Movie Review - Wounds (2019)

This film feels like an aborted idea for Black Mirror, the British series that presents a dystopian view of technology or the extreme perils of technology. It feels like an aborted idea that then morphs into the typical schlock-filled, supernatural, horror films that cinema often gets. All of which would be fine, if the film had some kind or any kind of ultimate point to make. There's not much that I could extrapolate from the characters or the situation that made any kind of impact by the end. There might be something to be said about toxic masculinity and certain aggressive and even violent behaviors that men indulge. Unfortunately, it means that we basically have to watch a guy be a jerk, which would be fine, if the ending didn't feel like him winning in some kind of weird way. No, he doesn't get what he wants completely, but he does achieve something, even if it's a feeling of empowerment. Considering how much of a jerk he is, that feeling of empowerment left a bitter and unsatisfying taste in my mouth.

Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name and The Lone Ranger) stars as Will, a bartender at a dive bar named Rosie's in New Orleans. His girlfriend is a college student with whom he lives. However, most of his nights are spent at the bar nursing the regulars who come there, including another college-age girl with whom he clearly has feelings. Except, she has a boyfriend, but he can't help but make overtures toward her, which get increasingly aggressive, further proving his jerk behavior. One night after a bar fight, he finds a phone that some other college kids leave behind. Will takes the phone and starts receiving strange text messages with disturbing pictures. One of the pictures depicts a possible murder. Whoever's responsible appears to be taunting him, until it's suspected that the responsible party could be demonic in nature.

Writer-director Babak Anvari adapts the novella by Nathan Ballingrud and seems to have the trappings and groundwork for a horror film. Unfortunately, we never feel the stakes and he doesn't make anything escalate, as he did in his previous feature, Under the Shadow (2016). In his previous feature, we felt the danger, the constant and terrifying threat. He was able to maintain suspense in his previous feature. Here, that suspense is supposed to be there in theory, but it never feels solid, despite Hammer's performance in some scenes to sell it as best he can. For a film titled after a physical injury to the skin, there's barely any body horror.

Brad William Henke (Orange is the New Black and Sneaky Pete) plays Eric, one of the regulars at Rosie's bar, mainly because he lives above the bar in a ratty apartment over it. He's the one who gets drunk and gets involved in a bar fight. During the fight, he's scarred on his face. It's his physical injury that gets any kind of notice in this film, but his character disappears for the middle chunk and indeed majority of this film. Then, at the end, his character is meant to mean something or be reflective of something, but the film spends so little time with him that whatever his injury is supposed to mean, it gets lost or has no impact. Henke and Hammer certainly show plenty of skin. Both get shirtless scenes, but the body horror from it is very disappointing.

Zazie Beetz (Joker and Deadpool) co-stars as Alicia, the aforementioned college student who is one of the other regulars at Rosie's bar. She's also the one on whom Will has a crush. She has a boyfriend though. It's weird because Beetz's character here isn't that far off from her character in Joker. She's merely the object of affection and obsession for a man who is becoming increasingly aggressive or increasingly unhinged. She gets a little more agency here, but we don't get much into her head or examine her relationship either to her boyfriend or to Will to make her role here that substantial.

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey and A Bigger Splash) also co-stars as Carrie, the actual girlfriend to Will who lives with him. She's a student at Tulane University. She apparently has trust issues with Will. She easily suspects him of cheating. When Will finds the phone with the disturbing images, she urges him to go to the police, which he is reluctant to do. She also urges him to be more engaged in other ways to no avail. Besides nagging Will, her only other function is to be a damsel-in-distress. The possible murder in the phone's text messages isn't even solved or addressed all that well by the end.

Rated R for disturbing content, language, drug/alcohol use and brief nudity.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 35 mins.

Available on Hulu.