Falling Stars
In much the same way that it showcases a destruction of sorts, the film “Falling Stars” successfully employs the idea of “less is more” when portraying its horrors. The film by Gabriel Bienczycki and Richard Karpala revolves around a world where avoiding being devoured by falling stars in the form of witches who demand harvest and rituals is the norm. The film does portray enough to instil terror yet it guides its viewers to imagine the rest. It is quite a bold piece of micro-budget filmmaking which sheds light on the such aspects of violent day to day existence within confined rural settings.
The film is based on three brothers Mike (Shaun Duke Jr.), Sal (Andrew Gabriel) and, Adam (Rene Leech) who reside in the inland empire in the world where witchcraft and witches, in particular, are a well-known fact. They have a pale friend named Rob (Greg Poppa) who invites them to the desert where Rob claims he buried a witch he killed. Upon reaching the grave, they solve the mystery of the witch, but in the process, they unwittingly desecrate her grave, over emotions that turned out to be fatal. As they run for their lives, Rob is the first one to meet his demise.
They ask their mom, Diane Box Worman, and so she explains to them that it can only be lifted if they burn the witch’s body before the sun rises. The three brothers reluctantly go back into the desert knowing that there is a target on their backs and that at any given moment while they are on the journey, there is a risk of them getting captured just like Rob did.
As promising as this premise seems, the film is in fact much slower with regards to its dramatics and theatrics as it unnerves viewers with the horror of what is soon coming instead of shocking them with over the top jump scares. The world that Karpala and Bienczycki have created is certainly relevant in today’s world. But with time, curiosity replaces fear and it is very clear that the elder brothers, Sal and Adam have no real fear of witchcraft as they have been told all their lives only thrilling stories of witches and would much rather have a real witch in front of them.
Sal and Adam are growing in a world where someone they know can vanish any second so how does one deal with the otherworldly violence than go seeking for an adventure regardless of the consequences? In this sense, the film echoes recent films like “Spontaneous” or this year’s “Gasoline Rainbow,” which examine how the youth are adapting to the impact of extreme violence in their development.
In detail, such an ominous feeling is something that Bienczycki manages to paint with immersive detail, being a cinematographer in addition to his other roles. Torn between the glorious distance and the hollowing soundness of Kamikaze’s home are the deserts of California, which he portrays as a grotesque siren, the breathtaking nature of the desert highways conceals sorrier things underneath. This is a stark juxtaposition of what we are often led to believe, that the night sky filled with hundreds of brilliant stars suggests life beyond Earth as beautiful and peaceful. In reality, his eyes tell us we are not only insignificant figurines, but life “up there” is vicious and its lure is to consume us; beauty does not exist.
His emphasis on the stars also expresses the uneasiness that the brothers feel throughout the film, as if to turn your head away implies that when you turn back around a star might have fallen so it is best to keep watching what is about to happen all the time.
With that said, this world is made believable, yet the unwieldy script often makes the actors’ explain some of the story, but they had a choice of being explanatory or being actors. In another scene, while driving towards the witch’s grave, Rob and Mike have become more acquainted with each other’s lives, and the witch comes up in the conversation. These kinds of two-character-centered conversations surely can create quite an engrossing drama. As it is, however, this particular scene, which takes its sweet time, lacks the appropriate level and almost seditious suspense to even expose the most basic dialogue. One has the sense that there is a race between characters as to who will reveal the most details and, in this instance, they are incredibly peripheral details and context, before the action gets underway. There is a subplot about a radio talk show Barry (J. Aaron Boykin) and his assistant Elana (Samantha Turret) host, in which they collect stories of people who had met witches.
There’s awkward commentary on how some people are ready to monetize the show and use a pandemic for self-interest standing (many of the callers are fake Vick is nullifying as usual). Still, it appears to be too shallow with respect to the film’s main conflict.
When the story really begins, it is obvious what the further sequences in “Falling Stars” are up to, and Karpala and Bienczycki do not allow their work to fall outside of the plan from the brothers’ moment when they decide to rush and burn the witch’s corpse. While the ending is obvious Karpala and Bienczycki know how to do it, they in fact have fun in the process of trying to depict the negative side of drinking and trying to set things right afterwards and not accuse the youth of being impulsive (especially during a pandemic). Although it does not make full use of it tale, “Falling Stars” has a lot of visual enchantment and magic within its deeper layers to horrify and fascinate.
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