TRIM SEASON (2024) Is A Suspiria Laced Sativa That Gets High On Horror (REVIEW)
For those of a certain age, there was a time when you used to have to be coy about your weed smoking. It wasn’t that long ago when here in the US it was illegal to smoke cannabis either recreationally or medicinally, and you could only buy it from dealers you knew or knew about. Now, the cannabis industry is expected to generate $42.98 BILLION this year in the US alone and almost half of the states in the US have made marijuana legal. The increased access to cannabis is both a blessing and a burden, and while it may carry a lower penalty in some states it is still considered illegal on a Federal level. This limbo state that the industry exists in often is a hotbed for exploitation, but it isn’t talked about in the same way as other drug trades. Sure the benefit of access and legalization can create massive economic opportunities, but the human cost is often underreported. When it comes to the horror genre, the disenfranchised and downtrodden are often a perfect canvas for horrific stories both real and imagined. In Trim Season, Director Ariel Vida and Paper Street Pictures take viewers behind the scenes of the cannabis operation to see the darker side of how the joints are rolled (proverbially speaking). Is this hemp-fueled horror flick going to get you, or is it a bad strain of scary?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A group of young people go to a remote marijuana farm where they hope to make quick cash. But, they discover the location's dark secrets and now must try to escape the mountain on which they are trapped.
HOW IS IT?
Those who will write off “Trim Season” as just a stoner horror movie are doing themselves a great disservice. The horror genre has often dabbled in the cannabis scene, and for the most part, the tone is comedic and silly. Movies like Idle Hands or even the more on-the-nose Evil Bong franchise use cannabis as a vehicle for a lot of jokes with varying degrees of quality, but more often than not the butt of the joke is weed. In “Trim Season”, Director Ariel Vida has crafted a thoughtful, serious, and delightfully wicked story that juxtaposes supernatural horrors with the real-life danger of the vulnerable people exploited by the recently semi-legalized industry. What makes “Trim Season” so compelling is that it is not consumed by these allusions as much as it uses them to enrich the characters and heighten the tension of what on paper seems like a harmless job of trimming weed plants.
The characters are the heart and soul of “Trim Season”, and while we follow our main Emma (Bethlehem Million) and her best friend Julia (Alex Essoe) the entire troupe of trimmers is equally as interesting and engaging. Each of them brings a unique perspective to the experience while also representing the kind of marginalized people who get caught up in the allure of quick cash and unlimited weed that working for cannabis growers can promise. Like Harriet (Ally Ioannides) who is part space cadet and part encyclopedia whose breadth of knowledge is only equal to her lack of social awareness and boundaries. Or Dusty (Bex Taylor-Klaus) who is non-binary and using this as an opportunity to escape a traumatic home life and the tragic passing of their father. The slick and subtle ways that we begin to know and understand these characters create far more depth than we’ve come to expect from many horror films these days, and it’s a shame because it elevates the attachment we as viewers have to them in a way only horror movies can service. When these characters hurt, we feel it. Not just because of the physicality of their pain, but also because we now know them intimately and are actively rooting for them even when they make grave mistakes…like smoking some darkly dank weed.
While marijuana serves the narrative at the location level, it is also skillfully woven into the film's lore. We are reticent to say too much to spoil some of the surprises “Trim Season” has in store, but it is safe to say that the supernatural elements in the film do a splendid job of taking cannabis’ role in the film “higher” (pun intended) than just your standard horror film. The proprietor of the growing operation is the mysterious Mona (Jane Badler) and her madame of marijuana is equal parts inviting and insidious. The slow turn of her character is masterfully portrayed as we follow the characters in discovering that there is more to Mona’s plans than just trimming bud plants, while her caring motherly facade begins to fall as the runtime stretches on. The slower moments in “Trim Season” deliver big payoffs when the proverbial shit hits the fan, and Vida doesn’t cut away from the more gruesome moments of violence that occur. This is complemented by the fantastic cinematography and production design, which should come as no surprise to those familiar with Vida’s previous work. The use of color here, especially crimson red and forest green adds to the atmosphere of seclusion as well as heightens the sense that something sinister is happening here. The locations themselves are breathtaking and foreboding, and the scenery seems to adapt to the suspense happening on screen as the film gets progressively darker as it nears its conclusion. “Trim Season” isn’t without some fault, as we do wish there was a bit more time devoted to understanding the why behind Mona’s malevolence but candidly these are insignificant critiques for what is a truly original, involving, and beautifully realized horror film.
LAST RITES
“Trim Season” is the perfect hybrid of supernatural horror and social commentary that keeps the former in focus without letting the latter dominate the narrative. The subtlety is rewarded as viewers get an original story with interesting characters that are splendidly captured through breathtaking cinematography and locations, making this a contender for one of the best horror films of 2024!
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
TRIM SEASON Opens In Theaters and On Demand on June 7th, 2024!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
