By Nia Edwards-Behi
I’m almost certain anyone watching Aaaaaaaah! will struggle to recall a film with which to compare it. The best I can think of is Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment, but in all honesty, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that film and that might just be because there’s a ‘gorilla’ in it. I can’t honestly say that Aaaaaaaah! is anything like any other film I’ve seen. The characters which populate Aaaaaaah! are recognisably human, but they behave in the manner of apes. If I was to try and boil down the film to its bare bones, I think I’d describe it as an avant-garde soap opera, but I don’t think that does it justice. Steve Oram’s directorial debut is an absurd, wild ride into human nature, and I’m not entirely sure it’s a film that has wholly complimentary things to say about us.
There’s something reassuringly lo-fi about the film: presumably shot in the home of someone Oram must get on with well enough to make that much of a mess, it’s a passion-project without a doubt. It’s to Oram’s credit then that he’s got such a large and enthusiastic cast. A whole host of familiar faces – from Oram himself, to Alice Lowe, to Noel Fielding, to Toyah Wilcox – take on anything from cameos to lead-roles, and the performers here give the unusual script the energy and enthusiasm it deserves. While the grunting and gesticulation could so easily have gone full-blown am-dram panto, it is instead executed with just the right level of seriousness that the story being told is remarkably compelling throughout.
Don’t let that mislead you, though – the film might be relatively serious in its execution, but it is thoroughly, gloriously silly. Oram’s sublimely ridiculous film has got so much going on it’s truly hard to keep up. If you’re not laughing at the humour you may well find yourself laughing out of sheer confusion. There’s a distinct irreverence to the humour that will leave you scratching your head as to why you’re laughing, but laughing you will be. It’s certainly a film that will leave many cold – the humour’s hardly big or clever, but if, like me, you have much less refined tastes, Aaaaaaaah! should at the very least give you a laugh or several.
The bulk of humour might be silly but the satire hidden within the poo jokes and tea-bagging is biting. The humans of Aaaaaaaah! may have regressed to a simpler state of being, but they’re no less the vacuous, cruel and mundane sorts of characters that might be found in a more advanced society. Indeed, the mundanity of the lives of the characters in the film is both a source of what makes the film so interesting and so funny. Everyman characters sitting around the TV is hardly new social commentary, but pertinent it is, and it’s definitely funny when that TV show is as nonsensical as the programmes in Aaaaaaaah!
There’s a subtle nod to video culture here too, but Aaaaaaaah! is no rewindhouse flick. The film does play in glorious 4:3, however, and its videophile nods are as much in the generally anarchic nature of the film as its aesthetic. If you’ve ever watched any of the output from Lincoln Studios on YouTube then think of Aaaaaaaah! as slightly dialled back in terms of its look, but no less mind-boggling in its tone. There’s also an impressive soundtrack to the film, a mish-mash of prog, distortion and jingle-music, some of which is composed by Oram himself.
You might, at this point, be wondering why the hell Aaaaaaaah! is a film that’s playing horror festivals and getting reviewed on websites like this. It’s not just Oram’s genre credentials getting the film its due attention, but rather it’s because this is a film that genuinely pushes the boundaries of just what we might think of as ‘horror’ or ‘extreme’ cinema. While Aaaaaaaah! certainly isn’t a traditional genre-pic, it’s got just enough frightening content (I don’t mean jump scares, here) and just enough violence (ape-o a ape-o, if you will), that it challenges our preconceptions of any number of genres.
All in all, then, Aaaaaaaah! is a film I enjoyed watching immensely, as much for its sheer novelty and ambition as for the fact that it made me howl with laughter. That being said, I can imagine many people might find the film frustrating for many of the same reasons that I enjoyed it so much. If you like your films challenging, or silly, or ideally both, then Aaaaaaaah! is essential viewing.
Aaaaaaaah! screens at Mayhem Festival on Sunday 18th October, before its release via VOD on October 19th. Keep an eye out for further screenings and news of a DVD release later in the year.