Playfully psychedelic visuals are wedded to very dark themes in Gem Deger’s intriguing but deeply unsettling debut feature. Deger, Turkish-born but working in Prague, also stars as Demir, a teenager who awakens in a vibrantly colored room, with a pig cavorting among the balloon-like balls that cover the floor. Remembering nothing of his past, he prepares to escape but is prevented from leaving by handsome Andrew (Austin Chunn), who assures Demir that he lives there with him and his girlfriend Drew (Issy Stewart). Andrew, it seems, also co-stars with Drew in the erotically-charged melodramas that Demir rents at a grubby video store that also duplicates tapes for sale.
At one point the two men watch a preview of one of Andrew’s movies, and scenes from it precisely mirror what is happening in the house now—drug overdoses, bursts of violence, even killings—as Demir struggles with his desire for Andrew and Drew reacts with increasing hostility to the boy’s presence. Clearly, the film is contrasting and juggling reality and fantasy, and occasions when Demir sees the images suddenly fizzle accentuate that dichotomy.
However, the structure is so disjointed and the tone so blithely lighthearted even at the most heightened moments. The visuals are so persistently garish that intermittent clues to the cause behind the boy’s amnesia—like his devotion to the dark musings of artist Francis Bacon—remain elusive. The title’s reference to plagiarism adds another layer to the puzzle; there are obvious allusions to the more lurid flourishes of Cronenberg and De Palma, as well as Hollywood B-movies in general and no doubt to Deger’s personal experiences, but how they all fit together is deliberately obscure.
The film ultimately provides an answer which makes explicit reference to Cronenberg’s Videodrome. From a psychological perspective, it proves a fairly simplistic one, but it involves a sequence so graphic and unpleasant that many viewers will find it impossible to watch, and an effects-heavy coda suggesting the impact on Demir is irreversible will hardly provide comfort.
One can give grudging admiration to the way in which Deger and his crew have fashioned a bizarre world on what must have been a very limited budget, as well as their utter commitment to such a singular vision, but in the end, Playdurizm is a fever dream that only a few will appreciate the opportunity to share.
Blu-ray extras include an audio commentary by the cast and crew, a music video, the trailer and some deleted scenes. This can be recommended only to the most adventurous; otherwise, not a necessary purchase for horror film collections in public libraries.
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