One of the exciting things about the contemporary indie horror scene is that, as a seemingly increasing number of filmmakers opt to self-distribute their own work, the more prolific among them may put out two or more films per year. A hell of a lot of work for the filmmakers, no doubt, but a tremendous advantage to those who enjoy their work; where in the past fans might say “can’t wait for the next one!” and then be happy to see it show up two years later, today we sometimes barely have to wait at all.
Such is the case with Plank Face, the latest movie from Bandit Motion Pictures, who only about six months ago put out their last feature, and one of my personal favourites of 2016, Harvest Lake. As might be anticipated, there’s plenty of common ground between the two films: both make use of the same woodland locations, sport similarly eerie synthesizer-based scores, feature actress Ellie Church, and boast a whole lot of sex. However, where Harvest Lake went to heavily supernatural places whilst exploring sexuality in a manner which might well leave viewers questioning whether or not it really qualifies as a horror movie, Plank Face leaves no such doubts whatsoever: this is horror with a capital H, a tale of backwoods survival which could comfortably sit on the shelf alongside The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes and the like. That said, Plank Face is still very far removed from your standard Chainsaw wannabe, and like Harvest Lake before it is determined to challenge preconceptions and leave questions unanswered, forcing the viewer to sit up and pay attention from start to finish.
Also like Harvest Lake before it, Plank Face opens on an anonymous couple getting amorous in the woods before events take a dark turn. From there we meet Max (Nathan Barrett) and his girlfriend Stacey (Ellie Church) as they head out into the woods for a camping trip. Naturally things go south pretty quickly, and following a brutal confrontation with a stranger, Max is cold-cocked by a woman in a bunny mask (Alyss Winkler). When he comes to, Max is half-naked and bound in a cabin with the ‘Bunny Girl’ and two more feral women, one an elder matriarch (Susan M Martin as ‘Granny’), another younger woman for whom he seems intended (Brigid Macauley as ‘The Bride’), and Stacey is nowhere to be seen. Anxious to escape and find her, Max’s efforts to get away don’t turn out well – and soon enough he finds himself with a slab of wood attached to his face, and comes to the gradual realisation that he is being forcibly entered into this highly unorthodox family unit.
Again in common with Harvest Lake, Plank Face isn’t the easiest film to discuss without giving too much away, but it seems at heart to be an exercise in Stockholm syndrome, as much for the audience as the protagonist. The feral women are clearly meant to repulse and horrify us at first, and while their activities don’t necessarily get any less repulsive or horrific as the film progresses, our sense of who they are as characters does develop. This is particularly impressive as, beyond the opening scenes, the film is largely devoid of dialogue; the women have a language of their own, and while in some instance the words have readily apparent meaning (‘eta’ = ‘eat’ being the most readily apparent example), the bulk of it we are left to decipher purely from body language and behaviour. As Max spends more time in this environment, he comes to function on their wavelength – and soon we’re left to question just how much of his old personality is left. Given that Barrett has to convey this transformation with neither dialogue nor his face, it’s a pretty remarkable feat of acting. Nor are his co-stars any less impressive, with particular note being due to Martin as Granny, truly one of the scariest performances I’ve seen this year.
But of course, this isn’t all character-based psychological drama. As previously stated, Plank Face is a full-on horror movie, and that means we have all manner of weird and unpleasant goings-on: rape, cannibalism, torture, and disfigurement are there in abundance, and much of the cast spends the bulk of their screentime fully or partially naked. Clearly this might all be a tad bit intense for the more casual horror viewer, but seasoned genre fans will recognise and appreciate the underlying dark humour that keeps things from getting too nasty.
The second collaboration between Bandit Motion Pictures team Scott Schirmer (director, co-writer, producer, editor) and Brian K Williams (co-writer, producer, cinematographer, and here making an impressive debut on soundtrack duties), Plank Face makes it clear that this partnership works, and is hopefully here to stay; their next, The Bad Man, has already been announced. I don’t know anything about that project, but all I can say is that I hope they don’t go back to the woods for a third time, as there might be a danger of their work feeling just a bit samey. However, as long as they keep making such handsome-looking films which push the parameters of horror whilst still delivering all the lurid thrills we love the genre for, then I’m very eager to see what they do next.
Plank Face is available on limited edition Blu-ray and DVD from Bandit Motion Pictures, and is also available to rent or buy on Amazon Video (UK readers can find it here).
‘Plank Face’ Trailer A from Bandit Motion Pictures on Vimeo.