User reviews

Another original film by the duo Benson/Moorhead. But this time was more focused on drama and character development by the two lead protagonists/directors. The mystery of the phenomenon had me pretty interested throughout the movie but at certain point I kinda gave up on it since the accent was put so much more on the effects and the relationship between the two guys rather than the story or the origin of the phenomenon.

BUT, this film also gave me strong Resolution (2012) vibes. Resolution too was a movie about two dudes in similar situation but with very different relationship and backstories, then years later The Endless (2017) explained in glorious way the questions we had about The Resolution back in 2012.

It may be silly to assume, but we miiight just get another sequel/prequel regarding the unanswered backstory of Something in the Dirt.

Justin and Aaron's masterpieces came early in their career (Resolution, Spring, and The Endless), so as fans we expect to get that type of storytelling and movie making every time. We expect greatness every time, so when it's not, we're literally disappointed, and maybe even saddened. This movie may be great, this review is based on one viewing, but as of now I was totally letdown. It had all the elements of a classic Benson and Moorhead production, and until we got over the 1 hour mark, I still had hope (Remember, not much happened in the first half of Resolution), but as the movie was getting closer and closer to the end, I knew this wasn't going to make it to their "Mount Rushmore" of films. I love conspiracy theories and sci-fi, but the movie provided no definitive answers, and honestly became hard to keep track of the more the movie progressed.

This sounds like a hit piece, it's not meant to be. I'm just a huge fan overly expressing my disappointment with the movie not being another "Resolution" or "The Endless" (although I counted 5 Easter eggs to The Endless in this movie). These guys will always be in my top tier of movie makers and writers and I will always be a huge fan. I will still continue to get excited for EVERY movie they make.

I have been a fan of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead for a few years. Having seen all of their feature films and direction on the Marvel series Moon Knight, I can confidently say that I think they are terrific filmmakers, even though their work isn't for everyone. Their bizarre and thought-provoking stories always suck me in. For that reason alone, I will watch anything new they work on. Something in the Dirt may be my least favourite of their work so far, but I'd be lying if I didn't at least say I had a very good time watching it.

After Levi (Justin Benson) moves into a new apartment complex, his neighbour John (Aaron Moorhead) becomes friends with him when they both witness supernatural occurrences. Choosing to document it in hopes that their story will make them money, they begin to get in a little over their heads. Since the supernatural occurrences do not allow themselves to be filmed, they wait until they've experienced it and then recreate it. So it's real, but not really. This made the film much more interesting to me, but the conclusion is what kept me from thinking it was great.

Many viewers may find themselves unsatisfied with how this story comes to a close, but I can't get into that without spoiling the final scene. This is a well-done film and their comedic friendship helps drive it, but it just felt that the premise was far too interesting for where it actually ends up. Unlike their other films where they just go for it and don't care about how ridiculous some things might be, Something in the Dirt feels very tame in comparison. Still, the creativity is present from start to finish as always.

In the end, Something in the Dirt has some great camera work and the story itself is very fun and intriguing. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are both likeable actors and they do a great job directing as well, but it's a very small movie, so I expected nothing less. I took away a few lessons and ideals from this movie that really made me think, but again, the film itself doesn't explore those things nearly enough. This is a screenplay that is fantastic until the third act, which was slightly frustrating. Still, overall, I'm still pretty positive about the movie for being so creative. Something in the Dirt is now available on demand.

As a big fan of directors, writers, actors and all round filmmaker go-getters Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, I am convinced that one day the collaborative duo are going to deliver a feature film that makes them household names, with their latest effort Something in the Dirt not that film unfortunately.

Clearly identified within the industry as filmmakers on the up, with Marvel trusting the team with helming some of the recent Moon Knight season 1 episodes and the upcoming Loki season 2, Moorhead and Benson's bread and butter so far in an intriguing early career is cosmic horror and sci-fi with Dirt having similar DNA to their previous features which include the impressive and underseen Spring, the well-liked cult sci-fi The Endless and the interesting but sadly disappointing Anthony Mackie starring Synchronic.

Giving both Moorhead and Benson time in front of the camera as well as behind it, here playing John Daniels and Levi Danube respectively, Dirt see's the two all-rounders playing no hoper LA neighbours who find their chance to make something of their lives appearing out of nowhere when strange seemingly unexplainable happenings take place in Levi's apartment that lead the two newly formed friends creating an alliance of sorts to document what is happening, moving them forward on a journey that could be dangerous to their very mindsets.

