Friend of the World (2022) Review
Spoiler-free so you can read before you watch
Horrorific content by Lycan on May 12th, 2022 | Movie Review | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Mind Bender, Mutant, Zombie, Body Horror, B-Horror, Arthouse, Apocalypse
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It's about after a catastrophic war, an eccentric general guides a filmmaker through a ravaged bunker.
Friend of the World is written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler, produced by Kerry Rossall, and stars Nick Young, Alexandra Slade, Michael C. Burgess and Kathryn Schott.
You have been saved. This does not mean you are safe.
Friend of the World is not your typical comedy-horror film. Besides its unusual length, it has several styles and themes and does not fit into a single genre. It's a trippy existential film in a post-apocalyptic setting that plays out like a Kubrick or Lynch movie with Cronenberg body horror. It's a lot like a play, with two people at the forefront, carrying the audience with them through the story.
The strongest points of the film come through its dialogue-driven characters and the phenomenal performances put out by the actors. The cinematography is great as are the special effects. You can tell this is a low-budget film that really utilized all of its resources to come together. The screenplay is absurdly funny and gets your brain spinning. There is the topic of disease and war, played out with mutating zombie-like figures that melt and merge with the living. This part of the movie is minimal but really helps capture the creativity of this world.
The movie is set up like 10 Cloverfield Lane and reminds me of The Thing, Night of the Living Dead, and Possum. Several easter eggs toward other movies are in there as well. There's a psychological element and satire among the overall tone of classic science fiction. The film does a good job capturing the solitude and isolation that we used to think only existed in movies. This is a timely film to watch since its release and it hits a home run with originality.
Worth Watching?
It's critically acclaimed but Friend of the World is not for everyone. This is a film for those who enjoy the weird, bizarre, strange, and surreal methods of arthouse cinema. I'd recommend it for fans of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, David Lynch, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, and George A. Romero.
