Disturbing and mysterious things begin to happen to a bartender in New Orleans after he picks up a phone left behind at his bar.
“It had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception… And the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core…” – Joseph Conrad, “Heart of Darkness.”
Horror movies are always divisive, I’ve had countless friends and colleagues love or hate a scary film, I myself rarely remain neutral as well. Well once again, you’re going to love or hate “Wounds,” the latest horror film from Iranian Filmmaker Babak Anvari. It’s a heavy tongue-in-cheek descent into madness and I loved every minute of it.
Suitably set in New Orleans, a massive filthy tunnel is the first discomforting image in this cryptically thrilling feature. Armie Hammer plays Will, a bartender at a local dive bar Rosie’s, who rarely misses an opportunity to drink. Despite having a girlfriend he maintains a serious crush on his charming regular Alicia (Zazie Beetz). On a seemingly regular night at the seedy bar, Alicia has brought along her new beau Jeffrey (Karl Glusman) who recently graduated from Tulane, which makes Will insecure having unceremoniously dropped out himself. Later on, four college kids who are clearly underage get a blind eye from Will who happily serves them. Their peaceful night is interrupted by his other regular Eric (Brad William Henke) who’s about to head off to an oil rig job and thus has been on a self-destructive week-long alcohol binge. He’s a former soldier with a brute disposition and gets into an altercation with his fellow drinking buddies. The brawl is intense, leaving Eric with a nasty gash after his supposed friend lodges a broken bottle in his cheek. The underage patrons callously film the fight and then take off after the cops are called, “fucking millennials” Will proclaims. One of the said millennials drops their phone and he decides to hold onto it, planning to turn it into the local police. Upon investigating the abandoned smartphone, he discovers a grisly video showing an occult incantation with a severed head.
The screenplay is filled with literary references, some of which went over my head. The most familiar homage is T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men,’ which basically alludes to men unable to carry out their plans into viable results, which Will can certainly relate to. He lacks a degree, a high-paying job, and a healthy secure love life. He’s in a stagnant relationship with Carrie (Dakota Johnson) who attends courses at Tulane University, and he’s jealous of her Professor. Carrie notices a suspicious change in Will’s behavior and insists on viewing the footage. Afterward, she keeps being entranced by the perpetual image of the frightening tunnel on her laptop, perhaps an allegory on technology superseding physical connection.
Anvari has quite a handful of Cronenberg-esque body horror elements parsed throughout. There happens to be an infestation of bugs in Rosie’s bar and they are a prevalent occurrence throughout the film. One particularly frightening scene reveals Will being tailed by a black car and after some threatening messages, the phone begins to melt, unleashing creepy crawlies pouring out of the smartphone all over his arm. The sound design is chock-full of tactile anxieties like the pitter-patter of swamp sized cockroaches while the jarring vibration from a text message has never been so alarming.
I love the New Orleans setting since so many movies are filmed there but they rarely make it about the city. Having been there last spring I found it to be one of the most special places in the US and there’s no denying its reputation as a party town. The solid cast all put in reliable performances but it’s truly Hammer’s movie.
Anvari reunites with his “Under the Shadow” DP Kit Fraser, crisply shooting on digital format. Anvari also adapted the screenplay from Nathan Ballingrund’s short story, “The Visible Filth.” The plot is intentionally murky, there’s a lot to interpret and unpack, which I loved. I think it gives return rewards for further viewings. The editing is sharply cut with disquieting images that are so quickly overlaid yet they still seared into my brain. The movie is currently the streaming on Hulu and I recommend sitting back and enjoying the wicked ride.
“Wounds” recently screened at the 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival
