They
might be weird, but they are rare—hence collector interest in the work of a
mysterious recluse. During a short period of production, he sent unsolicited
totem sculptures to people apparently selected at random, but nothing has been
heard from him in recent years. However,
one couple getting away from it all suspects they have stumbled across his
cabin (or maybe lair) in Karl Mueller’s Mr.
Jones,
which
screens as a Midnight selection of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Hoping
to save their fraying relationship, Scott and Penny quit their rat race gigs
and bought the old cabin in the woods.
Supposedly, he will make his poorly conceived nature documentary here,
but do not hold your breath. As Scott’s
behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Penny pursues her photography. Eventually, a mysterious incident leads them
to a ramshackle cottage they never noticed before. Against the audience’s better judgment, they
skulk into the basement, which is fully stocked with grotesque scarecrows that
Penny identifies as the work of Mr. Jones, the legendary outsider artist of all
outsider artists.
Realizing
they have a scoop on their hands, the couple immediately starts work on a Mr.
Jones doc. He briefly returns to New
York for a few days, filming expert interviews, thereby establishing Mr. Jones’
backstory. Meanwhile, weird things are
afoot at the cabin and Mr. Jones’ role in it all is not exactly clear. Before long, Scott and Penny are up to their
necks in malevolent supernatural chaos.
The
basic premise of Mr. Jones is intriguing
and the gallery world details are quite intelligently written. As Scott and
Penny, Jon Foster and Sarah Jones come across like a believable couple and sell
the eventual bedlam reasonably well.
Yet, perhaps the most important contribution comes from scarecrow artist
Pumpkinrot, whose creations totally set the right mood. Unfortunately, the
nightmarish third is too murky and rather repetitive. Still, Mueller helms the subtler early
did-you-just-see-that scenes with a deft hand.