BRIGHTWOOD – CINEPHOBIA RELEASING (USA 2023, 84 mins)

DIRECTED BY DANE ELCAR

Starring MAX WOERTENDYKE (Succession) and DANA BERGER (Elementary)

UK release date: 21^st March      

Available on digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play

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It’s probably not hugely fashionable to admit it, but I do love a good time loop movie. From classics like “Groundhog Day” to the absolutely outstanding “The Day After Tomorrow” to the criminally underrated “Happy Death Day” movies, there’s just something about the format that appeals to me, as played-out as it undoubtedly is at this point.

Brightwood, the debut feature from director Dane Elcar (who also writes and physically films this low-budget indie) introduces us to Jen (Dana Berger) and Dan (Max Woertendyke), a couple whose marriage is clearly on the rocks. Fuming from the events of the previous night where a drunken Dan embarrassed himself at Jen’s work function, the pair decide to go for a jog on a local park trail to try and hash things out. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a big mistake, as they end up locked into one of the aforementioned time loops and forced into an endless journey round and round the park’s pond, with no way to escape the path they’re on. Not only that, but they don’t appear to be alone on their path, being mercilessly stalked by a strange hooded individual whose motivations, at least to begin with, are frighteningly unclear.

Okay, so let’s get the obvious part out of the way first. This is a very low-budget indie movie (made for around $14k, all in), so the effects – such as they are – aren’t exactly Hollywood blockbuster quality. It also struggles a little with the limitations of that budget in terms of keeping things visually and narratively interesting, and while I appreciate that the format of the story is based on repetition, it does lose its steam at several points throughout the 84 minute runtime.

The acting also isn’t exactly the greatest, and while Berger and Woertendyke do a solid job with the barbed sniping that punctuates the early portion of the film (“I think about stabbing you in the neck all the time!”), they struggle a little once the shock, anger and fear starts. A lot of these early reactions almost feel like they’re being played for laughs, which makes it tricky to get a handle on exactly what tone Elcar is aiming for.  On that note, this movie is actually pretty funny in places, which is an unexpected wrinkle in what I was expecting to be a tense horror movie, and it’s worth mentioning that the two leads actually step things up significantly down the stretch as the horrifying reality of their situation sinks in.

I also feel like the story dips significantly in the middle, slowing the pace right down as our couple literally go round and round without much really happening, gradually becoming more and more frustrated and letting more and more of their anger, resentment and toxicity out. The parallels between Jen and Dan being trapped in a broken marriage and being trapped in this weird temporal loop are hammered home from the beginning (“It’s endless, we just keep going and going like something’s going to change and it doesn’t”), and while it’s not exactly subtle, it does add a nice extra layer to the proceedings as their already fractured relationship starts to completely and utterly disintegrate.

My biggest issue here is the fact that neither of the two protagonists are in any way likeable, making it difficult – if not outright impossible – to muster up any sort of genuine investment in their predicament. Jen is cruel, aloof and clearly checked out of their relationship, while Dan is an obnoxious, self-obsessed dork with what seems to be questionable personal hygiene (“I feel like I can smell you rotting from here!”) Their predicament is certainly interesting, but I never had the feeling of “oh, I hope these guys survive” at any point.

As with all of these kinds of movies, the set-up is only ever as good as the payoff, and in that respect Brightwood does an admirable job of taking things in a slightly unexpected direction. The conclusion here, while not exactly revolutionary, does a great job of bringing Jen and Dan’s story full circle – no pun intended – and delivers a satisfying sting to this twisted little tale.

Ultimately then, while it struggles a little with the limitations of both the format and budget, Elcar does a great job of making the most of what he has, delivering an engaging twist on the time loop genre and an enjoyable enough way to spend an hour and a half. I’d definitely like to see what he’s capable of with a little more money behind him, that’s for sure.

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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