The Love Triangle From Hell
by Francis Cabal
A Horrible Way To Die (2010)
D: Adam Wingard
S: AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg
Let’s get one thing straight before I start with my review: Adam Wingard is a talented filmmaker whose sense of visual style is both experimental and appealing. With that said, his films are not for everyone. Known primarily as an independent horror filmmaker, what differentiates him from your run-of-the-mill “I have 50 dollars, let’s make a horror film” directors is that Wingard’s films have a distinct style. Case in point: his brilliantly messy Pop Skull, a psychedelic ghost story about a man’s mental instability after a recent break-up. The film featured amazing visuals that played around with light, angles, and perception in general. It was not a flawless film, but the striking visuals were enough to get Adam Wingard noticed.
Over the past year, Wingard has been pretty active. With A Horrible Way To Die just released last year, he has finished work on a couple of new films and he is now a staple of genre film festivals all over the world.
This is not a rundown of Adam Wingard’s career, but in order to understand and appreciate this film, it is important to understand its creator. Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett have crafted not only one of the most enjoyable serial killer film in recent years, but they have also accomplished the difficult task of defying genre conventions.
We first meet Sarah (Amy Seimetz) at an AA meeting. A fellow recovering alcoholic, Kevin (Joe Swanberg), asks her out on a date. As it turns out, things are much more complicated than they look: Sarah’s ex-boyfriend is the psychopathic serial killer Garrick Turrell (AJ Bowen). Garrick has managed to escape from prison and is now going after his ex-girlfriend, who’s also the one responsible for putting him behind bars.
I have said too much already, and to say anything more will just spoil the brilliant twist at the end. So yes, there is a twist.
Simon Barrett has written a clever script that relies more on simplicity rather than outright violence. Adam Wingard made the right decision when he opted to focus more on the lead-up to (and the aftermath of) the killings, leaving all things visceral for the climax. This decision made the film look both cold and tense, and it ultimately worked in its favor.
Where others would critcize the camerawork as amateurish, they actually come off as affectations rather than mistakes. The extra-shaky camera, the close-ups, the framing of the scenes; they all provide a sense of voyeurism to this already twisted love triangle.
The acting is not that bad either, with the three leads in particular being experienced actors in their own right. AJ Bowen is not new to independent horror films after starring in such genre classics as The Signal and House Of The Devil. He gives the character of Garrick Turrell an additional edge by being intense and menacing one moment, and then extremely relatable in the next. If AJ Bowen is a familiar face to horror fans, Joe Swanberg and Amy Seimetz on the other hand are more known for their parts in the new movement of independent American films (hint: rhymes with schmumblecore). While Swanberg managed to bring in his trademark smirk-y charm, Seimetz matched Bowen’s intensity by being more nuanced and understated.
A Horrible Way To Die is a success on many levels, with Wingard and Barrett being able to make a genre film by turning it on its head. You will be pleasantly surprised by how simple and effective this film is. Sure, there is still room to grow, but with a director as prolific as Adam Wingard, there is no room for stagnation.