Mixing in horror elements that are overshadowed by more prominent sci-fi angles, buddy comedy moments and most disappointingly documentary stylings that feel like an afterthought that ads very little to the overall grand scheme of things, Dirt is a typically ambitious outing from Moorhead and Benson but arguably one of their more disappointing overall efforts that struggles to maintain and initially intriguing early stretch and idea that is increasingly light on wins as the two hour runtime of the film wears on.

The chemistry between the real life friends on camera is a major win for the film with the back and forth between John and Levi one of the films strongest elements and as their work together pulls their uneasy friendship further apart, Moorhead and Benson are up for the challenge as performers with both their characters not the kind of likeable and memorable characters the best of these type of films have front and centre but two characters that feel real and relatable as they find themselves in over their heads.

With so many elements and different components to explore it's a shame so much of Dirt feels bloated and unneeded and outside of the odd decision to frame parts of the film in a documentary style experience the biggest let down for all the plodding and dancing around answers comes from the fact by the film gets to its end game, it feels like Dirt is more of a film with the ideas and not the end game to make it all tie together with Benson and Moorhead capable of a much more rounded package that packs originality in with conclusions and answers to boot.

Final Say -

With much of their careers still waiting to be explored it's likely that Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson have much stronger films to come with Something in the Dirt a film with moments but far too many misses to call a success.

2 levitating objects out of 5

Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

If you ever had an argument with a true believer in some wacky conspiracy theory, you know that logic, reason, evidence and fact get you nowhere with these people.

There is a different approach to confronting them, one which is rarely practiced because it is difficult to pull off both convincingly and usefully. Let's call this approach "amplification": instead of trying to reason with this crowd, you try to one-up them in the most ludicrous way which still maintains a hair of plausibility (at least to those already deep into a conspiratorial mindset). So, every detail that even the conspiracy theorist overlooked becomes important, every theory they come up with is explained by a yet deeper theory, which, if they inquire about it, has its origin in yet a deeper theory, all based on a vast collection of seemingly random facts and events.

The point of amplification is to fight absurdity with even more and outrageous absurdity, in the hope that at some point the conspiracy theorists realize on their own how ridiculous it all is. It is irony on steroids. A real-life example, albeit created more for the sake of satire than refutation, is the "birds aren't real" movement.

I feel that SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is the cinematic equivalent of amplification. Two struggling co-tenants happen to come across a supernatural phenomenon and decide to try to turn their luck by making a documentary out of it in order to win money and prizes.

The conceit of the story is that every single thread they follow, no matter how random or stupid, turns out to have some eerie significance in terms of connecting to other random or stupid threads. Their world is, in short, a conspiracy theorist's paradise, a universe in which nothing is random, yet at the same time nothing can mean anything because the meaning is always deferred to the next connecting thread.

As the movie uncompromisingly follows the two protagonists' voyage deep into the head-spinning rabbit hole, we understand less and less what is causing the original supernatural phenomenon. At the same time, though, we gain a better understanding of the flaws that predisposed the two characters to become conspiracy theorists coming from vastly different backgrounds. Their flaws rob them of success in their venture, but not of their humanity, and so the characters are a mirror to the current age of Qanon and other stupid conspiracy theories.

Reading some of the reviews, I feel that many viewers have misunderstood the movie. At the end, the phenomenon and many other strange connections are left completely unexplained, and it seems many people did not like this.

But the movie really could not have done otherwise without compromising its integrity because offering a resolution to the mysteries the characters encounter, any resolution at all, would have undermined its central aim. It would have turned the film from an anti-conspiracy theory movie to just another conspiracy theory movie. I am not a big fan of open endings in movies, but in this case I can understand that it was absolutely necessary to make the point.

The technical aspects of the movie are fine, and the central premise is ingenious. The greatest challenge this movie faces, I think, is to convey to the audience what exactly it is about, a challenge rendered all the more daunting by the fact that there really isn't any other movie like it. Movies with a message have to thread a fine line between being too obvious and preachy and being too obscure and mystifying. I think if DIRT had erred a little less on the side of being obscure, it could have communicated its message more clearly, a message which is more important now than ever.

Not even sure what to make of this. I'm told this was conceived and initiated during Covid and I applaud Benson and Moorhead for keeping the creative spark alive during this difficult time. But this film, frugally shot with sparse cameras, small cast, and minimal sets, falls bizarrely flat in the second half after a promising and intriguing start. An interesting and unexplainable phenomenon occurs, which could have led to multiple potential legit sci-fi storylines. Okay, I'm hooked. But soon, the tale dissolves into confusing pseudo-science banter, and wild conspiracy theories, with a side dose of anger and paranoia. In the end, nothing is really resolved and the whole event could just as easily have been explained away as the result of a lengthy acid trip. I think I'll just say "weirdly unsatisfying" and leave it at that.

