Bellflower
SXSW film review
Bellflower
Director & Writer: Evan Glodell Bellflower follows two friends who spend their time building flamethrowers and other weapons in the hope that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang, Mother Medusa. While waiting for the destruction to commence, their call to excitement comes unexpectedly when one of them meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love. Quickly integrating into a new group of friends, they set off on a journey of betrayal, love, hate, and extreme violence more devastating than any of their apocalyptic fantasies. Cast: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes, Vincent Grashaw
WHO'S IT FOR? If you are looking for something raw that feels a little primal, look toward Bellflower even with its flaws.
OVERALL
The phrase "the calm before the storm" has found it's perfect match with Bellflower. The parts don't exactly add up to a whole for me with this movie, but there are some really good parts. It's a buddy flick. A buddy flick where they dream of a post-apocalyptic world where they can drive around in a Mad Max-like car named Medusa. When the woman comes around, you assume she'll come between the two friends, maybe even test the boundaries of their friendship. Nope.
Things keep moving along, until they get really messed up. It's the kind of change in tone that sits in your gut and makes you wonder if that kind of evil exists in all of us, or at least in our heads.
I realize this is a tease, but if you're able to stumble across this film at a festival or eventually rent it, you'll thank me for the vagueness of it all. Or you'll really wish you'd been warned.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10