Enys Men is set in the middle of nowhere on an island and the year is 1973. The cinematography here makes its viewers feel like it’s a 1970s horror setting—the lighting and faded colorswith no brightness maintain its questioning direction. The film also uses wide and panning shots repeatedly for further disturbing effect. The positive aspect though, is that it grasps its viewers’ attention with depth and attention to detail. Writer and director Mark Jenkin attempts to have this project be as experimental as possible, however it struggles to hold up well.

The plot centers on a woman named simply The Volunteer (played by Mary Woodvine). She is a volunteer on an island that is off the Cornish coast around the setting of the United Kingdom. Much of the beginning of the film captures her doing her duties on the island—she logs her observations, does routine maintenance, and listens to information and instructions that come to her via a radio. Its setting is clearly one of solitude,especially since the film has little to no dialogue. The Volunteer has a lot of time for free thinking. Her thoughts seem a bitbipolar, but she somehow maintains her calm.

Enys Men is invigorating with its vast landscape and its elements of growing terror when it begins. The red lightning at night is a macabre foretelling of what haunting is to come. Unexpectedlythough, the scariest aspects come from a rare flower. The flower keeps changing its form. Every time The Volunteer comes across this flower, her mind begins to envision more questioning aspects that are on her mind. The volunteer may be alone, but there is definitely the feeling that there is another with essence living there with her.

The film’s entirety is metaphysical as nature takes its course in lightness and darkness. What evil lurks through the nature of the island? What harsh past relates back to The Volunteer? The film focuses on The Volunteer becoming affected adversely by the negative energy of the nature around her. Its ultimate grandeur is displayed in the use of artistic lighting and creepy elements. Enys Men takes its time and unfortunately this makes the storyline drag along. The plant continues to change and the growth throws in an aspect of terror, but its not quite enough to keep things interesting.

Despite all the weirdness in the film, it struggles to findcontinuity and leaves the viewer wondering what this film is all about. The flower makes The Volunteer start to feel quiet transformations in her anatomy. Every time she visits the plantsomething seems to possess her and soon it overcomes her more than she anticipates. Existence on the island gets more treacherous, not in the environmental sense, but in the way The Volunteer starts thinking.

The writing falls short in Enys Men, as it remains an experience where a slew of patterns keeps trying to build a mental puzzle that is obscure and out of focus. The film is a ride of mental torture that lacks invigorating obstacles. The detrimental forces of nature do not fulfill the terror that most audiences would expect and the weird patterns of events both in The Volunteer’s mind and the nature of the island are foggy at best. Her mindset is consumed with too much experimental terror which seems more like a drug trip than anything and does not add much effect for visually or internally stirring moments.

Enys Men is an experimental thriller mixing a form of an evolving fantasy with symbolism. There are people in the film as well, but many of them are within the mind of The Volunteer. Its ultimate downfall though is that Enys Men never reaches a point of revelation. The film is a bizarre experiment of an experience with nature taking its course. Way too many pauses along the way make this one that is forgettable. One half out of four stars for Enys Men.

The title The Royal Hotel is not the meaning its audience thinks. It is an experience where it finds its uncomfortable elements. The premise is promising, the acting is stellar, but the writing falls short in its lack of continuity. The result is a messy blur of a story. Written and directed by Kitten Green, The Royal Hotelis about a vacation going awry. The film is not lacking in narrative, but it continues on a path of redundancy. It does not stir any feelings whatsoever after experiencing it and leaves the viewer flat.

The film takes place in Australia and revolves around the relationship of two best friends, Hanna (played by Julia Garner) and Liv (played by Jessica Henwick). They are backpacking around the country and enjoying their adventure. All of this changes when they find themselves in a financial debacle. This puts them in a situation where they must find temporary jobs in order to have enough money to continue on their travels. They are assigned to work at a pub behind “The Royal Hotel.” As soon as they show up, they realize the place is questionable with a negative energy. The pub is in gross disrepair with broken showers and rude patrons indulge in drunkenness daily. The two managers are Billy (played by Hugo Weaving) and Carol (played by Ursula Yovich). They deliver poor training to Hannah and Liv, but the two young women learn to deal with it initially, until things begin to change.

With their touring being on hold for Hanna and Liv, working at the pub becomes their new existence for the time being. However, the continued drunkenness of the bar’s customers is hard for them to bear. The rudest of these folks are Matty (played by Toby Wallace), Teeth (played by James Frecheville) and Dolly (played by Daniel Henshall). Dolly is the worst of them all. Their pervasive flirting and disgusting behavior become intolerable for Liv and Hanna. Liv is a risk-taker and can handle it all much better than Hanna who is more sensitive. The uncomfortable setting of the hotel and the pub has turned their dream vacation into a nightmare.

The film may be set up with good guys and bad guys, but it quickly becomes repetitive. It relies heavily on the bad behaviors of Dolly, Matty, and Teeth to make the storyline more unnerving. This dark tale has a hard time finding its purpose and quickly becomes a bore. The disasters at the bar and the crazy customers never stop. The dynamic of characters in a deserted setting where dangerous and innocent minds clash creates an unpredictable experience that really does not work.

Problems keep rising and the pub finds itself in financialturmoil. It is in an odd place, the people are always negative, and Hanna and Liv are treated poorly—all of this indicates that getting out of “The Royal Hotel” will be a treacherous path. It is not long before Hanna and Live are pressured to make choices with irreparable consequences. The longer they stay, the more vulnerable they are. They find themselves in a boxing match with the increasingly bad behavior of the drunken bar patrons.Their rage is fueled by putting up with constant abuse. But where does it find its resolution? There is too little backstory on the girls to feel for them or care about their situation. The film’s foundations are set up poorly and it jumps right to the suspensein a weak attempt to offer substance. A horrid vacation experience that does not deliver any element of the thriller it strives to be. Two out of four stars for The Royal Hotel.