This week\u2019s minor VOD releases feature sasquatches in Oregon, werewolves in Luxembourg, and twee techies in Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Passenger<\/em><\/strong> (VOD August 4):<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s no point to what you\u2019re doing,\u201d says meek fast-food employee Randy (Johnny Berchtold) to his violent, unhinged co-worker Benson (Kyle Gallner) toward the end of this intense thriller, and he\u2019s not wrong. Benson claims that his crime spree is designed to help Randy take control of his life, and the film seems to be making the same somewhat dubious argument. Benson begins by killing three of the duo\u2019s fellow food-service workers, before kidnapping Randy and taking him on a tour of his past failures. Gallner throws himself into the role of a psychotic would-be self-help guru, although much of the movie is one-note as Benson angrily pushes Randy toward asserting himself. Still, there\u2019s a jittery energy to the dynamic between the main characters, and Liza Weil enlivens the movie in the final act as Randy\u2019s compassionate former teacher. There may not be a point to the destructive journey, but there\u2019s a bit of stylish catharsis, at least. Grade: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Summoning the Spirit<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and DVD August 8):<\/strong> It\u2019s probably a red flag when the real estate agent who sells you your too-good-to-be-true rustic home in the Oregon woods is also a member of the sasquatch-worshiping cult that lives next door. To be fair, author Dean (Ernesto Reyes) and therapist Carla (Krystal Millie Valdes) aren\u2019t aware of that connection when they buy the house, even though the cult\u2019s leader recruits new followers via his popular podcast. Director and co-writer Jon Garcia takes his time getting to the sasquatch-fueled horror, instead focusing on Dean and Carla\u2019s tedious relationship drama and Carla\u2019s connection to the cult\u2019s latest recruit. The movie\u2019s Bigfoot spends most of that time wandering contemplatively through the forest, which doesn\u2019t make the performer in the fur-lined suit look any less silly. Heavy themes about grief and sacrifice are a poor fit with the eventual limb-rending Bigfoot rampage, and Summoning the Spirit<\/em> fails as both existential folk horror and campy cryptid romp. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wolfkin<\/em><\/strong> (VOD August 8):<\/strong> Almost certainly the first-ever Luxembourgish werewolf movie, Wolfkin<\/em> is an effectively creepy story about toxic generational legacy, set amid the tiny nation\u2019s gorgeous countryside. Single mother Elaine (Louise Manteau) travels from Brussels to rural Luxembourg in hopes of getting help for her 10-year-old son Martin (Victor Dieu), who\u2019s been exhibiting disturbing behavior. She seeks out the wealthy, reclusive parents of Martin\u2019s absentee father, who are quick to welcome Elaine and Martin into their unsettling family dynamic, full of bizarre, seemingly inexplicable rituals. It\u2019s pretty obvious that lycanthropy runs in the family, but director and co-writer Jacques Molitor builds a sense of inexorable dread as Elaine realizes that Martin\u2019s grandparents have no intention of letting her and her son leave their fortified compound. There\u2019s a late-breaking allegory about the refugee crisis in Europe that doesn\u2019t quite land, but otherwise Wolfkin<\/em> is an engrossing, often haunting movie that breathes new life into a common horror subgenre. Grade: B<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n