Alex Darling

Alex Darling Patron

Favorite films

  • Cure
  • Possession
  • The Shining
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Recent activity

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  • Backrooms

    ★★★★½

  • Silent Friend

    ★★★

  • Passenger

    ★★★

  • Goin' Down the Road

    ★★

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The Maiden
★★★★★ Liked Watched

suburbia makes us all strangers

Recent reviews

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Backrooms
★★★★½ Liked Watched

I made my own Backrooms short film in 2019, a couple years before Kane Parsons tackled it. It’s not very good. With each passing iteration and evolution of this universe, it becomes more and more embarrassing lol. It’s clear that he is the one to tell this story. 

I found this to be a really healthy mixture of the experimental appeal of his shorts along with the necessary didactic narrative hamfisting required to sustain a studio feature. The meandering, explorative pace…

Passenger
★★★ Liked Watched

Less than the sum of its parts, but still much better than people are giving it credit for. Loooved the parking lot and projector sequences, some top-notch horror filmmaking. I even grew to care about this corny ass couple by the end.

Also why were they literally in Twin Peaks for a second did no one else notice that was the Double R Diner

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Italian for Beginners
★★★★ Liked Watched

Kinda confused this isn’t rated higher. A lot of people seem to take issue with how the Dogme 95 style doesn’t seem to serve the romcom format, but I think this demonstrates the two are a natural pairing. The flairless filmmaking really lets the charming writing and acting speak for itself. I’d rather have a story like this be grounded in realism anyway - life and romance are awkward, messy. The grandest moments often occur unceremoniously. 

Also I’ve yet to see a Dogme 95 film that doesn’t break at least one of the rules, lol.