Wound (2010)

Wound (2010)
Directed by: David Blyth
Written by: David Blyth
Starring: Campbell Cooley, Kate O'Rourke, Te Kaea Beri

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PujhKOajpGI[/youtube]

Wound (2010)

(18) Running time: 76 minutes

Director: David Blyth

Starring: Kate O’Rourke, Te Kaea Beri, Campbell Cooley

Reviewed by: Matt Wavish, official HCF critic

After seeing the trailer for this bizarre little horror I was very intrigued as the film appeared to explore the real darkside of perverse horror, and now and again it is nice to head to those darker realms of horror. The trailer offered strange characters wearing masks, plenty of sadistic violence and lots of S&M and naked flesh, and as horror fans, doesn’t that really tick all our boxes? Wound comes close, very close to living up to it’s promise, however there are massive flaws, the very least of it’s problems being the cast. The ideas on offer here are pretty simple, but made incredibly complicated, resulting in a film that feels rushed and unfinished. Director David Blyth, whether intentional or not, appears to be doing his best impression of a David Lynch film with lots of hints towards Dario Argento’s style and use of colours, and regrettably Blyth fails on both counts. I say regrettably because somewhere in here there is a great film trying to get out, but it can’t.

The plot revolves around a broken relationship between Mother and Daughter, both characters are incredibly messed up. The Mother spends her time taking part in S&M games and posting her actions on the internet, while her troubled daughter moves around foster parents and spends her free time in dark and sadistic nightclubs while her boyfriend attempts suicide.Let’s make one thing clear, this is not a happy film in any way, and there is very little comfort at any point, let alone anoy sense of things working out for the best. The fact the daughter is very good looking, and the Mother is, in a bizarre sexual way, also very appealing, does help keep you interested. The fact that nothing is ever really spelled out also keep your brain ticking over and you end up with a sense of duty that you just have to find out what it all means. The very basic story is that the daughter has been searching for her Mother, who abandoned her as a baby claiming she was dead, and still claims she is dead. When the daughter turns up on her Mother’s doorstep after a bizarre meeting with a fat man in a pig mask at a nightclub, the Mother still refuses to believe her daughter is alive, and this leads to some odd scenes of incest where the daughter is desperate to get her Mother’s attention.

Everyone enjoys a good lesbian scene, and to feel close to her Mother, the daughter sneaks into her Mothers bedroom and pulls her top down and begins sucking on her nipples. The scene seems to go on forever, and Mother does not wake up due to the fact she is on so much medication. The film is littered with strange scenes like this, a strange incident at the Doctor’s where the daughter turns up to lead her Mother away, the already mentioned nightclub scene where the daughter happily lets a fat man in a pig mask take advantage of her before she is saved, the bizarre S&M role play the Mother takes part in,the daughter licking her Mother’s blood off the floor, and  an even stranger scene involving Mum and Daughter being tied up with clingfilm. Yes, the whole thing seems to add up to either the director, or producers, or someone’s sexual fantasy, and a story has been added to try and tie it all together, and it doesn’t work. In fact it is a mess, the story is a mess, it is hard to follow and whereas a David Lynch film has you scratching your head for all the right reasons, Wound will have you scratching your head for all the wrong reasons. There is confusing that is art, and then there’s confusing for no reason.

Wound is guaranteed to give you a headache, it is not an easy film to watch and certainly not easy to follow. However, it looks fantastic, and if you can get past the shoddy acting, there are many visuals to really here. The director’s use of colours, camera angles and close ups really work and add a feeling of an almost dreamlike state, the bizarre characters also push the feeling of nightmarish feelings. If you are in the mood to watch something that you can happily say “well, I aint gotta clue whats going on” and just sit back and enjoy the visuals, naked ladies and multiple scenes of S&M and frightening menace, then Wound delivers. To put it bluntly, Wound is a sicko’s fantasy come true. The director is happy to push into dark realms of dreams and blur those dreams with reality and openly show us scenes that would be classed as ‘wrong’. If you are in the mood to just switch off and watch something a bit perverse, a bit sadistic, then Wound has it all, just don’t expect to be in any rush to watch it again.

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[pt-filmtitle]Wound[/pt-filmtitle]