''Resolution'' is a 2012 American
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...
directed by
Justin Benson and
Aaron Scott Moorhead
Justin Benson (born June 9, 1983) and Aaron Scott Moorhead (born March 3, 1987) are an American filmmaking duo. Both have served in directing, producing, editing, and acting roles in their projects, while Moorhead is also a cinematographer and ...
, written by Benson, and starring Peter Cilella and Vinny Curran. Cilella plays a graphic designer and father-to-be named Michael who, after receiving a troubling email video of his drug-addicted best friend Chris (played by Curran), travels to a remote cabin to save him. The 2017 film
''The Endless'' shares the same creative universe as ''Resolution'', and may be interpreted as a partial sequel.
Plot
Michael Danube, a
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for publishe ...
living in the city with his pregnant wife, receives an email containing a video of Chris Daniels, his best friend. Chris, a drug addict, has retreated to a remote rural area and has become delusional and erratic. A map is included with the video. Despite his wife's objections, Michael makes one last attempt to save Chris. He promises to return after one week and follows the map.
At his destination, Michael hears Chris ranting and shooting a pistol. Chris invites Michael in and starts ranting about various subjects. When Chris refuses to go into
rehab, Michael subdues him with a
stun gun
A stun gun is any weapon that incapacitates its target without killing. Tasers, tranquillizer guns, and mace (spray) are all types of stun guns. Subcategories of stun gun include the electroshock weapon, an incapacitating weapon that momentarily di ...
, handcuffs him and goes to a nearby town to shop for supplies. In the morning, Michael staves off an attempted attack from Chris.
Later, Micah and Billy, Michael and Chris' old acquaintances, arrive and ask for their drug, which Chris is holding. After Michael drives them off, Chris warns him against messing with them, as they have become violent and unpredictable. As he takes a walk, Michael meets members of a
UFO religion
A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfar ...
, then returns to the house and finds a set of strange photographs. Micah and Billy return, but Charles, a
tribal security guard chases them off. Charles tells Michael that Chris is squatting on reservation land, but accepts Michael's bribe in exchange for letting them stay for five days.
After they discover creepy film footage, Chris denies sending any emails or videos. Michael finds a book full of creepy campfire stories on their doorstep, and, when he returns the book to the library, finds film slides. Confused by the items that seem purposefully left for them to find, Michael suggests that it is a prank by Billy and Micah, which Chris dismisses.
Michael continues to find clues strewn about the area. When he bribes Charles for information, Charles warns him against digging into the past, only saying French students used the area for research. They encounter a
con artist
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers ha ...
who offers to buy the house and leaves after Michael says that they are only "renting." Michael re-watches the video he received in the e-mail and finds it has changed, it now shows an argument that Michael and Chris had moments before. Billy and Micah return and kill a dog that Chris had adopted, and Chris reveals that he is suicidal.
Michael tracks down the dog's original owner, an archeologist named Byron, a member of the original French research team. Byron, who smokes a hallucinogenic drug that is red in colour, suggests that the two other students researchers were looking for monsters and found themselves. Byron believes the area is not haunted; instead, "something" there desires stories. While reflecting a small mirror into a large one, creating an infinity of reflections of himself and Michael, Byron stresses the need for a beginning, middle, and end. Unnerved by Byron's eccentricity, Michael leaves.
As more clues appear from nowhere, the film projector Michael has been using turns on and projects the gruesome deaths and funeral photos of himself and Chris. Michael's laptop plays a video depicting their deaths at the hands of Micah and Billy. The two flee the house, only to find a CD that has a recording of Charles murdering them and burning down the house. Chris wants to leave the property immediately; Michael, however, does not want to bring the curse home and wants to appease the entity instead. Upon returning to the house, they witness Charles and a companion from the reservation killing Micah and Billy, after which Charles and his companion set the house on fire. Chris and Michael panic; Chris breaks down and finally agrees to go to rehab. Their joy over achieving a happy ending to their story is abruptly cut short when the entity angrily confronts them. Chris kneels before it and apologizes profusely, and Michael asks the entity, "Can we try it another way?" The only reply he gets is an explosive roar from the creature.
Cast
* Peter Cilella as Michael Danube
* Vinny Curran as Chris Daniels
*
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon (born October 24, 1966) is an American actor known for his performances in the Western crime drama series '' Longmire'', the second season of ''Fargo'', and the second season of '' Westworld''. In 2022, he played the le ...
as Charles
*
Bill Oberst Jr.
William Oberst Jr. (born November 21, 1965) is an American stage, film and television actor of German descent. Known for his work in horror and cult films, his career includes projects in film, television and one-man-show theater performances ...
as Byron
* Kurt David Anderson as Billy
* Skyler Meacham as Micah
*
Justin Benson as Justin, UFO Cult Member
*
Aaron Scott Moorhead
Justin Benson (born June 9, 1983) and Aaron Scott Moorhead (born March 3, 1987) are an American filmmaking duo. Both have served in directing, producing, editing, and acting roles in their projects, while Moorhead is also a cinematographer and ...
as Aaron, UFO Cult Member
Production
Although the film is often described as "genre-bending", this was not an intentional concept; it was always meant as a horror film about an unseen antagonist that manipulates reality to create interesting stories. The detox plotline was introduced to give the story more structure, as the directors needed a plot device to have the story unfold over seven days. The script was written in six months. The main parts of the film were shot in 17 days, but the side plots were shot over the course of several months on weekends. The directors were specifically interested in avoiding overt homage, and, instead, focused on parodying
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
tropes. The film was shot in
East County, San Diego
East County is a region of San Diego County, California, east of San Diego.
