Austin School of Film

I won't pretend that these movies have much to do with each other, aside from both screening at Fantastic Fest 2011, the similarities are few and far between.  I talked my roommate into seeing Take Shelter with me (he hates dramas) on the condition that we would watch Human Centipede 2 on demand at home afterwards. It was a bizarre night for both of us.

Take Shelter is Jeff Nichols 2nd collaboration with acting powerhouse Michael Shannon.  The movie also features Jessica Chastain from Tree of Life, and Shannon's Boardwalk Empire cohort Shea Whigham.  

Curtis (Michael Shannon) is plagued by a sudden onset of disturbing dreams which tips his formerly comfortable existence into a tailspin.  He is unable to shake a feeling of impending doom and resorts to blowing his families savings on expanding the underground tornado shelter in the backyard.  

Up to this point in his life, everything in Curtis' life has been well planned and with the best intentions in mind.  He even attempts to diagnose his own mental illness to expedite his therapy process and get back to taking care of his family.  His diligence becomes a curse as he becomes unable to discern reality from his dreams and his plan costs him his job and the ability to provide for his family.

The acting in Take Shelter is masterful as Shannon's portrayal of insanity is highly palpable.  I found myself unable to disagree with his seemingly poor decisions, despite knowing they would cause significant damage to his life.  Chastain and Whigham play perfect foils to his illness, totally alienated by his erratic behavior.

The ending I initially found to be disappointing, but I think the movie comes from the school of thought that story is dead, feeling is king. 

Speaking of movies without a story!  Did I mention Human Centipede 2 yet?  HC2 feels like a two page story treatment stretched into an agonizing 90 or so minutes.  There is no real dialogue, the main character is a sexually tormented/mentally-handicapped-mute, and the auxiliary characters barely interact with one another. 

Furthermore, the premise hinges on the fact that Human Centipede (First Sequence) is just a movie, and that Martin (the villain/protagonist?) of HC2 is so enthralled by it that he attempts to make the REAL Human Centipede, the full 12 person sequence, ass-to-mouth.

The entire movie is shot in ultra high contrast black and white, most likely to maintain the ability to be shown in a theater, the only color from the excrement of the centipede which for whatever reason is the color you think it is.

Martin's behavior is random, and his victims are so carelessly selected that there is almost nothing to get out of this movie.  Director Tom Six's cop out ending is worse than anything than Martin does in the first 90 minutes.  Disturbing indeed.

Brian Boeckman