Failure – Review

Failure (Frightfest)

Failure – Review
87 Minutes, Not Rated
Written and Directed by Alex Kahuam

**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**

Failure (Frightfest)

Synopsis:

Failure! follows a man who is given one hour to choose between financial ruin or murder to protect his family.

Ted Raimi is often thought of as simply acclaimed director Sam Raimi’s goofy little brother.

Everyone should be disabused of that notion.

Having watched Failure!, I got to see another side of Ted. As a businessman on the verge of either selling or losing his family’s company, while dealing with various people and entities to which he is in (massive) debt, plus his daughter’s wedding, all while also dealing with a bit of a mental health… issue… Ted delivers the goods.

Shot in one continuous take, with no “hidden cuts” I could identify, the film is a remarkable achievement in writing, planning, direction, and straight-up technical execution.

And the cast carries out their parts beautifully. Especially Ted.

Embodying a man on (and often over) the edge, willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve his ends (both selfish and altruistic), he is at once a ruthless businessman and a genuinely loving father. Not an easy duality to embody, but perhaps Ted’s innate personal likeability allows that to come through.

A somewhat surprising ending caps this nearly 90-minute spectacle, and it’s one that I highly recommend watching.

Failure! may be this film’s title, but it certainly isn’t its result.

Failure! stars Ted Raimi, Melissa Diaz, Noel Douglas Orput, Merrick McCartha, Christin Muuli, Daniel Kuhlman, LeVar Michael, Spencer Langston, Joe Barra, Chris Paul Morales, Alex Sands, Hyeong Choi, Roberto Zapata, and Ernest Cavazos.

And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.

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