Soho Horror Film Festival 2024 Coverage
Solvent review
A relentless descent into madness featuring a persistent assault on the senses.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Solvent
Directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner
Written by Johannes Grenzfurthner and Benjamin Roberts
Starring Jon Gries, Aleksandra Cwen, Johannes Grenzfurthner, Roland Gratzer, Jasmin Hagendorfer and Ronald von den Sternen
Solvent Review
This is going to be a strange way to start a review for a movie that I’m going to tell you is strikingly original…but it reminded me a bit of this year’s excellent Shudder release MadS. They are not similar in style or substance…but they both find ways to propel their stories forward at a breathless pace utilizing their chosen concepts. MadS is a one-shot film that provides a white-knuckle ride through a bad trip/possible apocalypse. Solvent is a first-person horror story that assaults the senses at every turn. Both are incredibly successful at achieving their desired effect and push their filming techniques forward exponentially.
I hesitate to call Solvent found footage…though that is the easiest way to describe it. We are watching (most) of the movie unfold from the perspective of a camera attached to a man’s head. Calling it found footage does the film a disservice that is in no way meant to degrade the found footage concept itself. The first-person view offered by Solvent is far too vibrant and in the moment to feel like a found footage movie. At the risk of cratering my entire “strikingly original” argument before it even gets off the ground…the techniques employed by director Johannes Grenzfurthner brings to mind last year’s excellent film The Outwaters.
The Outwaters is a cosmic horror film set in the desert. It uses light and sound to take found footage back to basics…in doing so crafting one of the most urgent and infectious perspectives in the subgenre. Solvent is about an investigation into the whereabouts of a mass grave. There’s nothing cosmic about it…but the horror is everywhere. It too uses an expert sound design to unnerve you. While it isn’t as concerned with scaring you with what’s at the end of a flashlight…its first-person style is no less captivating. The choices effectively trap us inside the head of the film’s protagonist Gunner Holbrook (Jon Gries). And we find that we are not alone.
So, we’ve mentioned two recent films that push the boundaries of what their chosen storytelling device can do. That is what each movie has in common with Solvent. If you’ve seen either (or both) of those movies I think you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Energy and empathy. MadS feels like a non-stop ride. The Outwaters makes you feel like you are in the main character’s shoes. Solvent does both. It’s, for lack of a better word, wild. Seeing he world through the eyes of Holbrook…being privy to his every thought. You can’t look away from his perspective. It’s ours now. The movie doesn’t slow down for anything. It assaults the senses with noise, scary imagery and scarier revelations. Holbrook is traveling through Hell. And we are going with him.
To say Solvent is a grand success on a technical level wouldn’t give it enough credit. It is…but it is also more than that. It might be too much for some to take at times. The non-stop nature of its assault can be exhausting to live through. It is constantly in motion. Never letting its foot off the gas. But there’s also a deep psychological profile to be had here. Holbrook is investigating an Austrian farmhouse for Nazi documents that can lead him to a mass grave. The deeper he goes the more his horrific findings remind him of his own time at War. The evil that men do is thrust directly into the forefront. Holbrook’s PTSD threatening to crack his sanity at any moment. And that’s before he starts to be possessed by the spirit of the Nazi he’s investigating.
That’s right…Solvent is bonkers. The best kind of bonkers. We witness the mental deterioration of a man…his descent into madness…from the perspective of being trapped inside his broken mind. If that’s not a great pitch for a movie…I don’t know what is. If that’s not enough…if the breathless pacing and fascinating story don’t do anything for you…know too that Solvent is a surprisingly funny film. Not always, of course, but it finds humor in unexpected places. There’s also a fare bit of body horror…especially in the film’s climax. Something for every kind of freak.
Solvent is a beautifully edited, dynamic march into madness. It throws so many ideas and images at you that the complete package can feel overwhelming at times. It’s worth the very purposeful headache. This is a wholly original piece that uses its filming style to deliver an energetic thrill ride. You may not like where the ride is taking you…but the movie ensures that you cannot look away.
Scare Value
You’d be forgiven for feeling exhausted after watching Solvent. It is a non-stop assault on your senses. It pushes the found footage concept in wild directions…using the format as a perfect way to get inside of its main character’s head. That head isn’t the nicest place to be as the story progresses. A POV eventually turns into a prison…trapping us with his fears, regrets and the long dead Nazi who has taken up residency. Yeah…it’s wild.
