All his work to put feet on firm ground is uprooted by an unsuspecting deer on the road. Its not clear exactly who is really alive and if he is even himself by the end of his journey to find answers. Louis Hunter) do have meaning, yet they never interlock with the flurry of dopey highs and perverse lowsDekker explores. Jack's mother and father are driving home one evening, when they get into an auto accident. Is this temperament what Jack has to look forward to or what he somehow escaped from unscathed? World Premiere. Then we meet his mother, Teresa ( Lin Shaye ), who survived the fatal crash that killed his dad, and realize how similar her . Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Divinity / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Eddie Alcazar, Producer: Steven Soderbergh) Two mysterious brothers abduct a mogul during his quest for immortality. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. What Dekker provides is an origin story without a forthcoming payoff. Jack (Rory Culkin) receives terrible news that his father has passed away in a car accident and only his mother (Lin Shaye in a scene-stealing performance) has survived. Polite Society / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Nida Manzoor, Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Olivier Kaempfer, John Pocock) Aspiring martial artist Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister, Lena, from her impending marriage. Last week genre staple Thomas Dekker premiered his dark genre hybridJack Goes Home atthe 2016 SXSW Film Festival, and even by the festivals Midnighter standards, it proved to bequite the jarring experience. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? There were 13 other movies released on the same date, including Desierto, Max Steel and The Accountant. DAY ONE. Jack Goes Home. A still from Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls by Andrew Bowser, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The skeletal backbone of Jack Goes Home is weak and strained, that of a trippy mindf*#$ with only short bursts of genre aggression. It's directed by Lars von Trier whose prior films include the Nymphomaniac movies and Melancholia. After his father is killed in a car crash, Jack travels home to Colorado to help nurse his mother (who was injured in the crash) back to health. Cast: Evelyne Ily, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Kelechi Udegbe, Emeka Amakeze, Rita Edochie, Tough Bone. He returns to his home in Denver, Colorado to care for his mother as she recuperates from the traumatic incident. The story here is so clearly born ofan artistic mind facedwith the harsh reality of grief and attempting to make sense of it; needless to say, it is impressive to see a director so brazenly put much of his own experience especially one of such a traumatic nature into awork like this. Some will dig this kinetic bout of blistering genre toxicity,while others will be let down by an ending that offers no pretty bows or sense of direction. Fiction. There, he uncovers long-buried secrets and lies within his family history, his parents, his friends and his very identity. Upfront, Jack Goes Home is a significantlycontemplative work. Genre favorite Lin Shaye elevates the picture by bringing a sense of real hurt and mania to the role of Jacks mother, and her scenes are explosive and unpredictable. Even after we laugh at a tape recorder bouncingdown the stairs like a slinky, whats revealed keeps us on edge. Robertson is a non-factor for most the film, whereas Lin Shaye turns in another fun genre role as Jacks tormenting mother but Culkindraws attention in every scene. Rory Culkin too! He will belittle you with a lightning-fast tongue and think its educational. With devastating and terrifying results. Both Jacks parents were involved in a devastating car accident, leaving his father dead and mother Teresa (Lin Shaye)widowed. But with these subtler inferences on the cyclical nature of life and nightmare come random oddities for shock value rather than clarity. The review for today! Plot. All of the other actors do their best with the material they are given (particularly Shaye, who has never been more fun), but they can only do so much with Dekkers script, which unfortunately does them no favors. Jack becomes an utterly fascinating character from the get-go, the arrival of best friend Shanda ( Daveigh Chase) sparking a violent sleepwalking fit wherein he growls about "the attic" only rendering him more so. He is cursed by his past, and it takes a dark sinister turn when Jack finds a message from his late father, containing a clue that leads him on a mind bending scavenger hunt. That being said, understanding that Dekker wrote the film about his depression following his fathers death in 2010 helps to put the film in a better context: this is Dekkers depressed state of mind represented on film. Fiction. Give this one a chance and I think youll like it. Gotham Knights Horror Icon Doug Bradley Playing Iconic DC Villain in The CW Series! Evelyne Ily appears in a still from Mami Wata by C.J Fiery Obasi , an official selection of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Matt Dillon in the lead role and a whole bunch of guest stars including Uma Thurman. As Jacks volatile mother, Shaye has an absolute field day as well; I have notseen suchagleeful delivery of truly searing dialogue in a while, and it is great to see this genre vet finally get to revel in such a colorfully villainous role. Dekker uses the kitchen sink approach withJack Goes Home, throwing as many tropes and other genre devices into the mix and sees what works. Hes haunted by outreaching arms and bloody creatures, beaten by his mother, kissed by his male neighbor, ruined by bad news from his wife but how does it all add up? This under-directed muddle is punctuated by over-directed dream sequences and scare scenes that lean heavily on images cribbed from horror classics like Repulsion and Suspiria. The film had its premiere atThe SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Conferences and Festivals on Sunday night. