Horror movies. They'll make you laugh. They'll make you scream. And then, if you're really lucky, they'll make you do both. At the same time.
Dan Gilroy, the visionary creator behind the 2014 thrillerNightcrawler, has once again teamed up with stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo — this time for a terrifying take on the world of modern art in Netflix's Velvet Buzzsaw. Aptly marketed as a satirical thriller, Gilroy's deliriously and devilishly fun romp isn't breaking much new ground for the genre, but it does manage to uncover the rarely enjoyed holy grail of scary movie experiences: the laugh scream.
SEE ALSO: Jake Gyllenhaal is absolutely done with you pronouncing 'melancholy' wrongThe laugh scream (or the scream laugh, if you go by Urban Dictionary's syntax) is best described as two loud, audible reactions meeting somewhere deep inside one's vocal box to then flourish into the world as a kind of mesmerizing mutant bark. It is an involuntary, cathartic, out-of-body experience I would personally liken to a desperately needed rest stop on a long road trip mixed with coughing while having the hiccups.
Velvet Buzzsaw's structure — a series of shock value deaths addressed with imaginative goriness à la Final Destination,but broken up by scenes packed with hilarious, snappy dialogue — lends itself perfectly to the laugh scream. An even balance between comedic relief and outright horror, Velvet Buzzsaw's various vignettes leapfrog between genres like many projects before it, but truly shine when forcing the two opposing tones to collide.
This cast is packed with excellent performances by John Malkovich, Toni Collette and more, but Gyllenhaal's bizarre take on an art critic captures the duality of the film best. Similar to his chilling role in Nightcrawler (but with less antiheroic flair), Gyllenhaal portrays Morf Vandewalt with a kind of slipperiness that is both pleasantly likable and undeniably off-putting. As the characters of this cursed universe are picked off one by one, you can't help but root for Morf to survive... if only so he can bite the big one with a more cackle-worthy splash later down the line.
Moreover, the visual interest of the movie holds the audience in daunting, perpetual suspense. Neon signs and elaborate statues pepper numerous backdrops of the film, as vicious but artful center pieces increasingly turn on the characters around them. This aesthetically intriguing environment begs you to lean in for a closer look even as the horrifying crescendoes of the narrative push you further and further into your seat.
In spite of some imperfect pacing and thin monster creation, Velvet Buzzsaw's elaborate concepts and marked duality make it a more-than-worthy watch. Hitting an increasingly visual culture in the middle of a horror renaissance, Velvet Buzzsaw will have you laugh screaming "cult classic." Or at the very least blurting out, "Oh shit!"
Velvet Buzzsawis now streaming on Netflix.
Topics Netflix
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