Rating: C-
Director: Dana Kippel
Star: Dana Kippel, Grace Patterson, Marissa Patterson, Ariana Brown
Sedona, where most of this takes place, is about two hours North of me, and is arguably the new age capital of the United States [there’s probably some flaky alternative candidates in California]. It’s reputed to be a UFO hotspot, the location of multiple “energy vortexes”, and is certainly home to more crystal shops than you can shake a quartz wand at. Here, it’s also the location of a ‘spiritual obstacle course’ attended by Summer (Kippel) and her four gal pals. It’s designed to make them confront their past and come out the other side better people. Well, if they cone out the other side at all, which is by no means certain.
For there’s a lot of weirdness around the fringes, from the bizarre guides who lead them, through a hooded trio drinking fake blood, to an apparent trans-dimensional reality series of which they are an unwitting part. Oh, and could there be… Aliens? It all makes it hard to be sure whether writer-director Kippel is taking the concepts seriously, or if this is a straight-faced satire of new age nonsense. At times, it seems the latter is likely, such as the deadly earnest inquiry by one attendee as to whether there’s a bagel shop nearby, ideally offering vegan cream cheese. As someone who’s generally sceptical, I enjoyed the dry humour. But the further in we get, the less tongue appears to be in cheek.
The website describes this as a “metaphysical film”, and if you don’t already know what that is, do not expect it to enlighten you. Based on the director’s comments there, she seems to have written the script as a kind of therapy. I suspect it may make better sense to someone who has gone through similar experiences. But one aspect of the art of making movies is being able to bring the audience into the world you create, and this rarely managed to do it for me. Part of the problem may be that all five women seem largely defined by their respective traumas. It opens with them each depicted as tarot cards, and the facts detailed alongside them there are, by and large, the extent of their characterization.
I will say, the film looks very good, doing a great job of capturing the majesty of the scenery in the area around Sedona. The images pop off the screen to a startling degree, so it’s always a visual pleasure, and Ched Tolliver’s score is also impressive. But this feels like a case where Kippel pulling so many duties, has led to her being too close to the project, and consequently unable to see and correct its flaws. When you criticize a film, sometimes there’s pushback that you “just didn’t get it.” It’s likely true for me here, yet I don’t feel any failure to “get” this, is particularly the viewer’s fault.
The film debuted on Digital VOD January 9, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.