In Fabric

In Fabric is quite an interesting, bizarre film. No need to type out a synopsis of the film, that's what IMDB is for. I watched the trailer for this and the close ups, strange audio, quick cut-shots really pulled me in to click play. I love a unique horror film that makes me think, and this movie definitely did that. Honestly I will say, if I hadn't read the first sentence of another review on here that had "consumerism" in it, I am not entirely certain I would have picked up on that theme until the very end of the movie.

Majority of the movie has you guessing if the dress is cursed or if it is some type of illusion that these characters are experiencing. A lot of it is very confusing, especially the lead sales character who we aren't sure what she is. Is it a cult? Is she a witch? Why is her being bald so important? I couldn't tell you. Her strange henchman that never says anything also threw me off. I assume he is the owner of the department store, but what was their relationship and what was he whispering to her that made her snap out of her current emotion? Also couldn't tell you.

I like the theme of consumerism is killing us all, controlling our minds and it works well I suppose. I think what turned me off was that the dress could fly, float, crawl, make rashes appear on the skin but without an explanation to of WHY. Again, was the department store a cult who put a spell on this fabric or dress? I don't know! Maybe I'm missing the mark here. I enjoyed it for the most part. It's odd, creepy, eerie, beautiful and whimsical. But I don't think it deserves another above a 6 or 7. Seems like the director/writer just wanted a fancy art movie so he could complain about capitalism.

Peter Strickland has taken an inspiration from M R James Whistle and I'll Come to You and given it a twist. In Fabric comes across as Dario Argento decided to make a kitchen sink drama in Britain.

Sheila (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is looking for a dress for a blind date. The shop assistant Miss Luckmore (Fatma Mohamed) a lady with a thick east european accent and a peculiar way of talking sells her an artery red dress with a mind of its own. It also is a bearer of bad fortune.

Sheila gets a rash and the washing machine dismantles when washing the dress. She has strange dreams and maybe her work is being affected. Sheila is a bank clerk who seems to be having weird appraisal meetings which includes being criticised that she has not shaken hands properly with someone.

Later the story switches to Reg (Leo Bill) and his fiance Babs (Hayley Squires.) Reg wore the dress as a prank for his drunken stag night and again they seemed cursed. He gets a rash, the washing machine falls apart. Reg who is a washing machine repairer gets fired by his employer for fixing his own machine without permission. Something about they provided him with the training.

In Fabric is a strange surreal film with influences that range from David Lynch, Dario Argento, Terry Gilliam to Ken Loach. It is set in some undefined time, but it looks like the 1980s. It makes a statement about consumerism and working in nightmarish bureaucratic organisations. The low cost airline Ryanair charge their pilots for their training. One day the pilots might go and work for someone else with the training they have provided to them.

The second half is certainly weaker and the change of cast is jarring. At times it is too weird for its own good. Maybe the film should had stuck with Sheila's story and then ended.

I had the opportunity to watch the preview with Q&A with Peter Strickland, and the useless questions from the audience, eager to show they had some knowledge and references instead of genuine questions, did not allow me to ask the director: why didn't you stop after the first half ? I enjoyed this first part, stylish, quite funny, and it could have ended like that, we had got it. The second half of the film was in my opinion un-necessary, adding nothing else to the plot and even making the movie feel too long. A bit like too little jam on too long a bread slice, it lost its taste, and became repetitive, over the top and I must say quite boring in the end. Sometimes, a short story is better than a novel. The things which are really FANTASTIC about this film are the soundtrack and music. You might want to watch it just for that!

There's something admirable about taking a film about a killer dress deathly seriously. It's this sort of commitment we just don't see in movies anymore and In Fabric should be applauded for daring to take its subject matter seriously.

In Fabric does start off well with Marianne Jean-Baptiste turning in a fantastic performance as a recently divorced woman working a soul crushing job, trying to take care of her rebellious live-at-home son and his truly awful girlfriend, and making time to go on dates with a bevvy of losers. Instantly, we can relate to this woman's plight and when she finds this beautiful red dress at a mysterious department store, it seems like things are looking up...until the dress starts making bad things happen. First of all, it doesn't want to be washed, so it causes washing machines to explode and, second of all, it was last worn by a model who met a gruesome end. Will our hapless heroine be next?

In Fabric's biggest issue is that it feels like a short Tales From the Crypt episode extended to almost two full hours, which leaves the audience mostly bored after the first hour. There's a major detour the film takes mid-way through when it gets bored with its heroine and introduces a new set of characters which brings the film down, because we don't care about them nearly as much. Maybe if Jean-Baptiste hadn't been so phenomenal in the first half or they'd decided to make a film about multiple characters encountering this red dress, it wouldn't have been as jarring a switch.

It looks stunning, has atmosphere in spades, and the music score is haunting, but it goes on for far too long and ends in the most anti-climactic way imaginable. It's still worthy of your time, but it's a shame a few things get in the way of it being really excellent.

The concept is interesting, but the film is really strange. It is not the regular horror film. It is artistic, and it is different.