GUT

Why do murderers always wear such unsuitable attire? That was the first thought which came to me when I settled down to watch my screener of Gut, as a man in an inevitably light-coloured shirt sets about throttling someone just out of shot – presumably after stabbing or otherwise wounding them, judging by the blood everywhere...however, early indications aside, Gut is not an especially bloodthirsty movie. It has a few moments of bloody gore, but that's not the focus here. What we get instead is a very slow-burn tale of the decline and fall of two Average Joes. Whether you'll happily take on board the reason for their descent is quite another matter...

Happily lacking in shaky camera work or jump-cuts (hallelujah), Gut shows us very early on that it intends to focus on its main players, inviting you to think about them and their motivations – and especially about Tom (Jason Vail). Things just aren't...right for Tom. He's stuck in a non-specific job doing – what, we never quite ascertain, but he's a cubicle monkey, and his beautiful wife and home just don't seem to cut it, to the point of dead-eyed indifference to wife Lily (Sarah Schoofs). Maybe life as a norm isn't all it's cracked up to be. And then there's his best friend of umpteen years and work colleague, Dan (Nicholas Wilder) – the eternal horror geek, who simply proposes a night of beer and old movies to shake him out of his slump. Where one of the men has done everything you're supposed to, Dan hasn't – but both of these guys are stuck in a rut, really. They go to the same place for lunch every day, they order the same food, they talk about the same stuff. Something's gotta give. And the first move is Tom's. He's been looking into moving away...

When Dan finds out about this, he's upset, even panicked. To try and rekindle 'the old times' and to make the most of being able to see his friend, he suggests Tom come over to his place to watch a horror movie which Dan asserts is 'amazing' and unlike anything else they've watched together before. What does he have on offer? Well, it looks like one of the fabled snuff movies of legend – a static shot of a woman being carved up, her assailant plunging his hand into a gaping wound in her abdomen as a grand finale. The film has a big effect on each of them – compellingly so, as both begin surreptitiously viewing the footage, and even seeking out more...

At first, I thought this film was heading straight into Dexter-territory – spinning a yarn about a norm by day who kills by night. However, this film is not a fraction as acerbic as Dexter, tending instead towards heaviness and unhappiness throughout. The sombre focus on Dan and Tom's friendship is an interesting perspective, and a point-of-view still underused in movie plots, which have a tendency to place heterosexual romantic relationships at the heart of things. However, whilst there is a lot for which to commend Gut, which is only the second feature-length from its briefly-named director Elias, I did find myself surprised at the rather conservative thread which runs throughout it, which was presented unironically, and not in and of itself commented upon.

The crux of the plot is thus, after all: disenchanted family man is lured back to the dark side of horror fandom by a horror fan friend who hasn't been able to grow up and move on; as if under the influence of a gateway drug, the two men move steadily and inevitably from the (name-checked) Return of the Living Dead III to procuring snuff movies. As you do. This done, snuff proves to be a) very moreish, b) the cause of untold sweating and c) what makes their behaviour alter, in sinister ways. Of course, a film doesn't necessarily support what it depicts on-screen. I get that. But such an unquestioning storyline – no twists – following exactly what the detractors of horror would have you believe about the genre comes across as pretty reactionary to me.

Well, much as the plot's causal chain between horror and snuff movies via what Tom jokingly calls 'gore porn' made me raise an eyebrow, I wasn't bored during Gut. It had enough to engage me, even though some of this was devoted to waiting for a punchline which didn't really come. Still, if you enjoy character-centred mood pieces with blood on the side, you just might enjoy this one.

Review by Keri O’Shea