The Commune

I first saw this at the Bram Stoker Film Festival, where it won "Best International Feature", and purchased the DVD there (which speaks for itself). It stands up brilliantly to a second viewing, I have to say, and works as well on the small screen as on the big.

The Commune is a good, slow creep in the manner of The Wicker Man, the subject area well researched so that little bits peek through in ways the audience might not always appreciate on a first viewing. It's one of those films where the more you know about the setting the more frightening it is, unlike a lot of horror flicks. The intense colour palette gives it a dissonant quality that enhances the unsettling feeling the film inspires. I feel the climax could have been a little bigger in terms of set pieces, but as it stands it does give the film a more personal feeling.

The Commune, like its lovely heroine, is between a rock and a hard place in a world of delusional, narcissists. It doesn't fit neatly into some prepackaged genre category that Pod People can easily consume sans participation or reflection. This film is an experience best accompanied by active thought and post-viewing discussion. Michael Bay fans may wanna stay clear.

That said, one would not be wrong to call it a horror film. Like Wicker Man (as many before me have aptly referenced) and many of Polanski's darker films, it ventures into territory far too horrific to suggest it is any other genre. However, the movie I watched was more of a post-modern "coming-of-age" turns "psycho-drama" with speckles of dark humor and surrealism inter-woven throughout. Part Alan Ball, part Samuel Fuller, and a whole lot of the delightfully twisted Lis Fies, The Commune is a wonderful achievement in making a low budget look high, making human ugliness look gorgeous, and making us leave the theater with that same sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs as did American Beauty, Happiness, Blue Velvet and Stepford Wives (the original, that is). The Commune reminds us that while life might sometimes appear to be in pretty Technicolor on the outside, one must never forget to look below the surface where the scariest monsters most often reside.

Kudos to any independent filmmaker who strives for intelligence as well as artistry, without being held back by limited budgets. Double kudos to Lis Fies for succeeding.

First, I'm not even sure if I should call this movie a "horror" movie. Yes, it involves a few horrible acts, but when I think of a "horror" movie -- especially by today's standards -- I picture some PG-13 crap with a bunch of teenagers running away from an unstoppable killer for 90 minutes.

This isn't that kind of movie, not by a long shot.

And when I say it's an indie film, I don't mean it's indie compared to Transformers 2. I mean it's indie in the truest sense of the word. It appears to have been created by a bunch of like-minded people motivated by their love of movies and devotion to the story they wanted to tell, not by profit.

I have no idea what the budget was for this movie, but I'm guessing it was pretty small. And yet that doesn't come across on film. It's a "small" movie, in that there aren't a lot of locations and the cast is small and there aren't any special effects. But it never feels like a "cheap" movie. It's well-shot, the sound is good, and the music was particularly strong.

The story involves Jenny (don't call her Jen!), a 16-year old girl forced to spend time with her estranged father as part of a custody agreement. Her father's some kind of hippie guru and lives in a weird commune. Jenny arrives at the commune and we initially get a lot of fish-out-of-water / culture clash humor. But the humor's offset nicely by an undercurrent of creepiness to everything.

Jenny soon meets Puck, a kid who lives in the nearby town. They strike up a friendship, and spend more and more time with each other as Jenny is continually creeped out at the commune.

I won't spoil the rest of the film. As I said before, it's not what I'd call a "horror" film, per se. Maybe more of a psychological thriller. But it's also got strong elements of black comedy. It's my kind of movie, in that it slides quite comfortably back and forth between genres.

I found the high point of the film to be at the beginning of the third act, in a prolonged scene between Jenny and Puck. Elisabeth Fies, the writer / director / co-star, establishes a really intimate, genuine, raw moment between her two characters.

If you're in the mood for something different, and want to support truly independent filmmakers, check out The Commune.

I saw this movie by chance at a horror film festival recently. I had no idea what to expect. Two things give me the creeps bad- one is colonial people, and the other is hardcore hippies. I could not move in my seat through this entire movie, it was so intensely realistic. I was a few minutes into it when I realized it wasn't actually set in the '70s, because it really had that look! I couldn't understand what kind of mother would let her daughter go away to a commune with her creepy, deadbeat, hippie dad. The characters were everything you don't want to meet at such a place. The casting was perfect. Chauntal Lewis stars as the unfortunate girl, Jenny. This story was so very disturbing...then all of a sudden, there is David Lago- 'Raul' from 'the Young and the Restless'! He is so pretty it's hard to look! That calmed me down for a minute, anyway. But then the horror continued...for all the sunshine and pretty scenery in this film, it still manages to give you the chills all the way through. It kind of reminded me of 'Crowhaven Farm' and 'Race With The Devil'. I urge you to see it for yourself. It's like a fine early '70s 'ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK'! (That is a high compliment, by the way). I haven't seen anything like this in a long time, and I was really missing these type of movies. Thank you Elisabeth Fies! Again- SEE IT!!

Most of the horror films that I see released these days aren't scary, sport a CW-esquire cast and have to rely on the gore to save a film that was weak in the first place. Long gone are those days of great horror films and here to stay are the days of poorly structured horror films that have to glorify bloodshed… that is until now with the release of Elisabeth Fies' The Commune; an independent horror film that is reminiscent of the fantastically structured horror films of old.

The Commune is about a 15 year old girl named Jenny Cross (Chauntal Lewis) who, because of a lawsuit, is sent to live with her father, Dr. Polieos (Stuart G. Bennett), for a month on his hippie compound. As the days pass, Jenny spends most of her time counting down the days until her 16th birthday and trying to figure out what she's going to do for entertainment for a month. Luckily, Jenny meets a guy named Puck (David Lago), who seems to help Jenny get some enjoyment back into her life. Jenny starts believing that, because of Puck, her time at the commune won't be so bad after all… but then some freaky things start happening and Jenny has to figure out a way to get out of there or become just another victim.

Aside from some rough spots with the supporting characters, the acting in the film is pretty solid. Chauntal Lewis is great as Jenny. Lewis is essentially this film's "final girl"… the part in a horror film that you are supposed to connect with, care for and hope that she can find a way to overcome the odds… and manages to pull it off without a hitch. Because of Lewis' performance, Stuart G. Bennett is able to feed off of her and delivers a performance that is beyond creepy; something Bennett seems to have enjoyed a tad bit too much. Lago as Puck does a fine job with his part; that of Jenny's love interest, which would bore people to tears in other movies, but works here. When you first see him in the movie and notice that he's sporting black nail polish and eye liner, you want to punch him in the face, but as the film progresses, you see that the character is actually a likable guy and you don't want to hit him as much.

Elisabeth Fies, who not only directed the film but also wrote it, produced it and played a part in it as well, may actually be the film's shining star. With The Commune, Fies crafts a film that has the perfect amount of tension needed for the story and is able to disturb viewers to the point that it will make them cringe, but will keep them so wrapped up in the story that they won't want to turn it off. Oh, but that isn't the best part. The best part is that The Commune is Fies' first film. To be ambitious enough to put together a film that looks this great and shows that she has the potential to put many Hollywood directors to shame is a feat that is just phenomenal. Hopefully any movie she makes in the future turn out this good.

For those of you who like horror films from the past, you will most likely want to check out Elisabeth Fies' The Commune. It's a nicely structured film that creates the perfect amount of tension and doesn't rely on any unnecessary gimmicks. It is good to see that there are ambitious people out there that are willing to spend their own money to get a film that they want to see made.