Terror Firma

The A24 aesthetic has emboldened filmmakers to stretch beyond the strict definition of horror.  Now you can make just as much of a splash stringing together psychobabble nonsense (I’m looking at you Skinamarink) as ‘80s innovators like Sam Raimi did with gallons of fake blood. But variety is the spice of life, and often these elevated experiences break up the formulaic monotony of mainstream horror franchises.  Terror Firma (2023) doesn’t exactly break new ground; there’s a whole lot of low-rent Lovecraft fertilized with ancillary ideas from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  But director Jake Macpherson piles on the psychedelic imagery so things get just weird enough to be interesting.

 

While Los Angeles suffers from a small-scale unexplained apocalypse, Lola (Faye Tamasa) holes up with her adopted brother, Louis (Burt Thakur) as a last resort.  But his eccentric roommate, Cage (Robert Brettenaugh), proves to be an unstable pervert. Things go from bad to worse when Lola plants a mysterious seed that arrives in their food rations, resulting in an equally mysterious hole filled with black gelatinous goo which, when consumed, causes an array of physical, mental and spiritual side-effects.  Forced to live under martial law, the trio discovers their biggest threat may come from outside the fence,  but from each other.

 

Terror Firma doesn’t bother to explain much.  It’s like David Lynch having lunch with David Cronenberg: just when you’re following one string ideas of the conversation shifts like some hallucinogenic free association exercise.  And those are actually the best moments of director Jake Macpherson’s film; that and the terrific grounded performance from Faya Tamasa who would make a terrific final girl. As the characters drag themselves through a maze of tunnels and computer-generated black holes, you hope it’s all leading to something narratively significant…or at least satisfyingly bizarre.

 

But the film leans too hard on its weakest link.  As Cage (presumably named after the actor), Robert Brettenaugh obviously aspires to deliver the same sort of shock and awe.  In fact, Cage himself walked through a similar plot in 2019’s Color Out of Space.  But he’s the least interesting performer of the bunch and Terror Firma’s insistence on giving its existential threat a human form winds up shoveling dirt right back into the hole it dug in the first place.  Still and all, it’s a good effort and proof that there’s still room for horror with big ideas and little resources.

 

The Blu-ray from MVD has an intentionally gritty look.  No glossy production, Terror Firma seems to relish the digital dirt under its fingernails.  Extras include an extended Director’s Cut, commentary track, photo gallery and theatrical trailer. 

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