Sunday, March 8, 2015

Faults (2014)

Written and Directed by Riley Stearns
Starring Leland Orser, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lance Reddick and Beth Grant

A down-on-his-luck author and foremost expert on mind control is given one last chance to pay back his manager. To do so, he takes a job to try to intervene with one woman whose parents say has been brainwashed by a group called "Faults". But during the job, his life begins to fall apart more so than it had, as he struggles to maintain control of the woman he was hired to help.


While this would be a stretch to categorize this as a comedy, this film has comedic tones that are rich with Coen Brother influences. The dark, situational humor that the sibling directors have become known for has been attempted by few and achieved by an even smaller amount of film makers. Riley Stearn is now apart of that group.

I can't be sure if the similarities were intentional, but being a huge fan of the Coen's, I was very pleased with how this movie played out. It was dark enough to keep it interesting, but humorous enough to maintain a feeling of familiarity amongst it's viewers. And the cult aspect of the story was just an additional element to make it even more riveting.


This film shows just how truly powerful and controlling a cult can be. And how easy it is to fall prey to their message of peace and tranquility, only to realize that it was a thinly veiled lie to achieve the leaders true goal-- spiritual domination.

While sprinkled with a layer of comedy, "Faults" is pretty terrifying film that is not at all outside the realm of possibility. The realism that this could and has happened to thousands of people creates an exceptionally frightening sequence of events that is fascinating to witness.

My Rating: 7.5/10



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