductions factory and then bags of trash for a new work by the Malkovich character is another obvious but still no less amusing moment. 

Velvet Buzzsaw is broad but not over the top. Gyllenhaal’s performance is best described in the same way. As the movie goes on it builds a sense of impending dread around the characters but not for the viewer. No new ground is broken thematically but that hardly prevents this film from being an entertaining horror movie. The best thing about Velvet Buzzsaw is that it is not afraid to have fun; it does not think being scary and being entertaining are mutually exclusive.

Velvet Buzzsaw is currently streaming on Netflix.

Best Pictures #81: 2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: The Power of the Dog

by A.J.

Best Pictures #81: 2021 (94th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

The Power of the Dog

"Deliver my soul from the sword. My darling from the power of the dog."

I suppose the easiest way to describe The Power of the Dog is as a western. It takes place in the American West, at a cattle ranch in Montana, there are cowboys and picturesque landscapes, but there are no gunfights or intense cattle drives. The year is 1925 and the inexorable modernity of the 20th century is creeping in and the hidden emotions of the taciturn western men are creeping out. There is a showdown of sorts, but it is so understated that even the climax of the film sneaks up on you. 

Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons) are brothers who own a cattle rancher and live a quiet life. Though being quiet and shy, George proposes marriage to Rose (Kirsten Dunst) just after he meets her. She accepts and moves to the ranch along with her teenage son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Phil does not approve of Rose or her son or their being at the ranch. In the second act, while Peter is away at college and George is away on business, Rose is left alone at the ranch with Phil’s unrelenting bullying and psychological abuse. In the third and final part of the film, Peter returns from college to be confronted with his now alcoholic mother and Phil’s domineering personality. Phil seems ready to bully Peter as well but then takes him under his wing and teaches him about being a rancher. Their uneasy dynamic is the source of the film's beguiling tension. 

All four of the principal cast members received Oscar nominations but the two real standout performances are from Kodi Smit-Mcphee, for what his character hides, and Benedict Cumberbatch, for what his character fails to hide. Phil becomes an unlikely mentor to Peter but there is also an underlying hostility even as the two grow closer. I don’t feel that it is giving away too much to reveal that Phil is a closeted and repressed homosexual, something he would not admit to anyone, especially himself. His treatment of the other characters is rooted in his repression. Peter’s presence has the potential to be a positive in Phil’s life, but Peter may have his own hidden intentions. 

The Power of the Dog has an almost experimental structure. Its first two acts are exposition and setup and it is not until the reappearance of Peter in the final third when a plot is set in motion. Until Peter’s reappearance the story feels like it is treading water and the pacing throughout is slow but deliberate. Director Jane Campion, who also adapted the screenplay from the novel by Thomas Savage, does not telegraph the thoughts of the characters and neither do the performances. They take a low key approach of revealing the characters through their actions (a reflection of themselves). This makes for an interesting but unconventional western.

Nominees: Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, producers

Director: Jane Campion

Screenplay: Jane Campion; based on the novel by Thomas Savage

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Release Date: November 17, 2021

Production Companies: New Zealand Film Commission, BBC Film, Max Films, See-Saw Films, Bad Girl Creek, Cross City Films

Distributor: Netflix

Total Nominations: 12, including Best Picture

Win: 1) Director-Jane Campion

Other Nominations: Actor-Benedict Cumberbatch; Supporting Actor-Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee; Supporting Actress-Kirsten Dunst; Adapted Screenplay-Jane Campion; Cinematography-Ari Wegner; Editing-Peter Sciberras; Original Score-Jonny Greenwood; Production Design-Grant Major (production design), Amber Richards (set decoration); Sound-Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie, Tara Webb