The Waterhouse (U.K., 2023)
Writer/director Samuel Clemens’ The Waterhouse boasts mesmerizing sound design, captivating visuals, and a satisfyingly eerie, enigmatic tone. Thieves Eric (Alan Calton), Matt (Dominic Vulliamy), and Paul (Michelangelo Fortuzzi) have stolen a painting, the profits from which could make them rich. There’s a problem, though, as Matt’s mother Denice (Corrine Wicks), who helped with the heist, is missing, and when Eric finds blood and an object that could give rise to something going wrong, he keeps the information to himself. The trio is holed up in an isolated house on the beach and suspicion rises among them. Matters become more complicated when three women — Pixie (Lily Catalifo), Opal (Lara Lemon), and Noé (Sandrine Salyères) — turn up seeking help but wind up in a game of Two Truths and a Lie with the men, which leads to flirtation, strong sexual attraction, and eldritch proceedings. Painful sounds, missing time, and supernatural occurrences abound. Clemens — son of screenwriter Brian Clemens (Hammer’s Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, episodes of The Avengers TV series, and See No Evil, for just a few examples) and relative of Samuel “Mark Twain” Clemens — crafts an intriguing feature film directing debut rich with brooding, mysterious atmosphere that holds some of its secrets close but also offers tantalizing clues as to what unfolds. The ensemble cast members all give engaging performances, and the interplay between their characters — relationships are not what they seem, and deceptions are plentiful — is wonderfully imagined.
Maria (Argentina, 2023)
If you have been hankering for a throwback science-fiction horror film set in the world of pornographic filmmaking, Maria from codirectors Gabriel Grieco and Nicanor Loreti has what you crave. Alerting viewers right away that Fritz Lang’s silent classic Metropolis is an inspiration, the film finds renowned porn star Maria (Daria Panchenko) making a comeback on a movie set after having mysteriously disappeared from the hospital where she was last seen in a coma after a car crash. Maria seemingly dies mid-orgasm while shooting the adult movie, and saying much more about the plot would be treading into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that at this point some extremely sleazy male characters are introduced who are willing to pay top dollar to do highly unnatural things to women no longer alive. There’s also a subplot introduced very early on that involves a man being coerced into remaining deep undercover to get the goods on just such men. Maria blends female revenge and women’s empowerment themes with violence aplenty and absolutely no shortage of bloodshed and gore in a wild mash-up of social message and exploitation, the latter factor recalling the heyday of 1980s and 1990s direct-to-video features and B-movies. The cast is game, with Malena Sanchez and Sofia Gala Castiglione standing out as two of the adult film’s crew members who try to stand up against the male crew members who want to take the money from the wealthy perverts. Awash with neon lighting and audaciousness, Maria’s Metropolis nods and social messages are overshadowed by the insanity and violent set pieces, but overall it’s an entertaining effort worth seeking out.
The Waterhouse and Maria screened as part of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest Halloween, which took place in London, U.K. on October 27–28, 2023.
