Movie Review: Show Yourself (2016)

July 26, 2018

Written by DanXIII

Daniel XIII; the result of an arcane ritual involving a King Diamond album, a box of Count Chocula, and a copy of Swank magazine, is a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, artist, and reviewer of fright flicks…Who hates ya baby?

Ol’ Travis (Ben Hethcoat), one of your floppy haired actor types, heads out to the middle of East Asshair Nowhere to lay to rest the ashes of his deceased chum Paul (I would have just flushed that bitch and went for a pizza, but hey, to each their own). Once at a cabin at said location, Travis dicks around on his phone, dreams about Paul (as do we all…as do we all) and downs some drinks…be still my heart…Anyway, Travis scatters half the ashes into a stagnant pond (where soggy, silent Paul suddenly appears for a tick), and gets on with his whirlwind of boozin’ and Skypin’. Occasionally something makes it’s presence subtly known…when it wants to…which isn’t often…but is it Paul?
Let’s start with what I liked about Show Yourself. Actor Hethcoat makes for an engaging lead; he has a nice range, and he definitely carried the story (more on that below) admirably. Moving on…
Holy hell this movie is slooooowwwwww! Seriously, Travis spends the entire run time whining about Paul and their kinda/sorta undefined “complicated” relationship. Make zero mistake; this flick is an emo drama first and foremost, with just a sprinkling of psychological thriller and exactly one PH of supernatural shenanigans. Is the being that vaguely threatens Travis actually Paul? Fucked if I know…I’m not sure anyone knows; film makers included (“Let’s make the audience decide for themselves” I hear them pompously intone over their craft beers sipped from mason jars). Look, I’m all for vagueness in a story line, but c’mon…Also, the ending of this flick is as anti-climatic as an orgasm contest at a eunuch convention!
So there you have it; Show Yourself is a whiny, cock-tease of a (barely) paranormal pot-boiler, that while well acted is near impossible for me to recommend to you lot.
 

 


 
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