AFI Fest

Pop Skull

Arclight Cinemas

Sunday, November 4, 2007

There is something very ‘William Castle-ish’ about disclaimers before features. Take this one for instance: Please note there are strobing visual effects in this film which may be harmful to people with epilepsy. I read the disclaimer on AFI’s website. I received a phone call warning me about the lights. I heard the warnings of those damned strobe light standing in line. It was even announced before the screening, AND written on the screen prior to the opening titles. So, guess what happens?

I had a seizure.

No! Just kidding! However, I did get slightly nauseous from watching all the stobe effects. And boy, is there a lot of strobin’ going on in Adam Wingard’s experimental feature Pop Skull, part of AFI Fest’s Dark Horizon’s selections.

There is a sort of glee you get from all the warnings, though. Much like the gimmicky films brought to life by the late, great showman (and subject of a documentary at AFI Fest this week) William Castle, Pop Skull’s dire-buzz helped create an overwhelming sense of dread within me, the feeling of doom and gloom, a slight twinge of excitement. I felt like a kid again, ready to ride a rollercoaster. You know, the big, rickety wooden one that has the splintered sign: Ride at your own Risk! Wah-ha-ha-ha!

So, with all that nervous glee, the film began.

Pop Skull is the story of Daniel (Lane Hughes), whose drug-addiction makes it increasingly more and more difficult to deal with his friend’s troubled relationship, as well as the spirits of two murderers who haunt his Alabama home.

Yes, that’s right. That’s what I said. The premise is pretty original, isn’t it? But, sadly, Pop Skull is not for everyone. In fact, it is for just a small few.

What every viewer should know before watching this movie is this: The film is told from Daniel’s hallucinatory point of view … I will repeat in caps: EVERYTHING is told from Daniel’s hallucinatory point of view. So, the viewer is subject to the torture that Daniel goes through. Only we experience it much as he would. The strobing effects, the flashes of images, the incredibly increased soundtrack of white noise and what seems to be metallic fingernails-across-a-chalkboard, are all subjected on us. As AFI points out, “This is not a film that is ‘difficult to watch’ in the traditional use of the phrase … this movie is literally difficult to look at.” However, I would like to add on: For most people, watching Pop Skull could be the equivalent to an overnight stay at Abu Ghraib.

One has to applaud a director who makes a film that leaves so many people unable to look at the screen without experiencing discomfort. It is incredibly daring to make a film of this sort, all for the sake of keeping true to the artistic vision. So, if you are still game for seeing this movie, remember to ‘Ride at your own risk’.