The COVID-19 pandemic forced creativity and art as we know it to transform completely. As the world locked itself indoors as the virus made its way through the planet, artists and filmmakers were left to ask one big question: What now? For some, the restrictions became a devastating detriment but for others, they welcomed a unique blend of creativity that forced the creator to create a world entirely from their own house. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Something In The Dirt is a film that in a sea of COVID-19 cinema, comes out on the other side as a bold and incredibly ambitious piece of filmmaking that uses its minimal design to create a fascinating world that absorbs you into its strange and surreal ways from start to finish.
The film follows two neighbours named John (Aaron Moorhead) and Levi (Justin Benson) who begin a friendship after John moves in. Shortly after they meet, Levi sees a supernatural event in John’s home and from there, the duo decide to record this phenomenon and inject some excitement into their otherwise mundane lives by making a documentary. As filming begins, the duo slowly realises that this event may be more dangerous than they originally thought.
There’s a certain irony to Something in The Dirt’s release when you look at where both Moorhead and Benson are at on a filmmaking level right now. As news of their involvement in more projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes themselves known, it wouldn’t be surprising if it seemed that the duo’s days of small-budget science fiction with big ideas were behind them. However, Something In The Dirt, if anything, shows Moorhead and Benson are at their most ambitious while at their smallest and most reserved.
It may feel like a chaotic work at times but for a film about the process of filmmaking, perhaps that’s the point.
Most of Something In The Dirt takes place in one small apartment where as much time as possible is spent on developing the characters of John and Levi. John has a bit of a checkered past which Levi slowly pieces together but where Something In The Dirt truly shines is how much it subverts one’s expectations without doing so to the detriment of its ideas. The film is unafraid of throwing ideas and concepts at the viewer which can admittedly become overwhelming at times as it takes its inspirations from heady science fiction such as Shane Carruth’s Primer. However, at the core of Something In The Dirt is a profoundly human story of the chaotic yet enveloping nature of filmmaking.
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead direct Something In The Dirt as a film that truly feels small and independent. The budget is no doubt incredibly small yet that never stops the duo from making the film bigger and bigger as its ambitious screenplay begins to show itself. Now, this is a tough line to walk as the limitations of budget have more than often been the culprit as to why some films have struggled to cross the finish line but Benson and Moorhead with the career they’ve built of ambitious cinema means Something In The Dirt has two very confident hands driving the production.
Something In The Dirt might be slightly too long and can meander at times but as we see more and more productions from the COVID-19 landscape begin to release with mixed results and small ambitions, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a film where it’s unafraid to dream and think bigger while for the most part, committing to its own ambition. It may feel like a chaotic work at times but for a film about the process of filmmaking, perhaps that’s the point.
SOMETHING IN THE DIRT IS PLAYING IN SELECT CINEMAS NATIONWIDE FROM TOMORROW
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