The home invasion subgenre can be such a potent horror vehicle because there’s something inherently terrifying about having one’s personal space invaded. This experience is frightening in whatever form it takes, yet these intrusive horror stories have still found ways to become more subversive with where they take their audience.
Darren Lynn Bousman’s Twisted definitely has the same DNA as his Saw sequels and much of the rest of his filmography. However, it actually bears a closer resemblance to The Collector and The Collection by Bousman’s fellow Saw collaborators, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton.
Twisted attempts to reverse the expected power dynamics between predator and prey. That being said, this is a style of story that’s been told many times before – and better – in films like Don’t Breathe and Barbarian. Opportunistic individuals get a taste of their own medicine when they set their sights on the wrong mark. It’s an electric concept when it’s successfully executed, yet Twisted struggles to conduct a mild charge.
Bousman’s latest acts like it’s never allowed to stop moving. It barrels ahead with music video-style editing and pacing as a duo of lesbian con artists get in over their heads as their reckless scheme finally bites back. This is a movie that so badly wants to be a giallo picture when it comes to the arterial blood it sprays, canted camera angles, and stylized lighting. If nothing else, Twisted really deserves credit for how it doesn’t hold back with the exaggerated touches, particularly rainbow-colored lighting, during Dr. Kezian’s (Djimon Hounsou) most intense moments.
Djimon Hounsou as “Dr. Kezian” in the Horror, Thriller, Suspense film, TWISTED. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
It tries to create edgy antiheroes in Paloma (Lauren LaVera) and Smith (Mia Healey), only to instead showcase some very shallow protagonists who function like walking cliches. They’re the type of faux-vigilantes who view You’s Joe Goldberg as the pinnacle of criminal brilliance. LaVera and Healey do the best with what they’re given. Unfortunately, their relationship is reduced to steamy makeout sessions that exclusively cater to the male gaze. Their lesbian romance feels like it’s only there for shallow titillation, which leaves the final act in trouble when the audience is expected to care about their love. It’s great to see LaVera expand her Scream Queen cred outside the Terrifier films, but Twisted fails to maximize on her potential.
To this point, the film suffers from being in a difficult position where nobody in this film is really a good character that you want to root for. It positions Paloma as the protagonist, but this never feels properly earned. Everything indicates that she’ll go back to the same manipulative con artist behavior if she survives this ordeal. Dr. Kezian has even greater baggage, and he shouldn’t be allowed to succeed either.
Bousman’s past films are well-versed in reprehensible characters, but Twisted features a truly insufferable cast of characters. This really becomes its biggest problem. Even the darkest Saw films still had somebody that you wanted to see survive. Twisted’s cast is tiny, and the movie spends too much time on their wicked behavior to make any late-stage redemption plausible.
(L-R) Djimon Hounsou as “Dr. Kezian” and Lauren LaVera as “Paloma” in the Horror, Thriller, Suspense film, TWISTED. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
After a fairly predictable first act, Twisted attempts to up its game and explore some interesting territory for the rest of this ride. The film’s final act is an improvement. However, it still doesn’t commit hard enough to its ideas. What begins as a compelling setup becomes extraneous set dressing. There are so many ways in which Twisted could amplify its horror and venture into more memorable and malevolent material. There’s nothing here that audiences haven’t seen before. The film’s screenwriters, Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, previously struck gold with their script for Steven Soderbergh’s iPhone psychological thriller, Unsane, but their tricks are turned into tropes here.
There are pieces of a decent movie in Twisted, but it’s cobbled together in such a messy and disruptive manner. Sweeping tonal and perspective shifts create an unnatural atmosphere that attempts to do too much with too little. The end result is all over the place without a clear point of view or message in favor of extreme moments that still fall short. Bousman has comfortably crafted clear B-horror efforts in the past that are meant to evoke a smaller-scale aesthetic. Twisted may be cheap, but it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to evoke the same energy or is nearly as self-aware.
Twisted squanders the promise of an interesting premise during what feels like the last gasp of when an idea like this is still trendy. It’s not campy enough to be fun, and what follows is just a mean, messy experience that feels lost in the past with any of the forgettable horror films that came out of the 2010s. It’s derivative, low-hanging fruit that’s on par with Bousman’s other weaker offerings like Abattoir, Death of Me, and 11-11-11. This at least gets in and out without overstaying its welcome.
It’s just not the right fit for Bousman, whose stylistic flourishes play like awkward detractors rather than assets. Bousman feels like a filmmaker who still has more to say. He just needs to find the right project where his heightened style complements the rest of the chaos.
Twisted released on Digital today, February 6.
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