Fly me to the moon (or somewhere close to it?) - no puns intended here. Obviously if you know the duo (directing and acting in this), you may have seen their early work and feel right at home with them acting and going all out. Conspiracies and all sort of stuff going on. There is actually so much to unpack, that I do not really know where to start.

But the movie is well structured, even if it has some back and forth going. The duo has great chemistry - and knows what they want to show us - visually and otherwise. I would have loved to have seen more of the squirrel though. Might write them on Twitter as their video message suggested.

The movie is quite out there - and while it may answer questions it (maybe) raises more questions overall. Still we know (and I hope love) their style ... it may be a bit too long for some and it is quite the slow burn ... but those who dig that weird stuff, will completely lose themselves into this! In a good way that is.

Well, you must admit most of the reviews are consistent : )

Like many reviewers here, I'm a big fan of these guys' work. Even 'SYNCHRONIC' was very good despite some naysayers. But, this one... Honestly, I fully agree with what most of the reviewers who rated this movie a 4 or 5 here have said.

Just too disjointed... Believe me, I'm all for total Surrealism, David Lynch is one of my all time favourite living directors. BUT... you still have to have a story, atmosphere, mood, SOMETHING that ties together enough to present an entertaining movie.

As usual, the fellows are very clever, and the acting is excellent as always. There are many moments throughout which are creative and creepy and many other great things. The editing and cinematography are very well done. But, unfortunately what you end up with is simply not coherent enough or atmospheric enough to carry an entire film.

And lastly...

Who the hell financed this thing... Phillip Morris...? Winston...? Marlboro...? Camel...? I mean, COME ON GUYS...! I don't think I've seen a movie since the 1940's, 1950's Film Noir where everyone was bloody CONSTANTLY smoking, GEEZ! Now, I don't mean directly to diss people who choose to smoke, that is totally their business. BUT... for me personally, I found it rather insulting to the audience, bearing in mind what everyone well knows today about smoking, having the two guys LITERALLY smoking non-stop, every moment, every scene, all the bloody way through is not only pointless but irritating. I'm sorry, maybe it's just my personal feelings, but considering the public awareness today and the fact that most people simply do not smoke these days, the only way I can express it is that I honestly found it truly insulting to the audience.

It's almost like when you watch a movie (or a show) where every sentence by every person has like 20 'F' words in it. Not to be a prude or anything, but I feel it's the same principle. The average person just simply does not talk that way. And, I think it is the same with the wall-to-wall smoking throughout the entire film.

Anyway... Sorry to go on about that, but for two of the most clever, intelligent filmmakers going today, I just cannot see how they can justify why they would do that in this day and age. Unless of course, like I first said, their TOTAL financing came from the tobacco industry : )

So, back to the movie. Yes, clever, and YES very ambitious, but as an entertaining film, even for their die hard fans and even for people like me who really love Surreal films, sorry the sum result I don't feel is truly up to what these fellows are capable of. Like some others here have said and I agree... By far their weakest effort.

I'm giving it a rather generous '6' because of the sheer complexity and effort that went into it...

After moving into a new apartment, a down-on-his-luck guy and his neighbor witness a series of weird phenomenon taking place in the location and decide to start filming the supernatural events to become famous, but it starts to wear on them the longer they're together investigating the forces.

There's very little to this one that makes it worthwhile. Among the few positives to be had here is the intriguing setup that propels this one along into a somewhat decent storyline about what they've been going through. As the experiences here in the first part focuses on their relationship building and bringing their interest in the supernatural to a centerpiece which sets everyone off on a rather fun rabbit hole of discovery involving the series of discoveries they make. Delving into this particular aspect of the genre rather than utilizing an endless series of jump-scares about something popping up behind someone unexpectedly adds a depth to this particular part of the film that's quite refreshing. Combined with the rather fun comedic stylings between the two friends as we get to explore their friendship, this creates enough to make it worthwhile. There are far more factors here that bring it down, though. The main drawback is that, for a film this long, it doesn't have much in the way of genuine genre thrills at all. The ghosts and paranormal activity here don't have any kind of malicious intent behind them, rendering a lot of the running time of the film to become rather dull as the ghosts aren't out to do anything interesting other than provide an excuse for them to go into their research and debates about what's going on. For those wanting an endless stream of ghost action or genuine genre thrills, that leaves a lot of this one to feel like the two are simply yakking at each other with nothing else going on, especially when it comes close to the two-hour mark with very little happening. These factors really end up bringing this one down being far more impactful than any of its positives.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

I can't quite put my finger on it but after the first 30 minutes I was so lost, bored and tired that I didn't really care much for what was coming next. I think if this had been one of their earlier films, I would have appreciated it more. But I expected better from them at this point. I was expecting something more cinematic, and I feel like it was a heavily filtered movie that just didn't live up to my expectations.

