Suburban Gothic

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.

It doesn't squarely fit comedy/horror or any other label, but it's fun (and a little dark) with some interesting characters and laugh-out-loud moments.

Matthew Gray Gubler is great as the man-child and Ray Wise is perfect as his father.

There are a few scenes sprinkled through the film that look oddly "cheap". Perhaps late pickups or second unit production. They're kinda distracting but don't ruin the film.

More of a cultural study about being a millennial than an actual movie. Kat Denning has a lot of tattoos, the male lead - Matthew Gray Gubler (maybe change that for Hollywood, dude) is unemployed, lives with his parents and is looking for his "purpose" and a few mumbled jokes are passed around. The plot, such as it is, deals with a fairly routine ghost story that our digital native heroes must release from torment by solving a mystery. In other words, if you have seen an episode of Scooby Doo, you've basically seen the film. However, it is somewhat entertaining. In short, if you can watch it on cable and can't anything better, maybe give it a try.

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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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.