FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: DIS (2018)

Dir. Adrian Corona, 61 mins​

If I haven’t mentioned it for a while, Unearthed Films – the leaders in the field where it comes to extreme horror, run by the inestimable Stephen Biro – have a very fine channel on Vimeo with many of their films to rent, as well as host of trailers and behind-the-scenes clips. If you’re a regular reader round these parts, and consider yourself a lover of the field, you should be making an effort to watch at least some of their releases. I mention it because Dis is a film I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while, and you can watch this – and many more besides – on that Vimeo channel.  Adrian Corona’s movie has been on my radar for a while, and with a Bank Holiday to laze a little and watch some movies, I decided it was high time to check this one out.

Dis is a relatively short offering, but I’d say it’s an absolutely fascinating one nonetheless – in the couple of days since I polished it off I’ve been playing it around in my mind and thinking more deeply about certain elements of it. The story itself follows Ariel, a man wandering the forest (for reasons that will eventually become clear) searching for something largely undefined. We also see a strange figure in a mask, who has tied up a female prisoner with motivations that will also become clear in time. We then see flashbacks to Ariel’s previous life, with his lover Sofia in happier times – happier times that distinctly go south. However it’s not long until Ariel finds himself lured into the trap set by the very same kidnapper, and it’s there that his nightmare truly begins…

Personally I liked this film – there was something unique about it, and it had a feel and a storyline the likes of which I’d never seen before. It’s not an easy watch – not so much for brutality but for its overall off-kilter style – and it takes a bit of time to truly come together, but when it does the finale is dark and intriguing. It’s not a movie with any easy answers, but for me this is one of those occasions where that’s an advantage. I can’t honestly tell you any more about the storyline without utterly spoiling it, so that’s almost all I can say in terms of what spoke to me.

However I will add this – I can understand why someone wouldn’t like this movie, and the reviews on IMDB seem to be positively scathing. It’s not an opinion I can row in with though. Yes, the plot is relatively slim – but then so is the run time at barely over an hour. It’s told in a non-linear fashion, which equally is not for everybody, and switches from colour to black and white when it switches between past and present. Some of the references are obscure, and there are elements of the world which aren’t defined all that clearly – but then again I didn’t mind the mystery and the elements of the supernatural that were lightly implied. There’s plenty that also goes unanswered, but I feel like that’s a deliberate decision on behalf of the director. It’s hard to know whether making the film longer would have helped or hindered it – sometimes answering all the questions isn’t to a film’s advantage, and I wonder if this might be one of those cases. I think part of me would have liked more explanation, but then would the movie have stayed with me the same way?

You may well get a sense within 10 or 15 minutes whether this piece is for you, but overall I’d say if you like hints and intimations and subtlety this could be up your street. If you prefer things that run a little more smoothly and traditionally, and offer something near and complete, this might not be the one for you.

RATING: 8/10. This one is a strange, slight, intriguing and mysterious little offering, a short piece that offers up as many questions as it does answers. Its almost dreamlike – or nightmarelike – qualities really appealed to me personally, though I can certainly accept it’s not going to be for everyone. One thing that regular readers will know is that I love originality, and this was a movie that provided that for me, so I’m happy to give this one an 8/10.
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