Alice Lowe’s Timestalker

Maybe what some people call fate is really just chronic, centuries-spanning stupidity. That is basically the whole point of this film. In life after reincarnated life, Agnes keeps falling in love with Alex and it always ends really, really badly—or worse. Yet, she repeatedly makes the same awful decisions in screenwriter-director Alice Lowe’s Timestalker, which releases today in theaters and on-demand.

Frankly, Alex probably peaked during his first meeting with Agnes, in 1680 Scotland. He was quite taken with her, but she still dies throughout an unlikely accident. Still, you can see why she might want a do-over. However, Alex the 1790s English highwayman is a slimy user. So is Alex the fading 1980s New Wave pop star. Unfortunately, these are the two time periods Lowe devotes the most time to.

In each of her lives, Agnes quickly recognizes Alex as her man of destiny. Yet, she never seems to mean anything to him. However, the Iago-like Scipio appears to understand Agnes’ fateful dilemma, at least to a partial extent.

Timestalker is sort of like the Orlando spoof we never knew we needed, because we obviously didn’t. Lowe had much more success translating British “kitchen sink” aesthetics into genre films like Prevenge and Sightseers, which she co-wrote Ben Wheatley. This time around, she leans into cringe, with swiftly declining marginal returns.

At times, Lowe captures a hint of cosmic mystery, but what the film does best is simply reminding viewers how Sally Potter’s Orlando is such a better film. Perhaps, part of the problem is a structural imbalance. The narrative spends too much time in 1790 and the unspecified early 1980s, while the 1940s and futuristic segments are sketchy in a tacked-on afterthought kind of way.

3 by Neville Pierce: Bricks, Ghosted, and Lock In

Amontillado is a sherry, whereas rioja is a fruity red, but they can certainly serve the same purpose. There have been a few adaptations of the Edgar Allan Poe story over the years, but Vincent Price and Peter Lorre still probably claim the most iconic take in Roger Corman’s Tales of Terror. However, Neville Pierce updates and crystallizes the Poe classic quite distinctively in Bricks (trailer here), one of three of his recent short films releasing today on Vimeo VOD.

Clive is a tradesman renovating the wine cellar of William, a well-heeled country gentleman. Of course, he doesn’t think that makes his employer any better than he is. Perhaps a little deference would have been advisable in this case. Anyway, enjoy the rioja.

Blake Ritson and Jason Flemyng are quite a well-known duo to appear in a shot film, but Bricks was probably too much juicy fun to turn down. Ritson is delightfully twitchy and villainous as William, fully in keeping with the Poe-Lorre tradition. Likewise, Flemyng is believably but tragically oblivious to the danger of his situation, rather blinded by his egalitarian workman’s pride. It all looks spot-on, thanks to a perfect set and Sam Renton’s darkly evocative lensing.

In the case of all three shorts hitting VOD, Pierce collaborates with scribe Jamie Russell, who has sole screenwriting credit for Ghosted (trailer here). Flemyng also returns in a supporting role, but the lead is clearly Alice Lowe, an emerging genre star, thanks to Prevenge, Sightseers, and The Ghoul. This is definitely a lighter film from her, but she is terrific as Rebecca, a widow, who has the ghost of her philandering late husband tagging along on her internet-arranged dates.

The premise is reminiscent of Robert Mulligan’s under-appreciated Kiss Me Goodbye, but it has a really endearing twist at the end. It also looks great, thanks to Flemming Jetmar’s stylish black-and-white cinematography.

That leaves the competent but disappointing Lock In as the weakest of the trio. Pregnant Lucy is alarmed when an agitated young man barges into her former teacher father’s public house at closing time, accusing him of unspeakable abuse when he was a student. They go into full barricade mode fearing an attack from his mates outside, but in cinema today, an accusation of molestation is tantamount to proof, so we know it is just a matter of time before Lucy starts to suspect the worst. It is all pretty predictable, but at least Lucy Boynton, from Blackcoat’s Daughter and Murder on the Orient Express is quite good as her namesake.

So, two out of three is pretty good, especially when the third is sure to have its kneejerk defenders. Fortunately, the two with the most genre appeal really are a lot of jolly fun. Bricks will delight old school fans of Vincent Price, while Lowe’s fans and general audiences will be charmed by Ghosted. Very highly recommended, they both launch on Vimeo today, along with the comparatively less interesting Lock In.