Th’dread Rattlin’ (2018) (UK)

1/2

A noise phenomenon project has some university students hanging around a stretch of haunted woods where the mysterious sounds originate. That simple premise is put through the wringer with budget arthouse inclinations, hyper-cut editing, electronic music and a narrative that means next to nothing. So, it basically takes almost every aspect of filmmaking I have no patience for (thank god Lucifer Valentine or Lloyd Kaufman weren’t around) and places its schizophrenic pacing in the hands of unlikable or unmemorable characters. There’s a couple missing girls, maybe a coverup, melodrama, psychic bullshit, a sketchy priest with a history, plenty of walking, repeated shots of missing persons flyers, too much dialogue, extended scenes of people looking, dramatic music blaring over scenes that call for none, questionable camera work, drinking, awkward phone conversations, strange staging, the excitement of photography… IN REAL TIME! and and ending that just refuses to fucking end. I have no idea who this for and, quite frankly, I don’t want to know. I like the folklore that is teased and the baffling idiocy of the thing is applause-worthy for all the wrong reasons but that will only get you so far. It’s like me telling a story from my youth after downing a bottle of 120 proof booze… aimless, abrasive and in the end, completely fucking pointless.