Director: Elias
MPAA Rating: NR
Run Time: 91 min.
Gut is not a film for everyone. The slow, deliberate pace will frustrate some of the more mainstream horror fans, and the decidedly low-budget indie feel will turn some people off as well. For others like myself however, these aspects of the film set it apart from the typical run-of-the-mill slasher, and elevate it something different and more interesting than most horror flicks.
The core of the film focuses on two friends, Tom and Dan (Jason Vail and Nicholas Wilder), who are feeling the effects of adulthood as they settle into their mundane lives. In order to break the monotony, Dan procures a dvd from an online message board and the two get together to give it a watch. What they see will change their lives forever, and will trigger a series of events that may very well lead to their demise.
Gut is a slow burn of a film. Much like Ti West, director Elias takes his time with the story, only interjecting bits of gore when absolutely necessary. This style helps the film, but also proves to be a hindrance.
The slow and meticulous pacing compliments the tone of the movie, hammering in the idea of how boring Tom’s life is. We see his boring job, we see his boring home, we see his boring wife, and we begin to feel as trapped as he does. Having to slog through these scenes make the more intense depictions of violence stand out even more.
The flip side of this coin is that all the work put into developing Tom as a character seemed for naught, as he wasn’t a very likable guy. In fact, no one in the film had any redeeming qualities to latch on to, which caused me to feel disconnected, rather than being able to relate, or care about them. This is the big setback of the film since it’s essentially a psychological horror tale focusing on these two friends.
From a technical standpoint, Gut looks exactly how a movie like this should look. Very tight camera work keeps us close to the characters, and ensures that we endure everything that they are. The way in which we see the initial DVD is interesting, in that we don’t see the entire video as they watch it, but rather in fragments as Tom begins to obsess over it.
As the characters begin to fall deeper into the rabbit hole, things become increasingly more unstable, and their behavior becomes more erratic. As the tension escalates the film tricks you into thinking there’s going to be a big bloodbath of a climax, however the end leaves much to be desired. With a buildup that slow, I expected something much more satisfying than what we get.
The level of violence and gore in the movie is slight, but intense. In a movie where so little happens, it’s quite jarring when you get hit with a cut of some very disturbing acts taking place. It doesn’t use the violence as a crutch, but rather a catalyst for Tom’s descent into madness.
Though this isn’t a movie I would recommend to most, there is still an audience for a film like this, and I hope it’s able to find those who appreciate it. It has some serious missteps in the storytelling department, and the payoff is slightly underwhelming, but it’s a gallant effort from Elias and it’s clear he is a talented writer/director. If you’re in the market for some slow-burn psychological horror with some sparse, but disturbing gore, Gut is definitely one to check out.
