Belgian theatre company Abattoir Fermé has a well-established reputation for producing stage productions that push the boundaries of visual fantasy and surrealism. With Hotel Poseidon the organisation has applied that same strange approach to the cinematic landscape, handing the controlling reins to director Stefan Lernous. An unconventional and experimental film, Hotel Poseidon plays fast and loose with traditional concepts such as linear narrative structures, foregoing them in favour of crafting a feature that has a fluid dream-like sensation to it.
Hotel Poseidon is exactly the type of film that someone like Antonin Artaud would have loved. Lernous’ creation is authentically surrealist to its core and is sure to cause puzzlement and wide-eyed awe in equal quantity depending on the viewer’s threshold for weirdness. Regardless of your affinity or aversion to this method of story-telling, no one can deny that Hotel Poseidon has exceptional production and costume design. The hotel set is its own all-encompassing entity. It lives, breathes, and oozes with dank, dirt, and fester, transporting the viewer inside the acrid environment. Conscious thought has been put into every aspect of the scenery, the nautical theme carried through right down to the seashells on the guest room keys. The detailed work that has been put into creating this on-screen world is worthy of plaudits and awards, more so given it was created on a shoe-string budget. This stellar work is continued through with the hair, make-up, and costuming. Although many share the same white face and exaggerated Joker red lips, every resident of the hotel has their own unique fashion style, each more outlandish and quirky than the last.
What story there is revolves around Dave (Tom Vermeir), the de facto manager of the titular establishment as he roams the hall interacting with guests and colleagues. Similar to common experiences within a dream, Dave stumbles from one scene to the next, experiencing a series of peculiar encounters with increasingly eccentric characters. It’s a lot to get one’s head around, but there’s a sense that these conversations, combined with the broken down appearance of the hotel, are a physical manifestation of Dave’s own feverish mind. A surrealist and experimental voyage through weirdness, Hotel Poseidon has been hand-crafted for those with an open mind and interest in the avant-garde.
Hotel Poseidon
Summary
Lavish sets and eccentric costuming push the boundaries of the norm beyond their limits and settling into Hotel Poseidon is like stepping into a fever dream brought to life.
Hotel Poseidon was reviewed at Fantasia 2021. It will next screen at Arrow Video Frightfest.
