Something in the Dirt

I have been a fan of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead for a few years. Having seen all of their feature films and direction on the Marvel series Moon Knight, I can confidently say that I think they are terrific filmmakers, even though their work isn't for everyone. Their bizarre and thought-provoking stories always suck me in. For that reason alone, I will watch anything new they work on. Something in the Dirt may be my least favourite of their work so far, but I'd be lying if I didn't at least say I had a very good time watching it.

After Levi (Justin Benson) moves into a new apartment complex, his neighbour John (Aaron Moorhead) becomes friends with him when they both witness supernatural occurrences. Choosing to document it in hopes that their story will make them money, they begin to get in a little over their heads. Since the supernatural occurrences do not allow themselves to be filmed, they wait until they've experienced it and then recreate it. So it's real, but not really. This made the film much more interesting to me, but the conclusion is what kept me from thinking it was great.

Many viewers may find themselves unsatisfied with how this story comes to a close, but I can't get into that without spoiling the final scene. This is a well-done film and their comedic friendship helps drive it, but it just felt that the premise was far too interesting for where it actually ends up. Unlike their other films where they just go for it and don't care about how ridiculous some things might be, Something in the Dirt feels very tame in comparison. Still, the creativity is present from start to finish as always.

In the end, Something in the Dirt has some great camera work and the story itself is very fun and intriguing. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are both likeable actors and they do a great job directing as well, but it's a very small movie, so I expected nothing less. I took away a few lessons and ideals from this movie that really made me think, but again, the film itself doesn't explore those things nearly enough. This is a screenplay that is fantastic until the third act, which was slightly frustrating. Still, overall, I'm still pretty positive about the movie for being so creative. Something in the Dirt is now available on demand.

I can't quite put my finger on it but after the first 30 minutes I was so lost, bored and tired that I didn't really care much for what was coming next. I think if this had been one of their earlier films, I would have appreciated it more. But I expected better from them at this point. I was expecting something more cinematic, and I feel like it was a heavily filtered movie that just didn't live up to my expectations.

I think the movie tried to do too much and the filmmakers were given too much freedom to do so because of their success on previous projects. I may revisit it one day, but for now, I remain neutral on this one.

After moving into a new apartment, a down-on-his-luck guy and his neighbor witness a series of weird phenomenon taking place in the location and decide to start filming the supernatural events to become famous, but it starts to wear on them the longer they're together investigating the forces.

There's very little to this one that makes it worthwhile. Among the few positives to be had here is the intriguing setup that propels this one along into a somewhat decent storyline about what they've been going through. As the experiences here in the first part focuses on their relationship building and bringing their interest in the supernatural to a centerpiece which sets everyone off on a rather fun rabbit hole of discovery involving the series of discoveries they make. Delving into this particular aspect of the genre rather than utilizing an endless series of jump-scares about something popping up behind someone unexpectedly adds a depth to this particular part of the film that's quite refreshing. Combined with the rather fun comedic stylings between the two friends as we get to explore their friendship, this creates enough to make it worthwhile. There are far more factors here that bring it down, though. The main drawback is that, for a film this long, it doesn't have much in the way of genuine genre thrills at all. The ghosts and paranormal activity here don't have any kind of malicious intent behind them, rendering a lot of the running time of the film to become rather dull as the ghosts aren't out to do anything interesting other than provide an excuse for them to go into their research and debates about what's going on. For those wanting an endless stream of ghost action or genuine genre thrills, that leaves a lot of this one to feel like the two are simply yakking at each other with nothing else going on, especially when it comes close to the two-hour mark with very little happening. These factors really end up bringing this one down being far more impactful than any of its positives.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

Well, you must admit most of the reviews are consistent : )

Like many reviewers here, I'm a big fan of these guys' work. Even 'SYNCHRONIC' was very good despite some naysayers. But, this one... Honestly, I fully agree with what most of the reviewers who rated this movie a 4 or 5 here have said.

Just too disjointed... Believe me, I'm all for total Surrealism, David Lynch is one of my all time favourite living directors. BUT... you still have to have a story, atmosphere, mood, SOMETHING that ties together enough to present an entertaining movie.

As usual, the fellows are very clever, and the acting is excellent as always. There are many moments throughout which are creative and creepy and many other great things. The editing and cinematography are very well done. But, unfortunately what you end up with is simply not coherent enough or atmospheric enough to carry an entire film.

And lastly...

Who the hell financed this thing... Phillip Morris...? Winston...? Marlboro...? Camel...? I mean, COME ON GUYS...! I don't think I've seen a movie since the 1940's, 1950's Film Noir where everyone was bloody CONSTANTLY smoking, GEEZ! Now, I don't mean directly to diss people who choose to smoke, that is totally their business. BUT... for me personally, I found it rather insulting to the audience, bearing in mind what everyone well knows today about smoking, having the two guys LITERALLY smoking non-stop, every moment, every scene, all the bloody way through is not only pointless but irritating. I'm sorry, maybe it's just my personal feelings, but considering the public awareness today and the fact that most people simply do not smoke these days, the only way I can express it is that I honestly found it truly insulting to the audience.

It's almost like when you watch a movie (or a show) where every sentence by every person has like 20 'F' words in it. Not to be a prude or anything, but I feel it's the same principle. The average person just simply does not talk that way. And, I think it is the same with the wall-to-wall smoking throughout the entire film.

Anyway... Sorry to go on about that, but for two of the most clever, intelligent filmmakers going today, I just cannot see how they can justify why they would do that in this day and age. Unless of course, like I first said, their TOTAL financing came from the tobacco industry : )

So, back to the movie. Yes, clever, and YES very ambitious, but as an entertaining film, even for their die hard fans and even for people like me who really love Surreal films, sorry the sum result I don't feel is truly up to what these fellows are capable of. Like some others here have said and I agree... By far their weakest effort.

I'm giving it a rather generous '6' because of the sheer complexity and effort that went into it...

Not even sure what to make of this. I'm told this was conceived and initiated during Covid and I applaud Benson and Moorhead for keeping the creative spark alive during this difficult time. But this film, frugally shot with sparse cameras, small cast, and minimal sets, falls bizarrely flat in the second half after a promising and intriguing start. An interesting and unexplainable phenomenon occurs, which could have led to multiple potential legit sci-fi storylines. Okay, I'm hooked. But soon, the tale dissolves into confusing pseudo-science banter, and wild conspiracy theories, with a side dose of anger and paranoia. In the end, nothing is really resolved and the whole event could just as easily have been explained away as the result of a lengthy acid trip. I think I'll just say "weirdly unsatisfying" and leave it at that.