Review of Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) by The3Academysins — 03 Feb 2019

I thought that Velvet Buzzsaw was one of the most unique commentaries on art that I have ever seen. The examination and discussion of greed, art's purpose, and who should enjoy art, are only heightened by using a horror lens to craft the discussion. I got vibes of H.P. Lovecraft and The King in Yellow and Junji Ito's Spiral while watching Velevet Buzzsaw, and horror and madness are major themes of this piece.

There is some great acting in this piece, and Jake Gyllenhall leads the way. His performance of an egotistic art critique brings back some of his energy in Nightcrawler, and in a way, Velvet Buzzsaw feels like a spiritual successor to Nightcrawler. The supporting cast features some solid performances by John Malkovich, Natalia Dyer, Toni Collette, and Daveed Diggs among others.

I don't know if this is a film everyone will enjoy. If you like horror, or weird fiction, or high art, or stories about greed, or movies that serve more as a philosophical discussion than a film, you may really enjoy Velvet Buzzsaw. I know I did.