Review of Spider Forest (2004) by Zachary S — 28 Sep 2009

Just because one does not fully understand something, does not make it deep, intellectual, meaningful, or high quality, it simply makes it incoherent. Unfortunately, some people have absolutely no taste for well developed plotlines, and so they flock to anything nonconventional and illogical.

In some cases, this approach works, but only when balanced with some form of realism to act as a foundation for the basis of the plot. Certain qualities must be concrete, even if they are found to be farces later in the film, in order to be conceivable.

However, this film lacks that vital grounding point, and simply becomes disjointed and never seems to progress. Overall, this was far too ambiguous and needed a more definitive resolution, or, at the very least, some formal method of conveying the storyline and the order of the events that transpired.

Instead, this film simply gets lost in its own allegory, and hence, the deeper meaning, if there ever was one intended, is utterly and completely lost. This film is an example of psychological surrealism used unsuccessfully in a film.

If you are looking for a film that actually succeeds in this, choose Jacobâ??s Ladder, Stay, The Jacket, or Open Your Eyes instead.