In Fabric

IN FABRIC - A24

Infamous auteur Peter Strickland returns to the directors' chair with his first feature film in five years - after The Duke of Burgundy in 2014 - and continues his distinctive palette of filmmaking with the bizarre and visceral horror In Fabric.

The strongest aspect of Strickland's film by virtue is its boisterous uniqueness. Specifically, how it provides genre convention; to say it is overwhelming is perhaps an understatement. The aesthetic weirdness strikes a mesmerising chord in its distinctive prowess. Due to this thrilling sense of bizarreness, Strickland's film has the opportunity to explore and express itself in a variety of different eccentric and fascinating parameters, and, to its credit, it doesn't spare much in the wake of homaging 1970s Vincent Price-esque horror: touching upon Witches, Satanism and possession, to name just a few.

This sense of eccentricity of In Fabric is the film's most significant pull, unlike the narrative, of which there is little provided in terms of actual story. More often than not, merely seeing a red dress causes terror, leaving much to be desired in the wake of character engagement. An odd choice halfway through to completely derail one storyline and underwhelmingly begin another does not quite succeed in its intentions. The second story truly is of little interest compared to the first, and the warm and vibrant performance of actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sheila is deeply missed in the second half of this tale.

For a horror film that drives its plot from a red ghoul dress, thankfully, the feature refrains from being utterly inaccessible with wider audiences due to two rather crucial areas: specifically, the visuals and tone. The cinematography is staggering, courtesy of Ari Wegner. The tone is wonderfully executed with dry humour plentiful, however the film in specific sequences overly exercises such an element to the point where it grates upon both the running time and audiences palettes.The enigmatic nature becomes a little too possessive as time goes on.

Undoubtedly, this is Strickland's intention from the beginning: little exposition and a large quantity of mysticism, an ultimate decision that provides for a chilling adventure with a multi-dynamic range that is so overly lavish it works on both an ironic and unironic platform, with a wide range of horror subsidies to boast.

In Fabric was released June 28, 2019.