What the hell am I doing, man?
Almost exactly one year ago, the filmmaking team of Nicolas Curcio and Kirby Gladstein won $100,000, a distribution deal, “and a swift kick in their butt” to make their movie Play House; contingent on premiering it at the next year’s Fantastic Fest.
And, you know? I was prepared to be congratulatory and polite in my review for this first winner of the now annual “Fantastic Pitches” program: “Look at what they did in less than a year! Look at what they did with no budget!” But that is dismissive and shows my bias, because I’ve been proven incredibly wrong.
Because just look at what they did in less than a year. Just look at what they did with no budget. They made a very good, very scary movie that might just be my favorite horror movie of the entire festival. What the hell did I accomplish these past 365 days since the last Fantastic Fest? I didn’t make a horror movie about potentially (and probably) imprisoned puppets, that’s for sure.
Former child star Elliot (played by Will Harrison, Murdaugh: Death in the Family) has just put a down payment on a new, ratty house. The government previously owned it to build a highway, but now it's abandoned, dilapidated, and covered in mold. Sure, the purchase is partially because that’s what people Elliot's age do, but it’s likely more to “play house” and impress his ex-girlfriend Cath (played by Jessica Sula, Split).
Their shared best friend, played by Jordan Gonzalez (The Long Walk), helps with the move-in process and the much-needed renovation, but he's also a bit of a lost media connoisseur. He knows his way around online forums and runs a successful YouTube channel, an odd job that can absolutely exist in today's day and age. One of his texts reads, “You have to watch my full Chuck E. Cheese videos,” and I can't be alone in wanting that link.
Soon into the move, Elliot discovers a plastic bag of mysterious VHS tapes in the basement, and without a new TV or Wi-Fi hooked up in his new place, what else is there to do except watch each one as he falls asleep every night on a VCR/CRTV combo gifted to him by his best friend?
The grainy videos seem to be lost test episodes for an unaired children’s TV show called “Monster Alley,” hosted by a suit-clad, greasy-haired Mr. Morton (beloved character actor James Urbaniak, best known by me as Dwight Schrute’s best friend in The Office). Morton is joined by rather cute but still disturbing puppets like Shelly Skeleton, Zombie Zeke, and Grinner (I love Grinner). Mr. Morton loves living on Monster Alley, but his puppet neighbors seem less enthused–are those real children’s voices? Why do they sound so scared?
Play House’s one location – this once-condemned, grungy starter house- allows the audience to really grasp the film’s geography, including the master… err… primary bedroom, the crusty kitchen, and the incredibly dark basement that also seems to have jail cells? Nothing to see there. “Dude, am I in a creepypasta right now?” intones one character rather aptly. Uh, yeah. It certainly seems like it!
I remember when I first moved to Austin. I drove down before my wife to get the keys and set up our basic utilities. During that first night sleeping on an air mattress and listening to every creak and every gurgle of the water heater in this old house, I have perhaps never been more unnerved and alone. Play House delivers that feeling in abundance, forcing you to look closely at the shadows surrounding a sleeping Elliot.
Play House is well shot, well acted, and well paced. It does not look or sound like a $100,000 movie. Again, I know that sounds dismissive, but it has incredibly confident cinematography and a great sound design that never shows the film's true budget. Its young trio of talent has remarkable, believable chemistry. I keep comparing it to the actors from Obsession, which also feels derivative–can I not name any other modern horror movie with a likable cast of relative unknowns?
The writing team, a real-life couple, imbued the script with very relatable friendships and romance. The fact that it was made within the past year also ensured the jokes and references still felt timely and immediate. Those little phrases popularized by social media memes don’t feel as stale as, say, a big studio movie trying to remain #hip and #relevant.
How many more horror movies about VHS tapes, or lost media, or creepy children’s shows can we stomach? If they’re anything like the quality of Play House–keep ‘em coming. I sat in on this year’s Fantastic Pitches, and I’ll be first in line to see what’s next for this incubation program. And I can’t wait for people to see Play House… and what other people create after they see Play House.
