Vestido Maldito

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!

Definitely worth a watch, but as pointed by others, not for everyone. It carries a masterful arthouse 70's direction, editing, color scheme and production altogether, dressed up with weird, repetitive vintage synth tracks and some peculiar cuts at times beyond comprehension. At one point I thought the movie was stuck. It wasn't. You've been warned.

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

Art for the sake of art...Not much substance... It' like a mixture of"1984" with "Rubber",with a try to imitate David Lynch,Dario Argento and Cronenberg all at once...The result is very artful,but fails to really engage and excite,like the films of abovementioned Masters...All in all 5 stars for a good visuals,acting,music. One time watch,doesn't go into the collection...

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.