Kay (Chloe Pirrie) joins a newly formed walking ladies club and with their guide they hike up Kryptic Peak. Kay separates from the group and encounters a hairy brute creature called a Sook as it is referred to in local lore. As the guide explains thousands of hikers disappear in the mountains each year without explanation. In fact a well known cryptozoologist named Barb Valentine disappeared nearby over three years ago. Her specialty is the study of the hidden such as the Sook or Big Foot. And golly poor Kay encounters the Sook in the woods and momentarily some goo dribbles out of her ear. If the Sook is at the scene expect goo!
There is something very odd with Kay. She is hesitant, halting if not confused and at some points seem not to realize her own identity. After returning home she undertakes a bit of research about the missing Barb Valentine discovers numerous articles in newspapers about her disappearance. Whilst doing this research her front door window is smashed and terrorized Kay takes off on an adventure of an undetermined nature.
For some reason she decides to represent herself to the many strange characters she encounters as Barb Valentine. The characters are really bizarre adding fun to the film. They are “overdone caricatures” but so weird they add an entertainment value to the film whilst an any other film they would be simply ridiculous.
At this point I go no further lest I spoil your fun of trying to untie the Gordian Knot particularly who really is Kay? The film succeeds not on any obvious plot line but on the fact there are many possible interpretations and combinations of them and shiver me timbers if any of them are wrong but what might you walk away with is:
> mental illness such as bipolar disorder, PTSD or schizophrenia
> the possibility that the humans portrayed in the film are the monsters
> human sexuality can be monstrous, destructive and even deadly
> eroticism of the unknown beasts
> the destructive effects of fame
> the existence of a secretive side of many
> domestic abuse
A quirky thriller if you have a creative imagination but possibly pedantic if you are hoping for a linear plot. Pirrie plays the role so well so even when asserting her power she fails to realize it. I mean who goes in the forest in a miniskirt and boots with platform heels!
Directed by Kourtney Roy.
Plays at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal on 22/24July2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 84/100.
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