The Overlook: Faults

(imdb.com)

There are plenty of films revolving around cults. From documentaries to dramas to the subgenre of horror, these movies often resolve around a disturbing cult with sinister intentions and devote followers. Less funny and more disturbing, movies following cults are often dark and feature upsetting endings. That's not the case with 2014's under the radar film, Faults.

More a dark comedy with horror elements, Faults follows an expert on cults and mind control tasked with breaking a daughter from a dangerous cult named Faults. While attempting to deprogram the young woman, the expert begins questioning his game and things take a turn for the unsettling. Directed by Riley Stearns (The Cub), Faults - while continuously tinged with a lighter air, becomes scary and by its close, will leave viewers more stunned than anything else. The movie stars Leland Orser (Saving Private Ryan) as Ansel Roth, the mind control expert, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) plays Claire, the woman mysteriously tied to the omnipresent cult group. The cast is rounded out with Chris Ellis (Catch Me If You Can) and Beth Grant (The Office) as Claire's parents.

Taking place mostly in a secluded hotel room, Faults makes the most of its odd ball characters and their troubling quirks. Orser's Ansel is an indebted failure coping with a failed career, Winstead's Claire is simple and quiet; she is particularly spectacular, often using a cold, blank stare to command scenes, and Ellis and Grant both play their roles as overly protective parents well. As noted, Winstead controls the flow of the majority of the movie. She's a commanding presence who carries everything on her back, only assisted by the more dialogue-heavy Orser and the others.

From the get-go, despite all of its subtle comedy, something is deeply discomforting in the film. Things begin coming too easy for Ansel and when supernatural elements begin infusing to the storyline, the horror of the film becomes central, Without giving much away, this twisting film will intrigue viewers- that's a promise. Faults does suffer from some genre-mixing crises, but by the film's end, it knows exactly where it wants to end up.  In fact, it gets there with such precision, you'll be able it ignore the inconsistencies.

The Overlook: They Look Like People

(imdb.com)

Anyone who's ever been in any type of school knows what it's like to do the majority of the work on a project. So considering the immense amount of work and time required to create an entire film, this undertaking would seem unimaginable for most. For Perry Blackshear though, writing, directing and producing a particularly good thriller, seems to come easy. The Look Like People is undoubtedly deserving of audiences time, given the amount of effort that must have gone into its creation.

Following close friends who reunite in New York City; The Look Like People is a psychological mind bender. MacLeod Andrews (Tuesday Morning) stars as the downtrodden and possibly disturbed Wyatt and Evan Dumouchel (40 Days and Nights) plays as Wyatt's friend, Christian. Throughout the film, Wyatt is troubled by his belief that humans are being replaced by other worldly creatures setting the stage of the apocalypse. The movie mostly plays out in Christian’s apartment where they try to resolve the potential doom of humanity and figure out what is real and what is not.

They Look Like People has numerous twists and turns and despite being somewhat guessable, maintains a sense of suspension. When the two men are trapped in Christian's apartment and Wyatt begins to break, you feel for both characters whose lives are being turned upside down by some dark force, whether it is real or supernatural. Even when Wyatt makes actions that would deem him villainous, it's hard to root for his downfall, after all he's recently broken up with a girlfriend and is clearly going through some crisis. This is where They Look Like People works best- discovering the humanity underneath the chaos.

If every movie has its flaws then the flaws of They Look Like People are hidden well. Sure, with an obviously smaller budget, some choices were limited, but even somewhat lesser-known actors and a few muddled moments can't sink this ship. It's the type of movie that while sometimes confusing, makes sure to wrap back for its lost viewers by the end. They Look Like People is a knowingly weird film, but it's also unsettling and will easily draw in art-house and horror fans alike.