Resolution
DVD
Directed by Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Written by Justin Benson
Starring Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Zahn McClarnon
NR
93 mins
2012
Meth is a hell of a drug, or so they say, and we're about to find out just how bad it can get. Yet by like token, as far as "Resolution" is concerned, the drug may well be worse for those around it than those actually involved with it.
"Resolution" follows a man who's about to help an old friend with a task that no man should have to help an old friend with. Specifically, this man is about to help his old buddy kick meth. He's got a reasonably interesting way to do it, too: head out to the abandoned cabin where said old buddy is staying, handcuff said old buddy to a wall, and wait. Wait for the withdrawal to kick in and then ultimately pass, and when it does, so too will the addiction. But that's not a point that will go down easily, especially when the outside world decides to encroach on the process. Strange artifacts start showing up, and it becomes clear that something's going on out near the old cabin that's a lot stranger, and more terrifying, than expected.
Normally, the exciting stuff happens at the ending, but this one manages to take the first twenty minutes and make them noteworthy in their own right. That's a rather exciting development, and makes this one a little something unique. It's already worth watching before the creepy stuff happens, and that's unusual. Any time a movie can do unusual any more, that's one that makes you sit up and take notice.
And then the mortgage broker shows up, and that's where things get particularly strange. While our buddies have been digging up recordings and journals and assorted whatnot that proves things are crazy out in that neck of the woods, suddenly a mortgage broker shows up and tries to buy the house that the duo is running a squatter's detox in. Bizarre? You bet. Bizarre is practically this movie's entire stock in trade, and while there aren't many scares in here, there are a few, and the movie knows how to handle a proper horror film atmosphere very nicely.
The ending proves to be more patently lunatic than everything we've seen so far. Yet at the same time, it's clear something interesting is taking place here, and when you finally get a handle on just what that something is, it's positively amazing.
Special features include audio options--though nary a subtitle can be found--as well as commentary tracks, an interview with the filmmakers, a set of "weird extras," some deleted scenes, a set of film festival promos, and trailers for"Hansel and Gretel Get Baked," "The Comedy," and "Grave Encounters 2."
Meth may be a hell of a drug, but "Resolution" is easily a hell of a movie. Weirder than 90 percent of the others out there, with a few decent scares and loads of foreboding, this one is a real surprise and a powerful piece of work to boot. Those who want to see something completely different are advised to start watching right here.