Where to watch Gut
3 Stars
Director and writer Elias has created a creepy atmosphere out of normality. Gut is a very slow and measured picture, but the wait is worth it. The biggest and most interesting plot twist comes at the one hour mark, but the plot isn’t what this movie is about. With such little interaction between characters it almost feels insane to say that how these guys deal with the direction their lives are going in, mixed with their emotional connections to all the other characters and then throw in the dark guilty pleasure of watching something horrific (and getting aroused by it) make this movie borderline brilliant. I keep going back and forth between wishing that the plot had been explored more and then becoming protective of the smallness of the film. Who is sending these videos? The ambiguous ending is decisive, but answers no questions. Excuse the pun but, you have to go with your gut here. This film leaves every question unanswered and most are never examined.
There was one major thing that weighed on my mind as this story unfolded. How did all these people wind up together, and why did they all stick around each other? No one seems to be happy knowing anyone else. Somehow the overall mood of the film makes it work though. There’s also a decision in the end by Tom that makes little sense to me. He knows about a danger to his family, but decides to ignore it. I won’t say anymore so as not to spoil the outcome, but it does push the ending towards a certain goal in a forceful manor.
Gut is clearly a low budget flick, showing it at times in the look of the picture, the stiff acting and the stretching of scenes to reach an acceptable feature hour and a half running time. Regardless of these shortcomings this is a story that you will want to watch to the end. The morbid curiosity felt by the characters is thrust onto the audience as we watch, wondering what will come next. Normally I complain about horror flicks as they more often than not have such a small amount of suspense. Gut is quite the opposite, but it’s not always a good thing. While it keeps you watching, it feels as if very little has actually transpired. The last half an hour will either pay off or let you down. Either way Gut will leave you thinking. Recommended for horror buffs who like scary movies that also easily fit into the thriller/suspense genre.
Director: Elias
Stars: Jason Vail, Nicholas Wilder, Sarah Schoofs