Once you are in the FrightFest machine, you are in for life. This statement is true for both attendees and filmmakers. Once you have had a film screened at the festival, the directors keep an eye on your career, and if you are really lucky, they invite you back. This year’s FrightFest event is a testament to this fact with several filmmakers being returning players. Both this year’s opening and closing films (Suitable Flesh and The Sacrifice Game) are perfect examples of this, as is Alex Kahuam who brings his new film Failure! to the festival.
Kahuam was last at FrightFest in 2021 when he screened Forgiveness, a film that THN didn’t particularly gel with. Failure! however, is much more our tempo. The two movies are night and day from one another so even if you were not a fan of Forgiveness, we implore you to seek Failure! out. A one-take marvel, Failure! sees cult-hero Ted Raimi play James, a man in crisis. James is the head of a wealthy family, but the business is going under and he alone can save it. In order to do that though, James may have to resort to extreme lengths, even murder…
One-take movies require two things to work – great actors and compelling camerawork. A static camera would be tedious for the viewer, and a terrible cast would cost the production thousands each time the film has to be reset. Failure! suffers from neither problem. Ted Raimi is utterly compelling as James. He desperately wants the business to survive and does not want anyone else to know the weight of the crisis that he is under. Unfortunately he is constantly visited and interrupted by family, friends, and acquaintances. Raimi does an excellent job at conveying James’ rising panic. Kahuam weaves the camera around James, zipping in between him and others, adding another obstacle for James to try and overcome. The camera adds movement, distracting the viewer from the static single location.
Interestingly the camera is trained almost solely on James, with other characters glimpsed from the distant. As James’ plight increases, and his secret starts to slip out, other characters come into focus, expanding the circle of concern. Of the other characters featured, it is the visage of James’ deceased father that gets the most screen-time. He appears at the start of what can only be described as James’ breakdown and presents a unique sounding board for the stressed man. This ghostly apparition is the manifestation of James’ anxieties and is a physical version of that internal voice that berates you. The inclusion of the father makes for a more interesting dynamic than watching James wrestle with his emotions silently. The audience needs their exchanges to fully understand the levity of what is happening, the character a vessel for exposition without it feeling forced.
As far removed from his last feature as one could get Failure! will be a far more palatable prospect for those who did not care for Forgiveness. Hopefully, those who did enjoy Forgiveness will still appreciate Kahuam’s new direction. It takes a lot of skill to create two films so drastically different. Clearly a filmmaker not tied to a specific brand, we at THN are very intrigued to discover what he cooks up next.
Failure!
Summary
A tour-de-force performance by Ted Raimi combines with some brilliant camera play to make Failure! an absorbing one-take wonder that keeps the viewer guessing.
Failure! was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2023.
