Sundance NEXT FEST shows diversity of film styles, influences

Sundance NEXT FEST brings together a collection of visually striking independent films at the Ace Hotel’s theater in Los Angeles. From zombie love stories to a short film based on Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d. city,” NEXT FEST represents the disparate influences and vast styles contained within the film industry today.

“Life After Beth”

Heartbreak and grief are essential life experiences. Seeing one’s recently deceased girlfriend come back to life and then gradually decay into a flesh-hungry zombie is not so much. In the darkly comedic “Life After Beth,” Zach Orfman (Dane DeHaan) celebrates when his girlfriend Beth Slocum (Aubrey Plaza) miraculously reappears in her parents’ house looking alive and well after dying from a snake bite.

However, his joy quickly turns to fear of being eaten alive when he notices strange things: Beth sports several spots of dead flesh on her body, collects dirt to pad her attic – which she rarely likes to leave – and frequently bursts into uncontrollable rages.

Focusing less on the apocalyptic aftereffects of a zombie outbreak, “Life After Beth” is more about how Zach copes with his loss. Through Beth’s outrageous behavior – like her insatiable desire for aggressive make-out sessions and her smashing of Zach’s guitar as he tries to serenade her – Zach realizes second chances are not all they are cracked up to be. He learns that sometimes it is better to let go before longing for lost love both figuratively, and in Beth’s case, literally consumes you.

“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter”

In the early 2000s, a rumor circulated on the Internet of a Japanese woman who traveled to Minnesota in search of buried treasure. Director David Zellner explores this urban legend in his film “Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.”

Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi of “Pacific Rim”) is a lonely office worker, scorned by the rest of the women in the office for her ambivalence to work, marriage and career advancement.

After discovering an old tape of “Fargo” buried in a cave and watching Steve Buscemi’s character bury a briefcase full of stolen cash in Minnesota snow, Kumiko immediately embarks on a quest to America to find the hidden money.

“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter” focuses on the solitude and boredom that can come with everyday life and the hunger for adventure that follows. Filmed with a beautiful color palette that appears brighter and livelier than reality, Zellner invokes a fantasy world in rural Minnesota.

Kumiko encounters several quirky characters on her journey, including an elderly woman who combats loneliness with novels and a deaf cab driver who communicates fares through a whiteboard. All of this adds up to a mythical story, in which a film like “Fargo” is not just a story, but a treasure map.

“Listen Up Philip”

The old saying goes don’t meet your heroes, because disappointment is bound to follow. “Listen Up Philip,” directed by Alex Ross Perry, bases its themes on this idea.

Recently liberated from the doldrums of literary mediocrity by the success of his book, writer Philip Friedman (Jason Schwartzman) is invited to meet one of his favorite authors, Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce). Unfortunately for Philip, he discovers the arrogance and bitterness of his mentor, who is disillusioned with old age.

Philip is no angel himself. Self-obsessed and drunk off success, he continually alienates those around him with brutal honesty and a superiority complex. “Listen Up Philip” unfolds like a novel, with character’s feelings often revealed by an omnipotent narrator.

Like a book, the film focuses not just on Philip, but meanders through the lives of his girlfriend and Zimmerman. For this reason, the film is unfocused and at times it is difficult to determine the direction of its plot. “Listen Up Philip’s” merits are not with its plot, but with its character study of Philip, who is unapologetically and wholly unsympathetic.

“m.A.A.d.”

Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-nominated and innovative rap album “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” translates from CD onto the silver screen in the short film “m.A.A.d.” Accompanied by a soundtrack adapted directly from the album, “m.A.A.d.” presents a dizzying array of images of Compton as described in the album.

Scenes include gang members ominously hanging from streetlights by their legs, slow-motioned and rewound drive-bys and close-ups of excessively tattooed gangsters. This imagery perfectly captures the chaos and hazard of life in Compton as described by Lamar in his album: a town imbued with violence, peer pressure and arbitrary terror.

However, “m.A.A.d.” disappointingly has little direct relation to the story in Lamar’s album. The constant flurry of images creates a sense of incoherence in the plot, yet, to its credit, the film still maintains the dark and desperate tone of the album.

“The Guest”

Drawing from the film “The Terminator” and slasher genres à la “Halloween,” Adam Wingard’s (“You’re Next”) newest thriller “The Guest” pays homage to ’80s cinema in all its gory, over-the-top glory. While mourning their recently deceased son, the Petersons are paid a visit by David (Dan Stevens), who claims to have served in their son’s platoon in the army.

David is handsome, always has a wad of cash and is exceedingly charismatic, which helps him win over the family. Yet, for the Petersons’ daughter, Anna (Maika Monroe), there is something off-putting about his seeming perfection, lack of a past and nonexistent sleep schedule.

“The Guest” models itself off classic thrillers while still maintaining an overall comedic tone. The way David gains the favor of the family so effortlessly are constant winks at the audience, who can easily see through his act. More subtly, the climax captures all the horror and hilarity of B-movie fare like Brian De Palma’s “Carrie.” However, “The Guest” remains self-aware of its excess and hilarity throughout.

– Asher Landau