Every now and then I will pick up a film just because I enjoy an actor or actress in it. It doesn’t always work out in my favor, but now and then I am pleasantly surprised.
In the case of Proxy, I wanted to see it because I really liked Kristina Klebe in Rob Zombie’s Halloween. It wasn’t until I saw the film that I noticed Joe Swanberg, who played one of my favorite characters in You’re Next. Two people I enjoy have to make for a good film.
Proxy is about a pregnant woman named Esther (Alexia Rasmussen) who is attacked in her last month of her pregnancy and loses her baby. She joins a support group for grieving parents where she meets Melanie (Alexa Havins) who has lost her child to a kidnapping.
Esther has a strange sexual relationship with a tough felon named Anika (Kristina Klebe), and despite her rough tattooed exterior, Anika seems to have a real soft spot for Esther.
When it becomes clear that Melanie has been lying about her family, Esther reveals a darkness that no one was prepared for. Now Melanie lies have dug her deep and she has to deal with her own loss while she is in line for another, though she doesn’t know it yet. Anika is out for blood and Melanie is the target.
Alexa Havins does an amazing job as Melanie. She is a tough read with a hint of crazy that peaks out every once in a while. It’s very hard to tell if Melanie is victim or villain the majority of the time.
After seeing Kristina Klebe as the hot cheerleader in Halloween, it’s a big change to see her as a butch type lesbian in Proxy. She actually pulls it off very well. She reminds me of the bad ass chicks I knew in college that always had your back and didn’t care what anyone thought.
Alexia Rasmussen, who bears a striking resemblance to Erin Daniels, is disturbing in her calmness over everything that has happened to her and over the things she chooses to do. Whether her decisions are a direct result of her loss or just an effect of her own mental issues is tough to determine. Either way, she isn’t someone you would expect to be as disturbed as she is.
Joe Swanberg as Patrick is, as always, a great contribution to the film. His grief and anger over the loss of his child is so understandable and profound that you really feel his pain. He was, by far, the best part of the film for me.
Proxy is a dark and shocking film from start to finish with several shifts in the story that made the ending very much unpredictable. At times I was absolutely devastated and others, unsure of exactly who to cheer for.
Proxy, now available on Blu-ray from IFC Midnight, is a must have for any horror collection. Pick up your copy now.
http://youtu.be/-chvqkdo5wU
