{"id":287389,"date":"2024-06-29T02:00:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T06:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/?p=287389"},"modified":"2024-06-23T12:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-23T16:19:24","slug":"delicate-arch-is-lovecraftian-meta-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/2024\/06\/29\/delicate-arch-is-lovecraftian-meta-madness\/","title":{"rendered":"Delicate Arch Is Lovecraftian Meta Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to get me interested in a movie, your best bet might be to pitch it to me as a Lovecraftian mystery. I find that kind of horror irresistible, so when I first heard about <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i>, I was instantly intrigued. The plot synopsis I received was pretty vague, but it teased that bizarre, potentially inexplicable forces might be at work in this film, and I just knew I had to check it out. I requested a screener as soon as I got the chance, and now that I\u2019ve finally seen the movie, I\u2019m happy to report that it does not disappoint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> was written and directed by Matt Warren, and it stars William Leon, Kelley Mack, Kevin Bohleber, and Rene Leech. The film follows four college students—Grant, Cody, Wilda, and Ferg—who head out to Utah\u2019s Arches National Park to escape a dangerous atmospheric event known as The Inversion. In particular, they want to see a rock formation known as Delicate Arch, and on the drive there, Grant experiences a few odd, possibly paranormal phenomena.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time appears to jump ahead on a few occasions, but since he\u2019s the only one who notices it, he doesn\u2019t make too much of a fuss. However, sometime after they finally reach the famed Delicate Arch, things really start to go south for these characters. A powerful and malevolent force seems to set its sights on them, and they\u2019re powerless to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a hardcore horror fan, that plot synopsis might remind you a bit of <\/span>The Outwaters<\/span><\/i>, and rightfully so. On a very broad level, <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> tells the same basic story as that 2023 found-footage hit, but that\u2019s not the only similarity between these two movies. <\/span>Delicate<\/span><\/i> Arch<\/span><\/i> is also a very slow burn, so for the first 50-60 minutes, it\u2019s pretty much a straight-up drama with just a few hints of the terrors to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Dances with Films<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For some viewers, that unhurried crawl to the \u201cgood stuff\u201d can be off-putting, but as a fan of slow-burn horror, I quite enjoyed it. See, the film starts with the four main characters meeting up and setting off to their desert getaway, and during the drive over there, I came to love each one of them very quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re all played excellently, and these actors also have great chemistry with one another. They make you believe that these people really are longtime friends, and that comradery is almost contagious. To be fair, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d want to hang out with this group in real life, but I had a ton of fun hanging out with them through my TV screen. They\u2019re just an absolute joy to watch no matter what they\u2019re doing, so they carry <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> for the first 50-60 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

My only real issue with this part of the movie comes when the characters trip out on mushrooms while walking to Delicate Arch. The visuals start to get outrageous in all sorts of ways, and that didn\u2019t work for me at all. It felt like weirdness for weirdness\u2019 sake, so after a few minutes, the schtick just got boring.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, that really drags <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> down until the horror finally kicks it, but once we reach the one-hour mark, the film gets back on track. I don\u2019t want to spoil anything, so I have to tread carefully here. But suffice it to say that the final 20-30 minutes or so are absolutely bonkers in the best way possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Dances with Films<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s the kind of Lovecraftian mindf*ck I can\u2019t get enough of, and it bounces from subgenre to subgenre in a way that feels totally natural. It\u2019s almost like writer\/director Matt Warren took Benson and Moorhead\u2019s <\/span>Resolution<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Endless<\/span><\/i> and transposed them into a more classically horrific key, so if you\u2019re a fan of that filmmaking duo\u2019s trademark Lovecraftian style, I think you\u2019re really going to like <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, I don\u2019t want you to get the wrong idea. While <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> gets pretty crazy, it\u2019s not just insanity for its own sake. There\u2019s a method to this movie\u2019s madness, and it\u2019s super thought-provoking. See, throughout the film, the characters raise questions about the nature of reality and express doubts about everything they see around them, even down to their own existence, and Grant makes a few <\/span>Scream<\/span><\/i>-esque comments about horror tropes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, on the surface, those two topics don\u2019t have much to do with each other, but here, they\u2019re actually very closely linked. <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> is a meta-commentary on watching horror movies, so the Lovecraftian monster in this story appears to be us, the viewers. Granted, that\u2019s never made explicit, but there are a number of moments that hint at it very strongly. Most notably, there\u2019s a scene where Grant manages to play with the edges of the shot in a really cool way, and there are even a few times when the camera itself seems to stalk him.<\/span><\/p>\n

In case you couldn\u2019t tell, I really enjoyed <\/span>Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i>. Sure, it\u2019s not perfect, but on the whole, it\u2019s a fun and intelligent Lovecraftian adventure with four super likable characters. It\u2019s pretty much exactly what I hoped it would be, so if this sounds like the kind of horror movie you\u2019d enjoy, I highly recommend that you check it out when it becomes more widely available.<\/span><\/p>\n

Delicate Arch<\/span><\/i> had its world premiere at <\/span>Dances with Films<\/span><\/a> on June 28, and it\u2019s currently seeking distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n