My Thoughts on Piercing

Piercing is a very strange film. It's been on my radar for a while now, being on Netflix, then mysteriously disappearing, and then turning up again. And so, I watched it, and it's uh.... well it's different. But in a good way. Basically it's the story of a man, played by Christopher Abott (who's been in some cracking stuff lately), who plans to kill a prostitute, played by Mia Wasikowska (who's also been in some absolute gems). He's got the whole thing planned out, every meticulous detail, every word, every move, everything is perfect. Only problem is, she's not that keen on being killed, and the result is a batshit crazy horror comedy where the laughs are seriously dark. Piercing takes a lot of influence from Italian horror, with a lot of references to giallo here. One moment that uses the Profundo Rosso score is especially fantastic. I will admit that Italian horror isn't a part of cinema that I'm especially educated on, but hey, I'm working on it. The style of this movie is a big positive. Lots of split screen, plenty of trippy sequences and a score that always seems to spell doom. The dialogue is razor sharp, and the interaction between Abott and Wasikowska is absolutely fantastic, and their relationship is definitely the best thing here. It's fascinating to watch the interaction between these two, especially as the film descends into some particularly disturbing depths in its home stretch

Piercing isn't always the easiest watch, though. It's a messed up film, both in its intense violence and it's pitch black psychological horror. It's sadistic, but it's oddly playful, and although that's not gonna be for everyone, if you're a fan of Brian De Palma's thrillers (which I am), then you're probably going to have a good time with this. I guess my only issue is that there's not enough of it. It clocks in at around 80 minutes, and although it's really impressive, it seems to stop before it really gets going. Still, while it's on, it's a blast, albeit a very, very dark one, because this is slickly constructed and wicked in a way that's just really interesting. If you've got the stomach for it, then I can't recommend this enough. It's warped, pulpy fun