After accidentally knocking her best friend off a roof, Alyce (Jade Dornfeld) is haunted by guilt and delves into a brutal nightmare wonderland of sex, drugs and violence, her mind tearing itself apart along with anyone else who gets in her way.
As others have mentioned, trying to put this film into any one genre is pretty challenging. The marketers seem to want this to be a ghost story, but that is a very small part of what really happens. Following Alyce's journey is not horror, but something a little more than drama.
The attempt to draw from "Alice in Wonderland" is strange. Clearly we have "Alyce" and her friend "Carroll Lewis", which are obvious references. We even have James Duval, who will be known by many as playing a rabbit in "Donnie Darko" (though his character here is anything but Alyce's guide). And there the similarities end.
Director Jay Lee has moved up in the world from his days (not long ago) making "Zombie Strippers". Much of this is a "really satisfying slow burn" (in the words of Nikki Hopeman), but has more to offer than just well-paced suspense. Others have made interesting comparisons, with Chuck Bowen labeling it "a blunt, trashy fusion of 'Repulsion' and 'Bartleby, the Scrivener'." Brian Tallerico was reminded of "great films like 'Repulsion' and 'May'". Unlike these two, I did not see the "Repulsion" connection, but that is a high praise.
Bowen says the film "is distinctive because Lee doesn't invite us to sympathize with Alyce; she isn't a doomed wallflower in the tradition of the heroes of Carrie, May, or many others". Quite true -- she is no hero or anti-hero, but merely the protagonist we follow, whether her path is justified or not, sane or insane. And that makes it a stronger film.
As others have mentioned, trying to put this film into any one genre is pretty challenging. The marketers seem to want this to be a ghost story, but that is a very small part of what really happens. Following Alyce's journey is not horror, but something a little more than drama.
The attempt to draw from "Alice in Wonderland" is strange. Clearly we have "Alyce" and her friend "Carroll Lewis", which are obvious references. We even have James Duval, who will be known by many as playing a rabbit in "Donnie Darko" (though his character here is anything but Alyce's guide). And there the similarities end.
Director Jay Lee has moved up in the world from his days (not long ago) making "Zombie Strippers". Much of this is a "really satisfying slow burn" (in the words of Nikki Hopeman), but has more to offer than just well-paced suspense. Others have made interesting comparisons, with Chuck Bowen labeling it "a blunt, trashy fusion of 'Repulsion' and 'Bartleby, the Scrivener'." Brian Tallerico was reminded of "great films like 'Repulsion' and 'May'". Unlike these two, I did not see the "Repulsion" connection, but that is a high praise.
Bowen says the film "is distinctive because Lee doesn't invite us to sympathize with Alyce; she isn't a doomed wallflower in the tradition of the heroes of Carrie, May, or many others". Quite true -- she is no hero or anti-hero, but merely the protagonist we follow, whether her path is justified or not, sane or insane. And that makes it a stronger film.