I think the movie tried to do too much and the filmmakers were given too much freedom to do so because of their success on previous projects. I may revisit it one day, but for now, I remain neutral on this one.

For a relativly new actors, they did well so big congratulation to the tow main acors, you didnt need big budget to make a decent movie or the use of mobile phone to shoot the entire movie. Acting was solid, camera work was basic but smart, the only downer was the length of this movie ( always bet on the viewer attentin span) a well as the choice of music and the sound department otherwise it was quiet enjoyable. It wont win an Oscar but for the main two charecters I hope it will open doors for them in higher production film afterall we all began as something else. One more thing I am not involved in any way of making this movie because it seems the presumptious idea that anyone praises a none hollywood movie is part of it.

Saw this back at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

The story is about when neighbors John and Levi witness supernatural events in their Los Angeles apartment building, they realize documenting the paranormal could inject some fame and fortune into their wasted lives. An ever-deeper, darker rabbit hole, their friendship frays as they uncover the dangers of the phenomena, the city and each other. Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead who both star the main roles in this project. The two have collaborated with each other on other horrors sci-fi types of movies like "The Endless, Spring, and Synchronic ". While I haven't seen those films yet, I am now intrigued to see what they have created.

"Something in the Dirt" may sound boring since the movie takes place in few locations and very few cast members the entire time. But Benson and Moorhead's chemistry and writing helped to make this movie engaging, interesting, and funny at the same time. Benson and Moorhead are like two buddies you want to just listen because they are two weirdos, yet, there are so fascinating and interesting to listen to. You don't wanna stop listening and you want to hear and see what comes next. The performances Benson and Moorhead brings feels nature and realistic as the characters they are playing fit exactly in a film like this. The production designs for a low budget horror movie fits perfectly, some good visual effects, good sound designs, and concepts approached through this movie. The dialogue is really engaging like something from an Whit Stillman story but instead of a romance drama, it's more a comic supernatural horror buddy film. The pacing is really well down although 115 minutes was a little too long and few scenes could have been trimmed to make the pacing better.

The writing aspects of this movie has many fun and interesting moments. There are some technical flaws especially some of the camerawork looked really bad at certain moments that could been done with reshoots or retakes of those scenes. Characters are interesting but the characters does feel a little repetitive with their purpose at times. Although these distractions came into play, Benson and Moorhead knows how to keep you engaged despite the flaws.

Rating: B+

I agree with many reviewers, so i quote : "Weakest film by the duo so far", "A Well-Made Film That Goes Nowhere". I really like Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, they create high-quality movies in this genre, dare i say, they have "invented" a somewhat new genre: Sci-fi, art-horror, weird, bizarre, not-comedy but also not take itself too serious, eerie, mystery.

SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is indeed their weakest movie. Still watchable, entertaining and interesting, i could watch easily another 50 minutes if this was longer. Well directed, great chemistry, a fun ride for sure.

However, this goes nowhere. A certain amount of ambiguity is not always a bad thing, but this movie is like Rachel Green's Thanksgiving dessert (Jennifer Anniston, FRIENDS) : Jam is good, custard is good, meat is good, the ingredients are all good but you can't put all of them in the same cake. This movie is better than Anniston's cake but it doesn't hold a candle to JB/AM previous movies. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, come on, this movie is not cohesive. Furthermore, this ain't got identity either. Why does it look like a parody? Did they really want to make fun of themselves? Did they mock their previous movies? If so, it's not a bad thing, but it didn't work as planned here. JB/AM are not capable of creating a semi-comedy movie. They are not comedy actors even though they are likeable, they are not comedy-writers too. Stick to your genre, there are better film-makers in comedy-horror-scifi genre.

Still kinda good and watchable, i cannot not recommend it but i cannot recommend it either.

John Daniels and Levi Danube notice some very strange goings on in their LA apartment block, and decide to pool their resources, and make a documentary.

I just couldn't get into it, I got the whole way through, and found it one of the most frustrating films I've sat through for some time.

I'll applaud the ideas and imagination behind it, there was definitely an originality about the story, but the execution somehow didn't work, visually I don't think it offered anything, it felt a bit clunky, just lacking somehow.

The leading men were both pretty good I thought, no issues with some, the script they were working with however, it just didn't work somehow.

There's a pretty interesting tension between the pair, you weren't sure sure if they had some sort of bromance going on, or were just tolerating one another.