Geography
East County does not have an official geographic definition, although East County boundaries are unofficially drawn by the County of San Diego for its second d ...
. The directors have no direct experience with detox; to perform research, they searched Google for information. Benson was acquainted with a crack addict, however, and he used some of the addict's ramblings as inspiration for Chris' dialog.
Release
''Resolution'' had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...
April 20, 2012.
[ Tribeca Film gave the film an initial limited theatrical release on January 25, 2013. Cinedigm and Tribeca Film released ''Resolution'' on DVD, Blu-ray, and video-on-demand October 8, 2013.
]
Reception
Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, a review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that ''Resolution'' received positive reviews from 80% of 15 critics surveyed. Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
scored it 80/100 based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Mark Adams of Screen Daily
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...
called it "a clever, twisted and very impressive slow-burner of a chiller". Rod Lott of the ''Oklahoma Gazette
The ''Oklahoma Gazette'' is a free alt-weekly paper distributed throughout the Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. ...
'' called it suspenseful and singled out the last 20 minutes as "seriously unnerving." Jason Jenkins of Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website ...
rated the film 4.5/5 stars and wrote, "With its great cast, unique concept, and its sharply written script, ''Resolution'' is one of the very best films I’ve seen this year." Peter Gutierrez of Twitch Film
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
said that the film has a "quietly mythic power" and takes many big risks that pay off. Adam Tyner of DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
rated the film 5/5 stars and wrote, "There's a sense of unease that pervades almost every frame in Resolution, and a key part of it is not knowing what's lurking around the next bend. This is what horror movies are supposed to do, but it hardly ever really works in practice. ''Resolution'' not only nails it, but it does so without leaning on any jump scares, stings in the score, or cheap gore as a crutch."
Michael Nazarewycz of DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revi ...
said that ''Resolution'' is "a very good film" that gives new life to old tropes. Dennis Harvey of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "There are long buildups, and then there's ''Resolution'', a movie that's virtually all nothing-much-happening setup until a still-teasing titular event that occupies just a few final seconds." Lonnie Nadler of Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music ...
rated the film 4/5 stars and wrote that it "delivers a dashingly intelligent commentary on the horror genre, the nature of cinema, and the relationship viewers have to on-screen victims." Serena Whitney of Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website ...
rated the film 5/5 stars and called it "a remarkable achievement" and "an inventive, character-based story" that "provides be the breath of fresh air the genre sorely needs". Robert Abele of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' wrote that it offers "a strangely tense and humorous meta-narrative" that "manages to keep its eerier moments surprising and its emotional life arresting."
Many reviews compared it to ''The Cabin in the Woods
''The Cabin in the Woods'' is a 2011 science fiction horror comedy film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, ...
''. ''SFX
SFX may refer to:
Entertainment
* Special effects (usually visual), illusions used in film, television, and entertainment
* Sound effects, sounds that are artificially created or enhanced
* ''SFX'' (magazine), a British magazine covering the top ...
'' rated it 3.5/5 stars and described it as "clever, creepy meta-horror" that is like a lo-fi version of ''The Cabin in the Woods''. Kurt Halfyard of Twitch Film
Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
wrote, "Unlike the smug, offhand silliness of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's ''Cabin in the Woods'', this one makes you give a damn; as much about the films building ''Lost''-type puzzlebox, but moreso the two exceptionally well realized characters." Scott Weinberg of Fearnet
Fearnet was an American digital cable television network, website and video on demand service owned by Comcast. The network specialized in horror entertainment programming through a mix of acquired and original series, and feature films.
Backgro ...
called the film "a smart and subversive take" that is less entertaining than ''Cabin in the Woods''. Nick Schager of ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' wrote that it puts ''Cabin in the Woods'' "to shame on a fraction of the budget". Ian Buckwalter of NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
wrote, "''Resolution'' is really a less self-conscious cousin to last year's ''Cabin in the Woods''; both are hugely satisfying exercises in examining the way in which stories are told." Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
rated it B and called it "an indie analog to ''The Cabin In The Woods''" that "gets further in its conceit than its execution".
Awards
At Macabro 2013, the directors were awarded Best Director. At the Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcase of horror, sci-fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced scie ...
, the film won four awards, including best screenplay and most innovative film. The directors won Best Director at the 2013 Fantastic Planet film festival.
References
External links
*
*
{{Films directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
2012 films
2012 horror films
2012 horror thriller films
American independent films
American horror thriller films
American supernatural horror films
American supernatural thriller films
American haunted house films
Films shot in San Diego
Films directed by Aaron Moorhead
Films directed by Justin Benson
American monster movies
2010s English-language films
2010s American films