Proxy (2014)

Let's start by warning everyone that if you are not up for a weird, hardcore trip, not to see this movie. Actually, I would have said, if you have something better to watch, don't spend time with this movie.The movie itself is not bad, the acting is Excellent, the atmosphere is very good, but, there are lot of things that, I think, could have been much better if they had an explanation. Lot of things that happened in this movie, they don't really makes sense, apart from the shocking-factor. Yes, as I said, the acting is very good, and there are some images, scenes, very ambitious and excellent. But, if this movie would have had some kind of context, I think, it could have been much better. As I said, the movie is not bad, the only thing, I don't see anything else here than the intention to shock the viewer, and to try to make something intelligent, from a movie that could have been better with a closed ending, and some explanation. I just want my 2 hours back !!!

in·trigue/verb/inˈtrēɡ/ 1. arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate. , be of interest to, fascinate, arouse someone's curiosity, arouse someone's interest, pique someone's curiosity, pique someone's interest, attract. PROXY gives even newer definition of this word. The other COMMENT's have said it all and, indeed, PROXY owes a debt to old Alfred H. In a nutshell PROXY is four central characters with antisocial and/or asocial psychological tendencies. Some of such traits are more pronounced and/or dormant but NONE of these four are less than psychologically sick. They navigate the world with their respective pathologies with varying degrees of success and the one ultimately successful has not him/herself to credit as much as our likewise twisted society. The only fault I could find is that some of the extended camera focus on daily routine is a bit overdone. WARNING: The event in the first five minutes is horrific enough to disqualify PROXY for the casual movie fan. But if you're a bit twisted like myself and some of the other COMMENT folk herein, Proxy is a "don't miss" event.

The film and film score has a Hitchcock thriller vibe that I wasn't expecting. As a psychological thriller it is both fresh, peculiar and has something pure art form about it. All the drama and character ties come from sick minds effecting each other and negatively effecting other more normal people. The movie is half way making a parody of itself, its characters and inspiration, over thinking this film is unnecessary. But to me and my over thinking two cents, it seems to go far deeper and have a more well crafted point. To me, it symbolically exposes, undoes, and somehow at the same time glorifies Hitchcock and Herrmann's Psycho. If it had your eyes bulging and scratching your head a time or two, then that is enough. This is why I started watching horror/thriller to begin with, becoming somehow comfortable under distress and having my mind twisted into a pretzel. I enjoyed the ride with this movie and would definitely watch it again. The ending even put a fat grin on my face, easing away all the bizarre tension into a clear cookie-cutter-picture of evil wrapped with a bow on top.

Talking to a family friend about my plans to view Horror films with an "epic" running time for the upcoming October Challenge on IMDb's Horror board,I got told about an excellent-sounding, 2 hour (!) Horror from the Mumblecore genre that he had recently picked up on DVD,which led to me getting ready to locate the proxy.The plot:Walking to the bus stop after having an ultrasound scan, Esther Woodhouse is attacked by a stranger,who knocks Woodhouse out,and kills her unborn child.Waking up in hospital,Woodhouse is told that she barely survived the attack,and that she has lost the unborn child.Trying to help Woodhouse out as much as possible,the hospital arranges Woodhouse to attend a therapy group designed to support women who have lost a child.Nervously sitting down for her first therapy meeting,Woodhouse begins talking to Melanie Michaels,who is attending the sessions after her husband and son had died in a car accident.Feeling that she is able to open up to Michaels the most in the group,Woodhouse (who apart from a lover has no friends or family) starts meeting up with Michaels outside of the group,for lunch and coffee.Walking round a department store one day,Woodhouse notices Michaels (who has not noticed Woodhouse) asking security to help her find her missing son.Secretly following Michaels,Woodhouse begins to fear that Michaels may not be all that she seems,when Michaels opens her car door,and her "dead" son walks out.View on the film:Keeping the The Newton Brothers expert score humming away in the background,co-writer/(along with Kevin Donner) director Zack Parker uses long,superbly held takes which allow the full unfolding horror to dig right under the viewers skin.Keeping away from featuring traditional tracking shots,Parker keeps the audience firmly connected to the characters by clearly using tracking shots aimed directly at the characters face,which allows for the horror across their faces to be fully displayed and splashed across the screen.Refusing to turn away from the most terrifying moments,Parker delicately gives each major set piece its own appearance,as Parker goes from scattering blood across the screen in an almost 3D manner,to using creaking floors and shoes to create the image of a traumatising act taking place.Opening the film with a vicious hit,the writers skilfully rip apart every perception that the viewer initially makes on the characters,with the writers pressing down on every small, peculiar moment that the characters express,and pushing them all right to the extremist edge.Along with the gradually revealed horror,the writers also slash the film with sharp Mumblecore conversations,which create a brilliant atmosphere,that suggests that something is deeply wrong.Entering the movie getting left on the floor for dead, Alexia Rasmussen gives a raw performance as Woodhouse,with Rasmussen showing Woodhouse's silent grief to turn into unrelenting rage,as she begins to uncover Michaels.Joined by a wonderfully brittle Joe Swanberg,the elegant Alexa Havins gives a fantastic performance which transforms from light & airy to ruthless and sharp-toothed,as Woodhouse begins to discover the proxy.