Directed and co-written by Jakob Bilinski (Three Tears on Bloodstained Flesh), the award-winning Compression is a horror movie that focusses on the aftermath of a traumatic event. If I were to say the slasher element of this two hour movie only occurs via a roughly fifteen minute flashback sequence, you might feel short changed, yet this intimate look at a young woman whose life has forever been altered was expertly done, with the well chosen lead carrying a lot of the movie on her own shoulders.
Hazel Hendrix (Emily Durchholz - Morbid Colors) is a popular true crime podcaster who has become intensely agoraphobic after a harrowing event that saw her and her loved ones attacked. It is so bad for her that she hasn't left her home in months, essentially a prisoner in her own home. Wanting to try and confront her demons, Hazel has gotten a hold of some magic mushrooms and with time booked off from doing her show and writing novels, she has decided to take them one night. Taking more than the recommended dose leads to a night of terror for the frightened woman, with her bad trip leading to her having to come face to face with the things that scare her the most.
I don't think I will really be able to do Compression justice in this review as it was something that was a little different. I loved the idea of this character being a survivor of a slasher type antagonist, and that this is something that happened in the past. Eventually you do get that flashback that shows exactly what happened, before this it is easy to piece it together anyway. From the moment the movie opens with a bloodied Hazel stumbling through a field at sunset I was hooked on discovering exactly what had happened. There are plenty of arthouse style moments here and the movie has more than its fair share of lovingly crafted dreamlike montages of past memories of the protagonist blending together. You also get plenty of hallucinatory sequences, with Hazel suffering visual and audial hallucinations that increasingly make her home feel like a dangerous place to be. I especially liked the creepy painting she has in her home which later sees the figure from the picture escaping its frame and manifesting in reality, it looked really cool.
Hazel made for an interesting character, someone who is alone for much of the movie. Being two hours long means that when there is a reason for her to have a conversation, this becomes a real conversation that plays out for a decent length. Over the course of the movie we see her have an online therapy session, calls with friends, and long conversations with imagined people. It wasn't the point of the film at all, but I was a bit envious of Hazel never leaving the house, I would love to not have to leave my house, so that was a part I enjoyed. I've actually decided to follow her lead and spend a week off work not leaving my house at all next year. Side characters were integral but it was Hazel's journey of discovery I was there for.
With the drug trip being a huge part of the film this was shown on screen in an effective manner. You have things like technology not making sense, a fascination with nature, walls 'breathing' and distorted sounds and colours that were a good attempt of showing what it is like to be on a trip. It all looked fantastic on screen with some cool costume design to some of the hallucinations. I liked how the horror of the past bleeds out into this trip, with no end of fearful moments for Hazel that the actress was perfect at expressing. It makes a film that was frequently beautiful in its meticulously edited montages, even if for me it got all a little bit too sentimental by the time of its uplifting finish.
With the drug trip being a huge part of the film this was shown on screen in an effective manner. You have things like technology not making sense, a fascination with nature, walls 'breathing' and distorted sounds and colours that were a good attempt of showing what it is like to be on a trip. It all looked fantastic on screen with some cool costume design to some of the hallucinations. I liked how the horror of the past bleeds out into this trip, with no end of fearful moments for Hazel that the actress was perfect at expressing. It makes a film that was frequently beautiful in its meticulously edited montages, even if for me it got all a little bit too sentimental by the time of its uplifting finish.
Compression delighted by the framing of where its story took place. Having the traditional slasher type horror element taking place in the past, with the final girl trying to piece her shattered life back together in the present was a great idea, and was translated well. With a captivating protagonist and an intelligently crafted story, this had a lot good going for it.
SCORE:
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