By Courtney Vasquez
Staff Writer
When art crosses with horror, what do you get? In this case, you get Velvet Buzzsaw, a film directed and written by Dan Gilroy.
The R-rated film was shown at the Sundance film festival this year, and was put on Netflix on Feb. 1.
In the film, paintings by a deceased artist are found and displayed in an art museum.
As people start to purchase the paintings, a series of strange deaths begins because of an evil spirit within the art.
The movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and Zawe Ashton was a thriller, but took a while to get to the good stuff.
As a fan of Gyllenhaal, I was excited to see what the film brought to the table, but was left disappointed overall.
While the plot seemed entertaining to follow before watching, it fell short in keeping me interested during most of the movie.
Velvet Buzzsaw seemed to be a more confusing film rather than a thriller that keeps the viewers wanting more.
While the movie tended to cause confusion, I will say that it kept me on edge when the intense parts came about.
The horror, both graphic and violent, was the best part of the film since it provided the entertainment throughout the otherwise dull moments.
Although the film lacked excitement at times, the actors gave the movie the spark it needed.
During the film, Gyllenhaal gave an excellent performance as his character, Morf Vandewalt, who is an art critic.
As Gyllenhaal’s character slowly starts to lose his mind throughout the movie, he does a great job of making the viewers feel the anxiety that he is experiencing.
Rene Russo also gave a good performance as her character, Rhodora Haze. Russo’s character was very bossy and hard headed, so she did well in portraying these characteristics.
Ashton also gave a strong performance, as her character Josephina. The character was slightly irritating, but Ashton did well as the character developed throughout the movie.
While the plot seemed to be lacking during Velvet Buzzsaw, I did enjoy the various elements presented in the movie.
The closeups in the film definitely caught my attention since this seemed to be when the characters were at their most vulnerable states.
When the film had an extreme long shot, it showed the landscapes or settings of where the characters were, which helped in making me feel as though I was there in the movie.
The special effects of the movie were also impressive.
One part in particular that I loved was when the paint of various art pieces absorbed into Josephina’s skin.
Other special effects in the film included when the haunted portraits’ eyes would follow the characters as they walked past the art.
In the movie, there was also music that added to the atmosphere of the film. The intense music made it feel like a classic horror movie, but the quirky, quieter music throughout the rest of the film made it feel balanced out.
Overall, Velvet Buzzsaw was a decent film. The story may have lacked some key elements to keep me completely engaged, but the horror and cinematography qualities helped pick up what the film did not give.