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area. Jack also suffers from bouts of unnerving sleepwalking episodes that disturb those around him. It doesnt supply easy answers, leaves a ton of loose ends as far as whats real or fantasy, and turns deadly violent on a dime. Excess becomes normalcy, whether through a pet dog to introduce Natasha Lyonnes vet secretary, a diatribe about God that goes nowhere, animal cruelty, or Shandas homosexuality which feels like a conscious decision simply so common-man America wont waste time wondering why Jack doesnt want to sleep with her adding a girlfriend in Nikki Reeds Crystal, who brings nothing to the plot. While Dekker leaves things too esoteric, plot-wise, to spring a seemingly concrete resolution without warning, he never falters in tone. Available online. Hes suffocated by an avalanche of hurdles, but every mystery operates on its own tangential mindset. Jack also experiences strange things around the house - noises in the attic that lead him to find . The Ending Of Jack Reacher Explained. A still from Talk to Me by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. World Premiere. Some of the weird things that Jack sees end up unexplained and used only to elicit scares from the audience. Slowly, as the physical abuse of his mother weighs on him and he discovers a secret tape recorded by his father, which dives into Jacks childhood; Jacks world starts to crumble around him. The scriptwill be especially frustrating for thosewho do not have much patience for a dreary cinematic experience that focuseson the tedium of tragedy. Its that time of the year again when the Sundance Film Festival shares all of its horror discoveries that well be seeing in the next few years. Jack Goes Home (2016) Summary: After his father is killed in a car crash, Jack travels home to Colorado to help nurse his mother (who was injured in the crash) back to health. As he slowly. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrij Parekh. Wolf Garden Prefers a Little Mystery to Big Bad Wolves [Review], Children of the Corn Review: Reboot, Schmeboot, Wreck: A Queer Horror Series With A Lot Of Heart [Review], The Unrated Cut Of M3GAN Is The Same Girl In The Same Wig, We Have A Ghost Is Spooky, Sweet Fun [Review], Cocaine Bear Is One Wild and Bloody Trip [Review]. With the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood. Never does his loose grasp on sanity slip into foolishness, whileany running from the dark Jack does is playfully stacked against Culkins almostblase attitude towards boogymen and crippling anxiety. Culkin does whats asked, which might be the problem here. Fiction. Follow him on Twitter @mrandrewhawkins, Search the world's largest fan wiki platform. Brittle reveals crumble at the cusp of understanding, meant to rattle instead of satisfy the whole style over substance clich rearing its head once again. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ae3eee6fbc93e918cfe9967e5459a4c1" );document.getElementById("facec42938").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Dekker quite openly admitted that he did not want to make a pretentious festival film while creating Jack Goes Home, a narrative that was inspired byhis own dealings with grief and his fathers death. Jared Mobarak is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic for The Film Stage, Art Director for Buffalo, NY film series Cultivate Cinema Circle, and member of OFCS and GWNYFCA. No Information. Had a little bit more time been spent trimming the fat and polishing the dialogue, Jack Goes Home could have easily been a much better film. Fede Alvarezs Alien Movie Fills Out Cast With Four More Fresh Faces, Eli Roths Thanksgiving Cast Adds Milo Manheim, Scream Why Wes Cravens Classic Is Still the Perfect Scary Movie for Horror Newcomers, Nosferatu Aaron Taylor-Johnson Joins the Cast of Robert Eggers Remake, Hellboy: The Crooked Man Adeline Rudolph and Jefferson White Join the Reboot, Poltergeist Amazon Reportedly Looking to Revive the Franchise, Agent Elvis Trailer Elvis Gets Bloody in Netflixs Adult Animated Series on March 17th, From Season 2 Teaser Trailer Critically Acclaimed Series Returns to MGM+ in April. Culkin does his best with the part, bringing an icy intensity to the role that seems partially modeled on Jake Gyllenhaals Nightcrawler performance, but hes saddled with a character that flits through as many permutations as the films tone. Jack Goes Home is a 2016 American independent horror film written and directed by Thomas Dekker and starring Rory Culkin, Daveigh Chase, Nikki Reed, Britt Robertson, Lin Shaye, Natasha Lyonne, Louis Hunter, and Serge Levin.The film premiered at the South by Southwest international film festival and was theatrically released on October 14, 2016. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Anonymous. Nevertheless, even with a few issues that nagged me, I still ended up enjoying Jack Goes Home.

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