[SXSW 2024] KRYPTIC -- A Collection of “Cool” Ideas Does Not Make a Good Movie

Review by Jonathan Berk

Kryptic tries to tell a weird and twisted story in the vein of a David Lynch film. However, just having a collection of weird things in a world that constantly changes for no apparent reason doesn’t make it Lynchian. Director Kourtney Roy’s film has many issues, and no amount of Croenenberg-style goop can salvage it. 

The film starts with a group of women meeting to walk a trail in the Kryptic mountains. Over the course of a guided hike, Kay Hall (Chloe Pirrie) goes missing. She soon returns and everyone is mad because it ends the tour abruptly. Her temporary disappearance started as she was fixated on a location where another woman had previously gone missing while searching for a mythical creature. It becomes apparent, however, that this may not be Kay Hall at all. 

Pirrie is really good in this movie and appears to be game to do whatever Roy has in store for her. In that opening sequence, “mucus” excretes from her ears and pours down the side of her face. That’s just the beginning of the fluids appearing in large quantities in the film. Pirrie’s character shifts and changes multiple times, as does the story. Pirrie’s handling of the changes in her character is impressive, but that is not the case for the story. 

There are many scenes strung together that are actually just boring. Pirrie’s character has drinks with a woman, who then vanishes from the film. She leaves that location and goes to another further down the road. Then, she has drinks with a woman who then vanishes. This is repeated two more times, with basically nothing happening of any interest in these scenes. The conversations slightly allude to an idea of a theme, but it’s never really developed outside of these moments. 

That rings true time and time again. What is the deal with the creature? Who is our main character, really? Why does that guy have an ascot? Audience members will likely be baffled and probably frustrated by any attempt to answer the many questions the movie poses. There are definitely films that aren’t concerned with cohesive or causal storytelling. Those films can work or may offer some other reason to keep the audience engaged and watching. That just isn’t the case here. 

Kryptic tries many things and doesn’t do any of them well. It’s a disservice to the lead actress, who does give it her all. Her performance is the one thing that audiences will likely enjoy. The first twenty minutes or so are interesting. The film definitely thinks it is clever, especially what it decides to offer as the ending, but it’s just not. If you want unique or weird horror, check out David Lynch’s Eraserhead or Quentin Dupieux's Mandibles. 

Kryptic is screening at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which is running from March 8-16 in Austin, TX. 

Rating: 1.5/5