Horrorfest 2017: Twentynine Palms

I saw a great horror film a couple years ago called WITCH – a brand new release directed by Robert Eggers. Apparently he's moving on to make his follow up film, another remake of NOSFERATU. I'm expecting big things from this guy, because WITCH is the real deal and you should totally watch it. Anyway, here's one of his favorites.

TWENTYNINE PALMS is a French/German/US co-production from 2003. I have to admit, after watching about a half hour of the movie I had to stop and look up the list of Robert Eggers' favorite horror films again to make sure I had the right movie. For most of its running time, TWENTYNINE PALMS just plays like an indie drama about a hipster couple's relationship falling apart. But, via the Internet, Eggers assured me this was a horror movie, so I kept at it.

The film stars David Wissak and Yekaterina Golubeva as the hipster couple in question. I think Wissak is meant to be American and Golubeva is meant to be French but I'm not positive. In any case, they're traveling to Joshua Tree National Park on a photography assignment, alternatively having sex and fighting. Both the sex and the fights get more intense until eventually the couple falls apart so thoroughly that you think the movie must be over.

But, they get back together, and then the real horror begins. I don't want to spoil the ending, if you dare to sit through the first 2 hours, but it is sudden, unpleasant, and both what you've been fearing and out of left field. Looking back on the film, it's interesting how certain things are foreshadowed. But, they're foreshadowed in such a way that, on first watch, you aren't sure if it's on purpose or not.

For instance, some of the sex scenes are a little awkward and weird, with the way Wissak treats Golubeva. When you're first watching the movie, not knowing what's going to happen later on, you might think, well, it's naturally awkward because it's more explicit than your average film, and it's not romanticized, so it feels voyeuristic, so while it's uncomfortable maybe it's just the viewer's expectations that make it uncomfortable and it's not necessarily the film, etc. But, it's totally the film.

One thing that kept me interested was the location. Most of the movie takes place in San Bernardino County, which is where I  went to college, so while they didn't necessarily visit locations I 100% recognized the whole thing looked familiar and they made great use of the magnificent desolation, the windmills, the Joshua trees and the palms.