As per the MIFF guide: “Something peculiar is going on with 17-year-old Jonny. Experiencing simultaneous nosebleeds with her face-morphing father, she’s shipped off to stay with her austere aunt, Hildie. There, she learns more about her magical blood and shapeshifting abilities – known as ‘forevering’ – that also equip her with a form of hyper-empathy. Which is just as well, as girls at her new school are disappearing at the hands of a mask-wearing killer, and they’ve all been linked to the local jock.”
At this point in time director Jennifer Reeder was something of an enigma to me. After watching her 2019 feature “Knives and Skin” I was so impressed by both it and her ability to create an unusual atmosphere, that I was sure we were seeing the beginnings of a new and important cinematic voice. However, her follow-up film “Night's End”, was the total opposite in that I absolutely hated it, and worse I felt the film had no atmosphere at all, nor did I feel Reeder's “voice”; it came off as a nothing effort. Had I been wrong with my initial opinion of Jennifer Reeder, or did she just fluke the success of “Knives and Skin”? The only thing I could equate the huge gulf in the success between the two films was that with “Knives and Skin”, Reeder was also the writer of the film (something she was not with “Night's End”), so perhaps was more invested in that project since it originated with her. Either way, I had a feeling that with “Perpetrator” I was going to finally have my answer to the question I posed above, and I must say that I went into the film with a fair bit of hope once I noticed that Reeder had also written this film too. Thankfully, I'm happy to report, “Perpetrator” is the work of the creator of “Knives and Skin”, rather than the director of “Night's End”, even if it may not quite be at the level of that earlier 2019 film.
“Perpetrator” is definitely an uneven film, in tone, pacing and performance, but what I loved most about it was the exact same thing I loved about “Knives and Skin”, which was its atmosphere, which was incredibly weird, but felt perfect within the world Reeder has created her story to exist in. And it is a story which has a lot in it. The film initially plays out like a coming-of-age story, but with a supernatural bent to it. Jonny struggles with the changes in her body (and mind), as her new abilities start to manifest themselves. I was worried at first that the reveal would be that Jonny was some type of vampire, which would have been too same-old same-old, so I was happy when it turned out that she was some sort of shapeshifter instead, which I felt was more original. That said, I am not sure that Reeder spends enough time explaining the mythology of the creature and the special abilities that comes with being one of these things. It feels skimmed over, as Reeder needs to move on to the second phase of the film which is the missing school girls, and Jonny's search for them. It is during this section that I think that “Perpetrator” is at its strongest, as it is here when the humanity of the film is found when Jonny starts to make real connections and friendships with the girls from her school. The disappearance of the girls starts to get a weight to it, as does the fear that it could happen to any one of them next. The conclusion goes full genre-style, and full supernatural craziness, but again, I feel like Reeder hasn't given these moments enough time to breathe to illicit the strongest response from her audience. It is certainly interesting, and very bloody, but it also feels a little rushed.
One thing that is absolutely apparent from “Perpetrator” is that director Jennifer Reeder is a massive fan of David Lynch, and hugely inspired by his films. This was obvious also in “Knives and Skin”, but within the first half an hour of “Perpetrator” there were two direct visual homages from Lynch's work; one from “Blue Velvet”, the other “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”. Like Reeder, I myself adore David Lynch, and one thing I have noticed in my time watching movies is that he is a true original, and that he is impossible to copy. To her credit, Reeder doesn't try to copy Lynch with her films, but rather tips her hat at someone she is inspired by. The atmosphere she creates in her films is all her own, rather than attempting to ape Lynch's style. Something that didn't show up in “Knives and Skin”, but does so in her new film, is her love of David Cronenberg, as there are elements of “Perpetrator” that could have come directly out of either “Videodrome” or “eXistenZ”. For those that have seen “Perpetrator”, it should be obvious that I am talking about the orifices in the chests of the kidnapped girls where the killer is draining them of their blood. Not to mention the fact that there is a body horror element to the story line which sees society's elite attempt to slow the progress of ageing and keeping their youth for as long as possible. Whilst Reeder is not afraid to show off her influences, as her filmography is growing, it is becoming apparent that she has her own fetishes that she likes to tackle in her films, mainly in the use of the “lost” girl. Be it an actual lost girl, or an outsider who feels alone on the margins of society, or the girls who fall through the cracks of life, it is clear these are the characters Reeder is most interested in telling stories about.
I mentioned above that the film is uneven from a performance perspective, which is true, but for the most part I believe that “Perpetrator” is a well acted film. It is important to note that the film is quite stylised, so none of the performances would be what you call naturalistic, but all of them feel cohesive and of the same world, except one (which I will get to soon). Kiah McKirnan gives an excellent lead performance as Jonny, showing the right amount of fear and confusion early on when her powers are coming into fruition, and then showing enough sass when getting more comfortable with who she is and what she can do, whilst looking for the missing girls. She also has really good chemistry with the girls who play her school mates, particularly Ireon Roach who plays Elektra, Jonny's best friend. All the girls are great, but the big surprise is the casting of Alicia Silverstone in the role of Aunt Hildie. Silverstone gives an effective performance whilst being dark, cold and mysterious in equal measure. It is something I had never seen from Silverstone before, in fact if someone had told me at the time “Clueless” came out, that Silverstone also had this in her, I'd have said “OH, AS IF!!!” (sorry!). Unfortunately, the person who plays the role of the villain in the film (and it isn't hard to work out, but I will not mention them by name, to still keep it a secret) is absolutely dreadful. Yes, I mentioned before that none of the performances were truly naturalistic, but this person feels like they have come from a different movie entirely! They have no grasp on the tone of the film, nor the kind of film they are in, so they come off very badly in it. It feels like they have stepped off the set of a comedy, rather than the mystery/horror film that they are in, and it sadly, does hurt the film, particularly its ending.
Before I finish up, I have to mention the film's best scene, which I thought was total genius. We learn that one of Jonny's powers is that she can feel people (emotionally), and then mimic them. The scene in question takes place at a teenage party where Jonny and Elektra are searching for clues on the missing girls. As Jonny is new to her powers, she cannot control them, so as she walks through the house, she is constantly mimicking all the people around her. It may not sound like much here, but it is so well done, and so intricately choreographed because it actually all feels real and happening in the moment. The background actors do not look like they are doing pre-planned actions but talking and moving naturally, and totally in the moment, but as Jonny moves past them doing the exact same moves, it is just something else; it is a brilliant moment, and one of the reasons I am so excited to see Jennifer Reeder grow as a filmmaker and continue making more films.
Whilst I had a very good time with “Perpetrator”, I have to say that this is going to be a divisive film (if my session is anything to go by). There were quite a few walk outs during my screening, and my own brother (who saw it with me) stated it was probably his worst film he saw at this year's MIFF. I obviously disagreed, and I think that those who are able to get on the film's wavelength, will get a lot out of “Perpetrator”. It may not have the polish and cohesiveness of “Knives and Skin”, but there was enough in it to enjoy the film and get me excited again for Reeder's future. All the different and disparate elements don't quite come together as well as they could have, but “Perpetrator” is filled with lush cinematography and a great synth score, not to mention the atmosphere of the film is to die for. Is “Perpetrator” entirely successful? Probably not, but it is a massive bounce back after the dreadful “Night's End”.
3 Stars.
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