Trim Season review.
Marijuana isn’t the only magical thing in Trim Season. This is one dark strain.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Trim Season
Directed by Ariel Vida
Written by David Blair and Ariel Vida
Starring Bethlehem Million, Alex Essoe, Ally Ioannides, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Jane Badler, Cory Hart and Juliette Kenn De Balinthazy
Trim Season Review
Trim Season is all about craft. Of both the filmmaking and of the witchy variety. Its success comes from being a well-made film that slowly goes off the rails when the true darkness is revealed. It’s also a bit of a performance/character horror story. The patient pacing requires some of that to carry us through the slower moments. Trim Season stacks the deck with quality acting against a stylish backdrop. Then the real fun begins.
A Joint Effort
Emma (Bethlehem Million) is lost. Fired from her job and out of money…she cautiously accepts a job trimming marijuana plants at a Norther California farm. Thankfully, Julia (Alex Essoe) is going with her. With fast cash and all the weed you can smoke…it sounds too good to be true. They have no idea.
Emma is rightfully skeptical about the situation. Guards at the perimeter of the farm seem like a bad omen. Are they there to keep authorities out…or workers in? Some ease is found in the number of likable similar aged people who they meet on the way to the farm. Lex (Juliette Kenn De Balinthazy), Dusty (Bex Taylor-Klaus), and Harriet (Ally Ioannides) have all signed up as trimmers as well.
Less calming is farm owner Mona (Jane Badler). She seems nice enough upon first glance…but something is definitely off about her. Her two sons Christopher (Cory Hart) and Malcolm (Ryan Donowho) act as enforcers of sort. She smokes a special strain of marijuana specifically tailored for her. If Emma wasn’t convinced that things weren’t what they seem beforehand…there is no doubt after Harriet gets her hands on some of Mona’s stash. Not only is something wrong here…it’s deadly.
To Be Blunt
Before you get to thinking that Trim Season is a stoner horror comedy about killer weed…be warned that this is much more folk horror and much less Evil Bong. Things get downright bleak at times. The third act is highlighted by devastating moments accented by glorious gore effects. Trim Season goes for it when the time is right. Not that it is void of humor. There is a perfect Who’s the Boss joke regarding Mona before we even arrive at the farm. It’s presented with zero in movie recognition of how clever it is…which makes it even funnier.
The bulk of Trim Season is spent building tension. What is going on here? Can we get out of here? Who’s next? Questions Emma and company weren’t prepared for when they signed up for a seasonal job husking marijuana plants. Mona, it turns out, is more than an odd lady running a marijuana farm. Trim Season takes a turn into witchcraft…and it does so for the better. It takes a while for things to truly get moving. When they do…we are treated to a bloody, violent final act.
The gore effects are a highlight in Trim Season. Moments of body horror may unsettle the unprepared. Extra weight is lent to the madness by the story’s patience in introducing us to the characters turned potential canon fodder. Acting is strong across the board. Jane Badler steals scenes as the off-kilter magically inclined Mona. With a glass of wine in one hand and the power to control a person with the other…it’s a showy, often fun performance. Even when it is delving into some truly dark places.
A Chronic Talent
Ariel Vida’s direction brings it all together. This is a confidently told story. Knowing the third act will carry much of the weight, Vida doesn’t rush things. Actors are allowed the space to fill with their characters…lending more weight to some of their brutal fates. The setting feels real. Largely confined to a shack…surrounded (or trapped) by the woods around them. Vida turns up the style the deeper the story moves into its true horror aspects. Trim Season makes Vida’s upcoming release Sleep, Wake, Forget a highly anticipated one.
Scare Value
Trim Season benefits from a high level of craft and a willingness to go for it when the time is right. The story progresses deliberately…but it never feels slow. Excellent gore effects highlight the increasingly dark tone of the film. Excellent performances and a climax that doesn’t hold back infuse Trim Season with some of the magic that its story has been cultivating.
3.5/5
Trim Season Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from Fandango at Home and Amazon
