Monsters. Humans. Lovers. Fighters. ‘Abnormal Attraction’ is a comedy-horror unlike anything I’ve seen in recent years. In a world that’s moved on from the prejudice of class, race and gender; monsters, mythical creatures and humans are forced to unhappily coexist. Centring on the idea of how it’s unacceptable to enslave these creatures, it’s a story honing in on the human truths of scaremongering, and inflicting one’s self-loathing onto the community. Not your typical jump-scare watch, Director Michael Leavy draws the tension from the depth of the viewers own imagination; is this your average ice-cream truck I hear coming towards me? Or is it a monster coming to feast on my brains?
Presented in three chapters - Genesis, Exodus and Revelations - this film doesn’t bear the biblical grounding it suggests, nor places itself in the mystical realms of the supernatural, but is surprisingly gritty, heartwarming and hilarious. And at times, the building of anticipation is really quite terrifying. The visual highlights are the prosthetics and special effects used to create the creatures, all of which were genuinely believable, although at times farcical in their extravagance. The script, written by Steven Della Salla, and Michael and Jason Levy is a really high quality piece of work, and although I don’t think this could have been produced as a big-budget Hollywood feature, the tone and demographic really suits the indie vibe that runs through the film. It’s clear that it’s not a bad film, but also doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Across the board, all performances were good, however Jason Leavy’s ‘Finbar’ blew everyone out of the water. Without deterring compliment, I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable experience watching him on screen; I couldn’t have been more uncomfortable watching his character’s interactions with everyone he comes across, and at times he had me hiding from my screen with his aberrant looks and quips. Leavy’s intentions to make the audience feel perpetually on-edge were achieved a hundred times over in his performance.
The story itself was overtly simple, but the underlying message of accepting and liking one’s self is a truth we humans should all live by, despite being delivered by a closeted werewolf. It’s not a film I would have jumped at seeing, but it would definitely be one I revisit in the future.
Presented in three chapters - Genesis, Exodus and Revelations - this film doesn’t bear the biblical grounding it suggests, nor places itself in the mystical realms of the supernatural, but is surprisingly gritty, heartwarming and hilarious. And at times, the building of anticipation is really quite terrifying. The visual highlights are the prosthetics and special effects used to create the creatures, all of which were genuinely believable, although at times farcical in their extravagance. The script, written by Steven Della Salla, and Michael and Jason Levy is a really high quality piece of work, and although I don’t think this could have been produced as a big-budget Hollywood feature, the tone and demographic really suits the indie vibe that runs through the film. It’s clear that it’s not a bad film, but also doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Across the board, all performances were good, however Jason Leavy’s ‘Finbar’ blew everyone out of the water. Without deterring compliment, I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable experience watching him on screen; I couldn’t have been more uncomfortable watching his character’s interactions with everyone he comes across, and at times he had me hiding from my screen with his aberrant looks and quips. Leavy’s intentions to make the audience feel perpetually on-edge were achieved a hundred times over in his performance.
The story itself was overtly simple, but the underlying message of accepting and liking one’s self is a truth we humans should all live by, despite being delivered by a closeted werewolf. It’s not a film I would have jumped at seeing, but it would definitely be one I revisit in the future.
Review by Kat Anderson.
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