Disappointing.

4/10.

Sting - the singer, musician artist, composer, and band leader, once said in an interview, "When I listen to music if I'm not surprised within eight bars I move on. Maybe 16" What Sting said about music hits the nail for all kinds of art in my opinion. Why should I, (or anyone else) not move on when a piece of art makes me feel forced to keep paying attention because it is so boring? This is exactly the feeling that I had for the first 20 minutes. I would have to keep on watching against my will. It starts so slow, it almost attacks with boring scenes and dialogues. But what is the point of keeping on watching? Killing time? This is not one of the reasons why I watch movies. The makers aren't bad, it is a low-budget production and I have a ton of respect for such people. They have made some outstanding movies so far. But this one they can learn from. Making mistakes has a reason: to learn from them.

Gorgeous. Simultaneously a movie about the whys of existence (all the whys)...and a movie about two guys in an increasingly inter-dimensional dump of an apartment (who are making a movie about two guys in an increasingly interdimensional dump of an apartment)...and a movie about making movies...and, at the last, a master class in composition, lighting, framing and visually orgasmic storytelling. Two masters of the art, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are at their most Benson-and-Moorheadish here, having crazy, unsettling fun (as do their characters, or is there a difference?) in a shell game of relationship that feels so obscenely real that watching it feels sickly voyeuristic. SOMETHING IN THE DIRT is prime meat for cinematic carnivores. The illusion is magic. The taste will linger.

.. It's fresh, or at least i have never seen film like this, story wise. The plot is nothing groundbreaking, but it's interesting enough to grab my attention throughout. I've always a fan of sci-fi 'bottle film', and this film (kind of) ticks the box.

The visual is great, Moorhead and Benson 's acting is somewhat better in this. The writing, though, there's enough things to keep the story going, at some point it became redundant.

I guess this is where they shot themselves in the foot. There's no 'Resolution' from 'The Endless' build up (ba dum tss, cringe jokes ik). I like some aspects of the ending, but these 'open endind' things is very outdated. It's too vague, or the twists is too subtle and flew right through my head.

I've seen some bad reviews for Something in the Dirt, and for the most part, it's validated, but i think regardless of these reviews, it's still an enjoyable and nice film.

7.4/10 Enjoyable.

I was really looking forward to this as I love Resolution, The Endless, Spring, etc. But this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I feel like they were taking some serious meds making this and thinking it was good. I would rather stare at a wall the whole day than watch this again. Story was not only stupid but beyond boring. When I say boring imagine a time in your life when you were so bored you felt like screaming at the top of your lungs. That is how boring this movie was. I have never made a movie review in my 40 years of life until this. That is what this movie has drive me to.

Ok ok, it's a weird one. It's Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead. It has their exact signature feel that every movie they make has. I'm not here for their involvement in "Loki" or Moonknight". I'm here because I'm a die hard indie horror fan and their films have defined some of what I seek most from a film overall.

This is a seriously bonkers movie that has more in the way of banter between two fragile sudden friends rather than an actual storyline. The first half will set up like a traditional movie for the most part where as the second half will thrust you into their own world. A world where if you blink you may miss something. I love the feel and effects in these guys' movies. The crystal ashtray floating. The same symbol everywhere. The city's history. These guys pull anything out of anything. Are Levi and John overreaching, forcing meaning where there is none? Or are these two winded and wounded men really on to something? These two directors continously make indie mind melters but it never gets old. This time we get the low end of the spectrum of budgets and possibly their least thrilling film to date, all due to being filmed during a covid lockdown. Yet at the same time it's their nost profound and organic film yet. This one truly resonated well with me. This is a movie for the indie and reflective type. Not the spectacle blockbuster type movie goers. This movie will not give you answers, but plenty of questions to unpack over the course of the next day. Or two. Or for the rest of your lives. Now go watch this amazing example of making movies with friends and then go listen to Foxing afterwards and let the after effect seep into your bones, into your soul, and finally, into the dirt.

So.. the endless was a unique and amazing experience, time bending, albeit with a human connection piece. A great story and well told.

This movie is not the endless, but it's not supposed to be. Justin Moorhead and Justin Benson are combining their take on the paranormal with what they have always done.. the personal relationship and character development of their protagonists. For me, this was the story.

The QANON paranoid aspect, which delves into every corner of the conspiracy world, tries to do too much. Scene splitting and moving makes it hard to follow at times snd takes away from what's most important. The human story.

I believe this story talks to many things, including the addiction and mental health impacts.

Tries to go too much, but nonetheless a good experience. I'm glad I saw it and history will probably judge it higher than I have.