disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

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

3/13/2024

0 Comments

 
Review by Jonathan Berk
Picture
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
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About