Mike G sent in a nice write-up about two sex-themed films screening at SXSW this year.
I've heard alot about ZOO and the movie makes me uneasy in many ways - not the least of which is because I grew up around Arabian horses (but never had any desire to do them).
Here's Mike G...
First, the two films addressing sexual aberrations:
ZOO
Zoo debuted at Sundance this year and was instantly scoffed with press scrutiny. The film illustrates a hidden community of men who experience a heightened sense of emotional connection and physical attraction to animals, known as Zoophilia.
The small group of men ritually meets in the rural farmlands of Washington to share their socially stigmatized predilection. The men soon form a close bond behind the daily routine of desk jobs and blue-collar labor. Their sexual aberration drives them to document their physical relationships with the resident horses on the property.
This unimaginable relationship between man and horse is the curious foundation for Zoo. With disjointed audio interviews and news bytes, director Robinson Devor loosely paints a dramatized re-enactment of the events, which ultimately result in the death of one of the groups’ members, known only as Mr. Hand. Although no distinction is made between Zoophilia and Bestiality from the audio excerpts, a radio interview with Rush Limbaugh rebuts the major concern raised by the investigating Animal Cruelty organizations, while addressing the key difference; how is having sex with a Horse against the animal’s will?
This pressing question creates the awkward allure of Zoo. Although the subject matter is intriguing enough to maintain audience interest, Devor paints himself into a corner with monotonous slow-motion montages of the Washington skyline, as abused by Discovery channel nature shows, and ceaseless music that exploits our sense of anticipation with its histrionic violin pads.
Also, the most notable expert witness is a cast member who shares an irrelevant diatribe about his experience with death. This obvious contrivance to include a distracting philosophical perspective just further dismantles the film’s progress. The first five minutes of the film’s exposition have the same circling momentum of the last five minutes. Although Zoo’s objective, according to the film’s editor, is to show the chastising reactions of the groups’ community and friends, the purpose is as nebulous as the blurred scenes that comprise it.
Grimm Love
In 2005, two men in Germany met fatefully through an online Cannibalism community. One, who after suffering from schizophrenia and having to tend to his bed-ridden mother, gains a fascination for the process of butchering a human being. And the other, an emotionally distressed masochist having to deal at an early age with the suicide of his mother, yearns to be consumed by another person. The final moments, reminiscent of Ichi the Killer, are videotaped as the collaboration of absolute masochism and sadism is fulfilled.
Grimm Love is the true story of these two men, and a (presumably fictitious) graduate student documenting the psychological motives behind their serendipitous relationship. The student, played by Keri Russell, researches the childhoods and families of the men and consequently is drawn to the their morbid romance with cannibalism. This curiosity fuels further emotional involvement with their story and an insatiable lust to understand the underlying motives. Are they just trying to find their counterpart in life? Is this desire to be consumed an extension of the heart’s forlorn nature? Her fascination is ultimately satisfied, as the videotape of the fateful night is delivered to her doorstep.
The film is beautifully shot by first time director Martin Weisz, which also directed upcoming The Hills Have Eyes 2. Weisz skillfully lights the shots with dark green tones and paints an aura of tragedy in the eyes of the cast. A great sense of tension is created with the unyielding shots of butchering utensils and schizophrenic flashbacks. Each scene grows increasingly odd with the cannibalistic undertones rising to the surface, but their emphasis on finding a person who can truly understand our nature is more important.
It is easy to label Grimm Love simply as Horror, but somehow the adorning relationship with violence creates a highly complex dialogue between sex and violence. This complication is effective in helping the audience feel more terrified and gaining little clarification on the motives of the two men. We hope to rationalize the behavior so we can obtain a sense of safety in our seats, but Grimm Love does not provide answers to the questions it poses.
It simply begs the question, what do your aberrant curiosities lead you to do? And, if you could experience them vicariously, would you?
Sincerely,
Mike G
