While writer/director Anna Campion can't compete with her filmmaker sister Jane Campion (The Piano), it's obvious she has talent. Her directorial debut focuses on seven pseudo-intellectual twentysomethings who go away for the weekend to make a low-budget horror film. They take acid just for the experience, and wind up confronting their fear of themselves and each other. Stylistically shot, Loaded has an air of oppression surrounding it, even while the characters may be laughing and goofing off. Campion has a flare for the dramatic, and she tends to show off her characters' dark sides, rather than depict them even-handedly. As a result, we don't feel drawn into their psyches, we're just observing the display. Still, Loaded is smart enough and creepy enough to warrant attention. Recommended. (L. Russo)
Loaded
(Miramax, 96 min., R, avail. Dec. 17) Vol. 11, Issue 6
Loaded
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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