NIGHTSTREAM 2020: It Cuts Deep
NIGHTSTREAM
Does It Cuts Deep cut deep? Yes and no. The machete introduced in the first scene of the film that is used to violently murder several people literally does cut deep. As for the film’s characters, themes, and metaphors, the same can’t be said. Despite its title, Nicholas Santos’ directorial debut is a blunt, if watchable, attempt at exploring relationship problems through horror.
The two having said problems are Sam (Charles Gould) and Ashley (Quinn Jackson). On Christmas vacation, the two venture into the woods and spend a few days at an isolated house. As is to be expected with the horror label, there’s no WiFi. Things start to get strange and the couple’s thin veneer of happiness begins to crack with the introduction of Nolan (John Anderson), an old buddy of Sam with his own fair share of secrets.
There isn’t much more going on with a scant runtime of 77 minutes, but Santos mostly makes effective use of the time he does have. There’s rarely a minute that could be considered boring, and for a film where not much actually happens, the pacing is remarkably sturdy. It’s only when viewers look below the surface of the movie that things get iffy. The aforementioned relationship troubles are that Ashley wants to get married and have kids, while Sam does not. And that’s it. It’s really quite simple, but Santos treats it like some big reveal at the end when the two finally hash out their problems face-to-face.
In general, the movie seems to struggle with its reveals. Santos often reveals his hand too early, and the film’s biggest “twist” can be seen coming from a mile away. There is little grace or subtlety here, and the timing of each reveal is off. And all of that is not to mention that the twist itself has definitely been done before within the horror genre.
The film is marketed as a horror-comedy, and more often than not it’s that latter label that proves far more effective. The horror elements are entirely made up of fake jump scares (far too many of them) and real jump scares. Not much ambiguity there. Even with a droning score by Owen Evans and heightened sound design, It Cuts Deep never really gets under its viewers’ skin and is far too tame to offer up anything more than the occasional superficial scare.
Comedy, on the other hand, seems to be more in Santos’s ballpark. He has fun with the unusual character interactions and the weird goings-on. While the baffling behaviour of the characters takes away from the horror and drama, it certainly adds to the insanity of the humour. Gould and Anderson are over-the-top much of the time which helps in this regard.
However, it’s Jackson who really steals the show. As the only character faintly resembling how a real human would act, her fears and desires are immediately palpable. Jackson keeps the film grounded even when everything else going on would have it fly into the stratosphere. Her presence gives the film stakes and makes the viewer care more than just about anything else.
It Cuts Deep never quite lives up to its title, but there are still small nuggets of enjoyment to be found, even in its most perplexing moments.
