2018 Films: #20. What Keeps You Alive

OnDemand viewing on August 24th in Chicago. Colin Minihan writes and directs this thriller/horror film about a couple that celebrate their first anniversary together in a remote family cabin (never a good thing) and one them isn't what they seem.

Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) and Jules (Brittany Allen) go Jackie's family cabin in the remote wood to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They seem like a loving couple when a visitor shows up and addresses Jackie as "Megan" and gives a little exposition about Jackie/Megan's past. Suffice to say that Jules isn't happy with Jackie's explanation and rows across the lake to get more backstory about her partner. Turns out there's a lot she doesn't know. On a walk in the woods the next day as Jackie apologizes for not telling Jules about her past, she shoves her off a cliff. However, Jules manages to survive, although badly injured. This starts off a very interesting game of cat and mouse.

This is a very interesting film. The tension builds nicely and you get a bit of a surprise ending. There is also some majestic cinematography of the Canadian wilderness. The film received a 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating which seems a bit low but understandable. There are plenty of slasher film tropes to go around; Jules goes upstairs when being chased, she ham handedly warns the neighbors which leads to disaster and she even escapes, is home free but turns back. Anderson is really good a sociopath. She's capable of love and warmth but boy can she turn it around.

This is a low budget film so it's not in wide release. It is worth watching if you can find it. Apparently the film originally called for a husband and wife but when the male lead had to back out, they made the change. Normally I would be wary of a male directing a film with lesbian overtones but the substitution works. 

2018 Films: #19. Three Identical Strangers

August 18th in Chicago, IL. This documentary directed by Tim Wardle is about three identical triplets born to a single Jewish mother in 1961. The mother gave the boys up for adaption to a prestigious East Coast Jewish adaption agency who split the brothers up.

The brothers; Robert, Edward and David were raised by families of different social classes ranging from lower middle class to upper middle class. All of the families had previously adapted children as well. The brothers discovered each other after high school and became pretty famous. They hit the  talk show circuit, what was left of the Studio 54 culture and eventually opened a successful restaurant.

However, things weren't so rosy, The brothers found their mother but the reunion didn't go as planned. It also turned out that the brothers suffered from some form of depression that would eventually lead to Edward's suicide. When the families were looking for answers, they come to think that there may have been some nefarious reason for the brothers being split up. Other twins had been split up by psychiatrists and the agency to see how they grew up in different environments. The results were never published. The brothers and their adapted families are convinced that the reason is a sinister experiment. I'm not sure that's where I want to go but I'm not the one that this happened to.

This was a really interesting film which spawns the nature vs. nurture argument. Although the brothers were raised in different environments, they were with loving families. If you're into documentaries then this is a film you should watch.