Part romance, part end of the world fable is writer/director/ star Evan Glodell's debut feature, Bellflower, a distressingly personal story that scorches the must old indie films that have become the norm of late. Perhaps because it's his first film, pieced together for a lowly $17000, Glodell infuses it with a confidence that can only come from a lack of compromise. Bellflower is intentionally destructive, nihilistic to the point of anarchy, and strangely beautiful in the way it embraces utter hopelessness.
Woodrow(Glodell) and his best buddy Aidan(Tyler Dawson) are two So-Cal dudes who have seen one too many Mad Max
movies. They believe the end of the world is near, so close that they not only begin fantasizing about it but preparing for it's arrival. Despite having no job, they've managed to piece together an armored up warrior of a muscle car to survive the onslaught. It's the centerpiece of their twisted vision, their one true love in a world they hope will go mad. And it dispenses liquor. Gotta have that. The only thing they're missing is a flamethrower, because...well, flamethrowers are pretty sweet. In Woodrow and Aidan's world, there can be no room for romantic entanglements. So their bond is immediately tested when Woodrow goes gah-gah for Milly(Jessie Wiseman), a tough as nails bar chick who doesnt' seem at all turned off by his fatalistic world view. Their first date is an impromptu road trip down to Texas to eat at a crappy roadside diner. Her impulsiveness is a virtue that initially wins Woodrow over, but it's clear almost from the start that things are going to end badly. She's selfish and tells him so, his lack of inexperience in the ways of love blinds him to her faults until it's way too late.
Not the best idea to piss off a guy who fancies himself a modern day Road Warrior. As his own personal world goes to Hell, Woodrow spirals into a chaotic and consuming quest for vengeance that promises to bring about the apocalypse he so desperately desires. What was that about a self fulfilling prophecy?
Bellflower is unlike any other film we've seen this year, not only from the way it imagines the characters within, but in the yellow scorched earth look created by cinematographer Joel Hodge. Glodell spent a good chunk of that $17000 building the film's ominous roadster, but plenty also went to the unique camera used throughout. A combination of Russian lenses and old school camera parts, the film has an effective look of having been bathed in dirt and grime. If anything, Bellflower deserves special praise for it's stunning visuals, the likes of which immediately capture the film's despairing mood.
Glodell doesn't have the emotional savvy of an experienced writer, though, and some of the character turns come off as amateurish. That said, I like the purity of his vision, the choices these people make are totally plausible in the terrifying world he creates. Bellflower scared me far more than any horror I've seen all year.
