The Nightcrawler (2014) trio Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, and director Dan Gilroy came back last month in the new slasher drama Velvet Buzzsaw. The film takes us into the lives of art critic Morf Vandewalt (Jake Gyllenhaal), punk star turned gallery owner Rhodora Haze (Rene Russo), kamikaze curator Gretchen (Toni Collette), and desperate employee Josephina (Zawe Ashton) as they break loose the ultimate karma.
Each of these characters never appreciate art as it truly is, only using it to make as much money as possible (cool side note, the song used in the trailer is Five Knives' Money and is literally about that). Morf abuses his critic power to ruin the integrity of his enemies, Rhodora left the artistry in her punk band to run a corrupted gallery, Gretchen becomes a private curator to help her friends sell artwork at ridiculous prices, and Josephina sleeps with different artists to get their artwork published at the gallery. These are the reasons each of the characters are killed by the artwork of Dease, a man who brutally murdered his father and spent his life in an insane asylum.
Velvet Buzzsaw has such an intriguing premise and strong cast that it's a shame it was executed and shown in such a poor way.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays his character very well, capturing both the stress of his work and the stress of knowing his demise. However, due to his sympathetic, knowing-he's-about-to-die character, the audience feels bad about his death. While watching, I wanted to see him somehow pull through. Although this kind of feeling is created a lot in dramatic films, this tone does not correspond to the theme talked about above. The audience needs to feel as Dease did, betrayed and vengeful. The audience needs to enjoy watching the gallery crew get what they deserve.
In addition to poor script writing, some parts of the screenplay needed to be explained more. All that the audience knows of Dease is that he is a pscho artist who's only dieing wish was to destroy the art he made. This raises questions like... Did he know his art could kill people and if so how did he make it? What made his art want to kill the people who don't truly respect it? Is it magic? Is it voodoo? If the film took more time explaining the backstory of Dease and his artwork, the premise could be more respected, helping the audience truly enjoy the film.
Although this film does lack in some parts, it definitely has the pieces needed to make a great film.
In order to make a great slasher film, you need gore which this movie 100% provides. The scene that I always think of when someone mentions this film is when Gretchen gets her arm torn off in the mirror ball, but when people see her body the next day, they assume it's apart of the sculpture and allow kids to play in the "fake blood". These bone chilling, downright disturbing scenes are what makes a great slasher movie.
Velvet Buzzsaw also has the pieces needed to make a great dramatic film. The themes of money can't buy everything are constantly flowing throughout the conversations between characters. Romances and love triangles make debut appearances to create sympathy and suspense in the audience. The scene played while the credits roll gives the audience a Coen Brothers ending, leaving the audience neither fulfilled and starved.
In addition to the outstanding acting and the well-written scenes, the cinematography and editing of Robert Elswit are excellent. The artwork gets mashed into the real-world seamlessly and without error. In a slasher film where the artwork literally needs to be alive, it needs to look real enough to scare the audience. Although this movie does fail in some other parts, I will never look at the painting in the front hallway of my house the same ever again.
The slasher scenes and the dramatic dialogue gives Velvet Buzzsaw the intricacy and enjoyment of a great all-around film. The casting of both the lead and supporting roles was amazing and the film just looked good on screen. I wish that the movie could have taken its time more, unveiling certain plot points to create even more suspense and excitement. Although Velvet Buzzsaw is not a perfect film, it is such a fun watch that any slasher fan needs to see.
Bad/Good
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