Written by Tom Moore
Back in 2014, moviegoers got a glance into the strange and horrific mind of David Robert Mitchell with the cult hit, It Follows. The mere mention of the film’s title generally sparks someone to say either “oh, that creepy film with that stalking creature that constantly changes its appearance” or “oh, that movie about STDs.” Regardless of which phrase comes out, people praise It Follows for its incredibly creepy premise and antagonist.
With his latest film, Under the Silver Lake, Mitchell trades in the creepy, supernatural threat for more paranoia-filled thrills with a neo-noir atmosphere. What follows is a film that’s definitely a lot to take in with one viewing, but offers enough to create, what I can only assume is, a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream.
The film follows Sam (Andrew Garfield), an intelligent and obsessive young man with no sense of purpose. One night, Sam finds a mysterious girl, Sarah (Riley Keough), swimming in his apartment complex’s pool and gets to know her. The next day, however, she vanishes. Sam ventures across L.A. in search of clues to where she could’ve gone and ends up uncovering a conspiracy that’s incredibly bizarre.
The amount of details and clues scattered throughout the film is crazy to see and I was immediately hooked on trying to solve things along with Sam. I even felt like I was getting just as crazy as Sam as more clues connected and he got closer to fully understanding the horrifying events happening around him. There’s a lot going on — so much so that Under the Silver Lake is the kind of movie you take notes on when watching to fully remember the clues. This is definitely something that could turn off viewers, as the film can be a headache to watch on the first go, but it’s already hooked me on a second viewing and I’ve already realized more connections and clues I missed during my initial viewing.
Mitchell also does an excellent job slowly teasing viewers and building this ever-growing sense of mystery that will keep them guessing. There are constantly new characters added in and recurring visual cues that send viewers further down the rabbit hole. Not to mention, Mitchell brings his horror chops into Under the Silver Lake with some urban legends sneaking their way into the story thanks to a creepy conspiracy magazine Sam reads. The legend of the Dog Killer is eerily creepy and well built throughout the film–even if it kind of falters towards the end–and the Owl’s Kiss creature design sent chills down my spine with each step she took. These stories are also introduced through animation that resembles the neo-noir style that Mitchell uses throughout the film.
The film has a neon element to it that’s bright, but also uses shadows to create mystery. The dialogue has a nice snap to it that’s reminiscent of your favorite detective movies and Sam is sort of like a modern-day detective as he looks for clues that help him find Sarah. Even when we are initially introduced to Sam and Sarah, the camera work and lighting bring out the film’s neo-noir style. When Sam and Sarah first meet, Sarah is presented like a femme fatale with the lighting keeping her in the shadows except for her eyes. There’s also an incredible fast-moving shot that sweeps towards Sam picking up the creepy magazine for the first time that immediately emphasized Mitchell’s neo-noir style. Mitchell even has a score with that saxophone sound that instantly makes you think of a detective flick—even if it’s a little too silly at times.
There are definitely some moments that are so silly and strange that they completely take you out of the moment. A lot of this comes from the practical effects that Mitchell tries to use because they just look too silly. Scenes, like a puppet squirrel looking up towards Sam and a dead body being pulled away had me laughing when I wasn’t really intended to. There’s even an incredibly meta moment with Garfield picking up an Amazing Spider-Man comic that made me crack a smile. I will say that the goofiness often works because of Garfield’s performance as Sam’s building craziness and obsession are also kind of silly. Don’t get me wrong, if I were in Sam’s position and all these clues and coincidences piled together in the way they do in the film, I’d probably be just as obsessed as he is. However, Garfield’s a lot of fun in the film and brings a genuine sense of paranoia that resembles a similar kind of paranoia found in It Follows.
Whether Under the Silver Lake can capture the same kind of following as It Follows is up to viewers, but I find it to be a solid follow-up by Mitchell that’s strange and perfectly creepy. It’s a lot to take in in just one viewing, but it’s entertaining and has enough intrigue to be an excellent watch again and again.
