VOD from the Dead - FATHER OF FLIES (2021)
The saying goes that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and I’m not sure that I agree. Imitation can be defined as “a thing intended to simulate or copy something else”, and in the world of film imitation is often an effort to not just simulate or copy something, but also garner the same or greater level of success. It’s the reason why we get Marvel movies every year or different flavors of the same kinds of reality tv shows at an overwhelming rate. Sure, these things sell and a lot of work goes into making them, but they are essentially imitations through and through. This is not an article to pick apart the redundancy of the entertainment industry, rather, a musing on the difference between “imitation” and “inspiration”. While we have defined the former, the latter is defined as “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative”. Putting this into the context of filmmaking, inspiration is a filmmaker being inspired by something so much that they feel the need to create because of it. Imitation is the replication of previously used ideas to capture a similar sentiment. One drives originality and the other is the literal opposite. To this end, imitation may not be as flattering as inspiration. You’re probably wondering what the hell this has to do with the recently released FATHER OF FLIES, and I promise you I’m about to make the connection. You see, as I was watching FATHER OF FLIES it became apparent that inspiration and imitation are separated by a fine, but important line. One of them uses old ideas to fuel new ones, and the other uses old ideas solely for replication. The questions we will answer in this review are if FATHER OF FLIES is more influenced by inspiration or imitation, and is it any good?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
When a young boy’s mother is pushed out of the family home and replaced by his father’s girlfriend, he finds himself confronting terrifying supernatural forces. Have they always been there, or have they hitched a ride with the new resident?
HOW IS IT?
So my rant about inspiration vs imitation could not be a better foundation for discussing FATHER OF FLIES. This movie is wearing so many of its influences on its sleeve that it can be both distracting and endearing all at once. Some of them are subtle, and some of them are extremely blunt. While there is nothing inherently wrong with imitation, it does tend to stick out when it isn’t turned into inspiration and can leave this viewer feeling like I’m watching a copy/paste version of a film that feels like a series of horror clichés. From the start, I was captivated by FATHER OF FLIES. It's a sleek production considering it is indie horror and the nervous ambiguity was discomforting enough to intrigue me. However, the longer the film went on the more things began to fall apart. The plot for example feels like a diluted mashup of two well-known SEVERIN FIALA and VERONIKA FRANZ films, GOODNIGHT MOMMY and THE LODGE. Even the mask that Coral (CAMILLA RUTHERFORD) wears around, with very little explanation, looks like the wrapping from GOODNIGHT MOMMY. The premise of a father leaving his new girlfriend with his disapproving children is also directly ripped from THE LODGE. I don’t know if writers BEN CHARLES EDWARDS and NADIA DOHERTY are just really big fans of Fiala and Franz or what, but in this case, it feels more like imitation rather than inspiration. As the film rounds out to its conclusion there is also a significant THE SHINING influence that felt slightly more subtle, albeit still quite noticeable. While these grievances may bother some more than others, the other unfortunate misstep that FATHER OF FLIES has is that it relies too much on the same cheap Blumhouse scares (“stinger” sound effect, loud noise, jump scare) that have become painfully tired in the horror genre. So much so, that 2022’s 5CREAM made reference to this over-used tactic as part of its meta-commentary on the genre. The only reason I harp on things like clichés and imitation is that FATHER OF FLIES could have a lot going for it if it blazed more of its own trail.
What works well is the production. Everything about this looks and feels professional and the cinematography is a stand-out. If nothing else, FATHER OF FLIES is a delight to look at and it even furthers the frustration that the plot elements don’t deliver as much of an impact. The actors do a fine job for the most part with what they are given, and the only performance that left me a bit empty was that of the father, Sam (DAVI SANTOS). There are times, particularly near the end, when Sam comes off as completely tone-deaf to what is going on and some of the emotions conveyed feel half-hearted. Still, it’s only distracting in parts and doesn’t drag things down much throughout. What does drag is the pacing, which I noted at almost halfway through the movie (33 minutes) seemingly very little had happened so far, and the film clocks in at a crisp 78 minutes. After the halfway mark things do start to pick up as much as they start to go off the rails. By the end, I was thoroughly confused as to what was going on and why it was happening the way it was. The story began to lack cohesion and comprehension could have been avoided too if there was a greater emphasis on trying to tell one good story rather than taking parts of others to create the whole.
LAST RITES
FATHER OF FLIES is technically strong but falls victim to relying too much on others’ ideas rather than its own.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
The supernatural horror, FATHER OF FLIES, will arrive on Digital and VOD on April 12th, in the US and Canada!
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