Suburban Gothic

It's called Suburban Gothic for a reason. There may not seem to be a real goal or something this movie is heading towards (none the main character can see at least), but the ride we take with it, is so much fun, that you might not care. Ray Wise is exceptional as the bad father figure, setting the tone early on. But in a very funny way, so that you can't really be mad at him.

Humor is something that is hard to grasp or be sure about. Like obviously this is awkward and weird in a way, that will either entice the viewer or appall them. Kat Dennings seem to be shoe-in for the role she's playing, because we've seen her play similar characters before. Without knowing her you could be fooled into thinking that it's very close to who she really is. But no matter if that is true or not, this movie thrives on her and every other actor, who play their role exceptionally

Matthew Gray Gubler from the television crime series Criminal Minds gets to let loose in this comedy-horror movie. At the same time, Ray Wise from the classic Twin Peaks television series (1990) also gets to expand on his former character again as the father figure, this time as Gubler's character's dad. What sets this rather conventional movie apart from other comedy-horrors is the script which delightfully expands and enhances those stylistic characters of Gubler and Wise and transforms them into a comedic parody upon which both actors take to their roles with a feverish outpouring of electric sophisticated humor. At the same time, the script at a few points seems to cross the line of parody and seemingly endless excessive mimicry making the movie almost overly burdened with pretentious acting (possibly the fault of the movie's director). The movie also sharply turns pretty dark later in the movie straining the carefully crafted balance of the tone of the movie. Nevertheless, Suburban Gothic offers an entertaining spark to the comedy-horror genre, making it rise above the many mass of ordinary movie titles.

In 2012, I came across the hidden gem Excision. Directed by Richard Bates Jr., Excision was the type of film that horror fans love to find – a title that they knew nothing about starring a bunch of people that we never heard of that, upon screening, was much much better than the throwaway DVD we expected.

Excision didn't have us pacing the halls awaiting the next Richard Bates Jr. effort, but it did have us stand notice when his new project, Suburban Gothic was announced as part of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival schedule.

With a successful and fairly well received film in his rearview mirror, Bates Jr. was able to gather together a cast of more familiar faces for his sophomore effort. Enter Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds), Kate Dennings (Thor), Ray Wise, John Waters and Jeffrey Combs – the later three very entrenched in horror history.

Suburban Gothic follows the life of Raymond (Gubler). A bit of a loser and an awkward one at that – a "freak" as his counsellor calls him - Raymond lives at home with his parents (Barbara Niven and Ray Wise) as his college degree does little to assist in securing employment.

One thing that Raymond is good at is summoning spirits and interacting with the paranormal. This talent catches the eye of paranormal obsessed goth Becca (Kat Dennings), a bartender that believes Raymond's sightings are a gift and the two will team up to fight an evil that has encroached the town.

Suburban Gothic is a whole bunch of things. It's a comedy, a horror, a supernatural thriller and a wannabe cult classic. The cast is well suited with no actor going outside a true comfort zone. Gubler has played the geek many times before as has Dennings playing the sarcastic muse as has Ray Wise playing an overbearing father with great lines and John Waters playing a gay freak. Been there, done that.

Suburban Gothic wants to be a The Frighteners, a Ghostbusters, an Odd Thomas and a Supernatural all rolled into one. But the effort doesn't reach the potential. It's like a car that runs but doesn't click into the right gear when accelerating. Everyone tries their best and there are some great lines in the film (John Waters' scene with Dennings and Gubler is absolutely fabulous) but everything doesn't click together like Lego blocks and instead of a David Lynchian Gothic Mullholland Drive the result is more of a Brundlefly.

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Decent watch, could watch again, but can't recommend.

I watched this excited to see Kat Dennings in a movie again, but she really ends up playing second fiddle to Matthew Gray Gubler who basically carries the movie. While he actually seems like a good actor and was able to add a flavor to his character that I couldn't tell that if it was just him shining through, the truth of the character or he elevated the character with a special twist, so this puts him on my to watch out for list.

The story itself is really lackluster. There are a lot of familiar faces, and the minute to minute is generally pretty entertaining, but the weirdness of finding a hidden kiddie coffin and trying to lay a ghost to rest gets weird when it's stretched over a long period of time without getting intense.

I'm all for different, and I can't call this bad, but there are so many other good things to watch instead.

Matthew Gray Gubler is perfect in this. Ray Wise is at his best. Kat Dennings is underutilized, though. She has great comedic timing and presence and is not given enough of it to perform. The editing could have been tighter, giving it more flow. But I like that this movie is exactly what it wants to be and is unapologetic about it.

If you like quirky movies, this is for you. If you like your horror straight, best to skip this one.