By The Same Director(s) - Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead

To branch out slightly further on the theme, it’s not just the Oscar directors that have some to my attention recently. One of the benefits of spending a ludicrous amount of time at film festivals is that you find new directors. New to me, that is, but with an already existing body of work. 

One of the sci fi films that I enjoyed last year was Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead’s Synchronic (which you can read about here if you are so inclined). It turns out that this is their fourth feature together so that gave me an instant backlog to sink my teeth into. Let’s take a look at some of their previous efforts…

Resolution (2012)
In which graphic designer Mike takes a trip into the mountains to put his drug addict friend Chris through rehab, whether he wants to or not. A series of strange photographs begin to lead to more and stranger audio-visual discoveries…
It’s got the format of a horror film and plays with some of the tropes of the genre but what sets it apart from your standard horror fare are the fact that it relies on building an uneasy atmosphere rather than scares per se and the fact that is very much a character piece. One of the failings of a lot of horror films is that character is sacrificed in service to the horror; not something that is the case here.

The Endless (2017)
In which Benson & Moorhead themselves play two brothers who have escaped from a “UFO death cult” (the characters cameo briefly in Resolution) but, when the youngest is prompted to visit by a mysterious video, they find themselves drawn back into the mystery of what exactly it is that the cult supposedly worships…
While there was some genre-blending in Resolution, this one feels like more of a mix of sci fi, horror and fantasy, anchored by a believable pairing of Benson & Moorhead as brothers. Again, character work is key in this which helps it avoid falling into the trap of just being about the events impacting the characters. There’s also an element that reminded me a little of Midsommar - weird cults and broad daylight horror. Maybe it's a new subgenre.
In terms of viewing order, it’s definitely worth viewing Resolution before The Endless (and that’s all I’ll say about that).

Spring (2014)
In which an American spending time in Italy recovering from a recent bereavement meets an Italian woman who is more than she seems…
While the others are quite slow burn character pieces, this is definitely the most leisurely - it follows the main characters for some time before any element of fantasy / horror starts to surface. That works in its credit; for all its trappings of the horrific and Lovecraftian overtones, it is at its core a love story.
In terms of links to their other films, just the other reference to a shared character at the start so you can watch this one in any order.

Benson and Moorhead manage to blend genres within their films as well as blending an indie sensibility with an approach that would also work well within a more mainstream film. Definitely directors to stick on your watch list.