31 March 2008

Ruined

Bugcrush - dir. Carter Smith - 2006 - USA

In preparation for seeing The Ruins this weekend (better known as the only hope for a decent horror film this half of the year), I visited Carter Smith's short film, Bugcrush, available through Strand's Boys Life 6 collection... and, yes, my anticipation is now high. Running just over a half hour, Bugcrush is thrice as moody as any horror film I've seen in a while, focusing on the unlikely crush of a young high school boy (Josh Caras) on a likely heterosexual bad boy (Donald Cumming). Things don't really move as you would expect them to and Smith drapes Bugcrush with a palpable sense of danger. Ultimately, it doesn't make a lick of sense, but by that point, it doesn't matter. As you probably know, films that stray from any sense of reality or proper dissection after establishing itself fantastically suit my fancy. I just hope The Ruins can restore my faith in the American horror. Sorry Carter Smith for laying such an unrealistic task on your shoulders. Also, keep an eye out for Billy Price, the subject of the documentary Billy the Kid, as one of the bad boy's friends.

1 comment:

blond adonis said...

I heard about this through a friend of mine who gushes about the ending, but I've never had the urge to rent those Boys Life movies; it seems weird that a little short from an omnibus has developed a little following.