Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: VISITORS (COMPLETE EDITION) [Fantastic Fest 2023 - Austin, Texas]
"Visitors" [Complete Edition] (Burnt Ends) is an interesting monster in that it is an evolving piece of work. Hailing from Japan, it seems more like a build of different shorts that integrate an evolving story with a love of practical effects and exteme comedy in the guise of the influence of works by Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment. However there is a bit more going on here with certain aspects of "Evil Dead" and the underlying influence of Japan's mythology and sci-fi culture. The film starts off well in what seems the first of three short films interlaced together. The first involves a band descending upon a friend (though he seems quite an unsavory fellow) and the rachet of bloodshed and just general comedy horror innovation is quite refreshing. As it shifts into a second bit which plays in a different way with a bit less tightness in approach, it still has a throughline it is working with. At this point, it seems like the film was pushing forward in an almost anthology setting which would make sense to tell 2 or 3 more different stories set in different parts of this would-be zombie world.
This could have been done with minimum location element. Instead the third part returns to the scene of the crime per se involving the lead character and a changed character from the 2nd part. Instead of racheting up the mayhem, it moves in a different direction, which is the creator's perogative but it moves to more be weird than a possibility to be something more. At one point, it does go nuts (which is great) but the reasoning for the characters that do so and the rules are somewhat unclear. That said, the amount of practical work and just some great moments in the first two parts and a small bit of the third show the potential. However at only 60 minutes it is really only half a movie that could be retooled as an anthology since there seem there is alot more story to tell. Towards the end, it feels like there is more filling of shots to get to a set stop point. The language of the beings also gets a little too overwhelming and grating when there could have been a more conceptual approach. But again on a low budget and as an ode to Kaufman (who appears in a cameo), it has its eyes set on something but needs refinement for its next incarnation or influence. C
By Tim Wassberg
