This is a movie that I got the chance to see via a screener thanks to Justin Cook. I'll admit, I originally wasn't going to check this out as I didn't think what I saw from the press release was horror. It wasn't until digging a bit that I saw that on Letterboxd, this falls in genre. I decided to go ahead and give it a watch after that. Aside from that, I did come into this one blind. Just having read the synopsis.
Synopsis: five eclectic women journeys into the vortexes of Sedona where they are forced to confront the resurgence of their traumatic memories through shadow work.
We start this following Summer (Dana Kippel) as she approaches a pond. She hears an odd, distorted voice asking if she found herself. There are then flash images where she wakes up in bed with her boyfriend, James (Corey Brooks). He asks if she wants to have sex to which she declines. There are trust issues as she thinks he's messaging other women. While they're in bed, she is on her laptop inviting her friends to a spiritual retreat in Sedona where you can win money.
She invites her best friend Katie (Grace Patterson) who is rich as well as her other friend Nia (Ariana Brown). Katie also invites her cousin Annie (Marissa Patterson). The former is trying to get her to like her while the cousin has a bleak outlook on everything. Nia also invites Liz (Jadelyn Breier), who Summer doesn't like. Summer thinks that Liz is interested in her boyfriend.
This group makes their way out to the desert of Sedona for this retreat. We see that there is a multi-dimensional game that the women are going to partake. Zero (Dash Katz) is asked by his father to narrate but to also not interfere. There can only be one winner and Zero seems like he wants to help them navigate the challenges. These women will have to face their traumas in the past and come to terms with them to win. That could be too much for them to do though.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. There isn't a lot to this story as it is more of a character study. This lingers on certain individuals longer than others, but I did like that before they disappear from the game, they do get backstory that is revealed to help explain more about who they are. I can appreciate that. None of the five women that we are following feel one dimensional so that is good. I should also include here that Kippel, who is our star, also wrote and directed this as well.
Where I want to delve deeper is with the premise. If you know me, then you know I'm a big fan of things like time travel and multiple dimensions. This latter concept makes more sense to me with religion. What we have here is a game that is put on for other dimensional beings and I get the idea that they might even gamble on it. That is a scary and interesting idea for sure. That is unnerving to think that we're being watched by higher beings. I also like the concept of this game being that these women need to face their trauma to win. There is Katie struggling with perfection. Summer needs to realize that she is beautiful inside and outside. She also needs to learn to not settle. Liz has issues that stem from her sexuality versus her beliefs. Nia needs to forgive her mother and realize how difficult things were. Annie tried to kill herself in the past. There are heavy things here that I think work.
There is an elephant in the room that I need to address. I don't think this movie falls into horror. This would be an adjunct movie only for the fact that I believe these women are disappearing completely. There are these shadow entities that are taking them if they don't come to terms with their trauma. That is scary. There is also the allegory there about letting our pasts consume us without moving on. I think the consensus will be this isn't horror and I'd agree. I'm still including due to Letterboxd considering it.
I do then want to go over to a positive which I thought was the acting. Grace Patterson, Kippel, Breier, Marissa Patterson and Brown. They all feel like this group of friends who tolerate each other. I think that Katie likes everyone. Summer has an issue with Liz because of her boyfriend. She isn't the one she should worry about though. This group of friends feels real to me. I also like Katz, Chris Levine, Joe Filippone, Maya Knell and Campbell Crates. They're all great as these quirky people who are helping with this retreat. The acting here isn't great. It does fit the tone of the movie so I'll credit that.
All that is left then is filmmaking. The best thing here is the cinematography. I love the shots of nature as they're beautiful. I'll also pull in the effects for the anomalies when it comes to time and space. We see wormhole like things. These are done with CGI as there's no way to do that practical. I do love that. I'd say that we don't get much in the way of effects outside of that. It doesn't necessarily need them either though. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. We do have this creepy, distorted voice we hear throughout that helps add to the atmosphere.
In conclusion, I thought this was a solid effort. It's not necessarily a movie for me though. I liked the character study of this group of friends. The performance and the dynamics were good. There isn't enough horror elements to fully work for me though. It is more the implications and certain things with the atmosphere. I will say that the cinematography is beautiful and I like what they do with the time/space effects. I don't recommend this to horror fans. If you want a sci-fi/comedy that is geared more toward following these women characters, then give this a watch. It is a quirky independent movie for sure.
My Rating: 6 out of 10.
