Normal

Richard Griffin has directed a truly visceral film, part hypnotic treatment on death and betrayal, part Lynchian nightmare about the darkest of consciences. Behind a brilliant script by Leonard Schwartz and organic pacing from Griffin, this film is anything but its title would suggest, truly standing out as one of the most original and abnormally transportative indie films I've seen in years. The greatest piece of this filmic puzzle however is actor Michael Reed, who singlehandedly steals the show from a cast of talented actors. Reed is a star and what Normal proves above all else is that this star is rising!

This film is an amazing look at a modern day serial killer. It goes in some incredible and interesting directions! Will Keep you on your feet!! Do yourself a favor and check this one out. One of the best independent films I have seen in a long time. Richard Griffin takes it to another level and Michael Reed Delivers a spellbinding performance. The supporting cast also puts in an incredible effort to create a legitimately strange and mysterious world. The cinematography is reminiscent of film noir with its bleak dark tones mixed with rich color. So definitely seek this film out! hopefully this year at a film festival or soon to be on DVD

While browsing the streaming platforms last night, everything was either too commercial or too familiar, so I finally just gave up, sat down with a glass of soda, and watched "Normal". This movie was so disenchanting that by the time the end credits rolled around, I realized I'd finished the entire two liter bottle, not because I was thirsty, but only because I needed to get up and walk to the kitchen for some caffeine at the risk of otherwise dozing off.

This movie is an unremarkable look at a murderer. Part soporific hackwork on killing and deception, part Wiseauian daydream about the gloomy feels. It goes in some bland and uninspired ways, and I found myself sinking deeper into my couch from the sheer boredom. Instead of being called "Normal", the movie should just be called "Irrationally Dull", surely standing out as one of the most derivative and unexceptionally static cheap films I've watched in quite a while. It's a cramped and misty piece of dreck that attacked and killed too many of my brain cells.

Richard Griffin doesn't really take the movie anywhere; it's all one note. Just like Wood was seemingly unaware of the problems in his work, this movie delivered slack scene after slack scene. His directing was flat and unpolished, and the contrived pacing creates a really artificial movie.

Michael Reed does some dull work, yet still overshadows the other unskilled actors who never make it seem like we're in anything more than some odd, incomprehensible setting. A quick IMDb look at Reed's other films after this, like the "Chupacabra Territory" and "Subferatu", show how his acting aligns with these types of 3-star, sub-par films.

Leonard Schwartz's script was tame and inept, and the cinematography is like film noir without the artistic depth, mixing vulgar color with dreary darkness to create an ambiance that tires as much as it upsets.

Check this out only if you really hate yourself. Movies like "Normal" are truly a dime-a-dozen pieces of pretentious hogwash that think they're saying something unique and important, and trying to convince you that you're just not getting it because you're not trying hard enough. If there's some significant point to this movie that the viewer really has to "work hard to find", the movie has failed at delivering its message.

It's REALLY unethical and dishonest to promise people filmmaking on the level of Scorsese or Kubrick in order to trick people into watching a film. This movie is not the marvel reviewers are claiming it is. It is pretentious, badly acted (including the main "actor" who keeps looking/behaving as though he's constantly constipated), and edited weirdly. It's also ridiculous in how some characters act. If you have to lie this much about a film, either you're delusional or you don't have faith in it, neither of which does innocent moviegoers any favors.

Settling in with a glass of wine last evening, I queued up NORMAL,and found myself so captivated by the resulting motion picture that I realized, as the end credits were rolling, that I hadn't once touched my glass.

Richard Griffin's directing was sharp and stylish, and Leonard Xavier Roberts Schwartz's script was ferocious. Add into that a remarkably intense cast of extreme talent, and what followed was a claustrophobic and atmospheric slice of art that was absolutely delicious for the mind. Similar to the way Chabrol would construct quiet mysteries out of anxiety rather than blood, this movie uses close quarters to ramp up the tension, and a color palette that titillates as much as it unnerves. Movies like NORMAL are truly special, as they remind viewers that the realm of low budget has not seen its final hey day, and that great art is out there waiting to be discovered and celebrated. This is a film that deserves to be seen. Do yourself a favor, and track down this remarkable gem.