Out of Fantastic Fest, Alex Schulman’s Adult Supervision tests the limits of teen bullying and the complacency of adults to allow it to keep happening. Three parents, Bill (Gustaf Skarsgård), Bobo (Fares Fares), and Pontus (Linus Wahlgren), volunteer to accompanying a school trip to the coast. They immediately plunge into the deep end of rampant bullying and learn that things aren’t always as they seem. When Bill notices one kid getting the brunt of the violence, he attempts to step in to intervene, but the bullies mock him and don’t take him seriously. It takes Bobo’s commanding presence to whip them into shape.
Adult Supervision twists and bends, with Schulman delivering a hard left hook to the jaw in the finale. While the tension could have been tighter, it’s just suffocating enough to make the film an uncomfortable watch. The film also explores burying the past, reconnecting with loved ones, and how to let go as your kids get older.
Óscar Martín’s Upiro falls victim to an oversaturated marketplace of “new postulant goes to a convent and terrible things happen.” While it’s inspired by the first case of vampirism in the Iberian Peninsula, as documented by the Catholic Church, there’s very little to engage the audience in the first 50 minutes. It’s an unfortunate slog to get to the good stuff. If you last that long, the back half is delicious and macabre.
Ana’s (Pauline Brisy) father forces her into a life of discernment and prayer. Her agency has been stripped away from her, and going to a convent couldn’t possibly be a good place for her mental well-being. When she arrives, mysterious murders begin unraveling her sanity and that of the other nuns. It also doesn’t help that Ana likes to partake in a bit of debauchery from time to time. Her behavior fuels the flames of the Mother, leading to cruelty and a wild turn of events. When Upiro finally delivers on its premise, it’ll knock you for a loop. From the vampire designs to the crucial revelation, the film works overtime to make up for the slow pacing. But it could very well be too late for some.
Josh Tanner’s Posthumous feels like it should work on paper, but a sluggish story and an incredibly unlikeable protagonist muddles a promising premise. Moody style and aesthetic does little to elevate the greater whole above mediocre. Sophie Lowe plays Zoe, who returns to her childhood home on her birthday. It’s a difficult time, as her mother died during childbirth. When she discovers a VHS tape, she discovers a sticky web of deception that exposes the truth behind her mother’s death. Her father has concealed what happened for decades, lending easily to the growing friction him and Zoe.
Posthumous attempts to express commentary on grief, healing, and the outward ripple death has on all facets of one’s life. But half-baked characterizations with no real weight or honesty sink the film within the first 20 minutes. Lowe meanders from one beat to the next, as though she’s trying to find anything to give her character purpose. The VHS footage delivers legitimate scares, and the audience is left wondering if a compilation cut of that footage exists somewhere.
Leave a Reply