Francesco Bernardini / Italy / 44 minutes
Synopsis
Anna’s brother is a Hikikomori: he never goes out of his room, isolating himself from the world behind his computer. But when a little glitch troubles this fragile balance, the past resurfaces and creates a madness explosion in the present…
One thing we can’t take away from “Hikikomori” is its desire to fully embrace its concept. As it happens, most of us Crocos do enjoy Italian horror films. Our feeling on this one will remain positive, although nuanced.
What we don’t like
Hard to ignore the film’s main problem: sound takes. The voices are, most of the time, terrible for the ears… An amateurish side that unfortunately removes a bit of credibility from the whole thing.
Other flaw, less important: a certain lack of subtlety. Of course the writing occasionally seems dull because of the codes (superficial dialogues are a constituent element of the genre); but did we really need in addition several ostensive shots on some Dario Argento’s DVDs?
What we like
Every choice is highly coherent. The film will sometimes remind you of “Inferno” (1980) and “Profondo Rosso” (1975), which is not a small thing to say! Andrea Righi’s photo is good, of course with all the coloured lights we had the right to expect, and always finds interesting compositions. In the same vein, musics are perfect.
The directing follows this logic even in the acting, that also contributes to the atmosphere. You’ll really feel like in an 80’s classic. In the first section we kind of criticised the lines’ naive aspect, but it actually works quite well— for example the scenes with the doctor could, as they are, believably figure in a script written forty years ago.
Last compliment for the very suitable editing, going along with the unreal and nightmarish dimension that all the rest builds.
Double-edged
The ambiguous scenario keeps grey areas, which is as often a good or a bad thing according to the viewer. We emphasise this aspect because it is significant here. However a second viewing will let you have a better perception of a few causal links (for us at least, it was more satisfying than the first one).
Conclusion
Francesco Bernardini here signs a little film full of willingness. The imperfect execution won’t convince everyone— but this retro, dark and contemplative universe shall interest strong-identity lovers.
U.N.
« Hikikomori » joins official selection for the Little Croco Festival’s second edition, nominated in the Mid-Length Film category.
Trailer:
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