I was due to write a full review on this recently released, cutting edge, independent film. But I can’t really full comprehend what the hell I’ve just watched. It’s infiltrated my brain with it’s own brand of oddity, to use the term in it’s most understated sense. But I have no fucking clue what the hell it was.
You know when you and your friends have a joke, and that joke devolves and descends into something so weird and nonsensical but you’re still laughing? Uncontrollably? Then someone comes in and asks what you’re laughing about, so you try to explain. It usually goes something along the lines of this:
“Imagine if the cat had a moustache and got into a fight with Stalin who now has robot arms and just keeps shouting ‘give ME the last slice of pizza!!!’ Hahaha”
I feel like the person who walked in on that mess, with a bewildered look on my face, trying desperately to cling onto the humour that I have somewhat missed but, in the end, it is flying severely over my head. That’s the exact feeling that you get from
To viably review Essex Spacebin I have to go one of two ways. A) say it was a shit storm of epic proportions or B) go all artsy. I could talk about how the voiceovers, homemade costumes, and budget visuals harken back to the old days of independent film. It is styled for this purpose and, on that level, works. Tracey Emin’s masterpieces spring to mind here. Messy bedrooms and Essex Spacebins have one thing in common – you either love it or hate it. And if you hate it, you probably just ‘don’t get it’.
But I don’t want to give a negative review on this film either. I think the people behind it have that unpretentious, surreal sense of humour that can be really successful. Think The Mighty Boosh. Think Garth Marengi’s Dark Space. Think The Greasy Strangler. But this probably isn’t their success story, not yet. It will be stumbled across and revered by their fans years down the line as ‘their early stuff’. But, right now, it is their current stuff, so no fans yet. There is a destiny of cult classics and more .
I love the influences. The dialogue is reminiscent of Modern Toss. The costumes are very Noel Fielding. The actors are dedicated to their roles and are scarily natural! But I’m at a loss watching it, and therefore cannot give you a full, reasoned review. My editor must be steaming at the ears reading this cop-out of an article, but for a film whose premise was ‘The maddest thing you’ll ever see,’ I think this lack of competence on my part is a compliment on theirs.
Essex Spacebin is available on limited release!
