Reviews

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  ★★★½ review by Hollie Horror on Letterboxd

  In the first part of Felt, I was quite worried that I was watching another version of Toad Road, with director Jason Banker cementing himself as the Larry Clark of genre films. Thankfully Felt was different enough to hold my attention but familiar enough to know it's directed by Jason Banker.

  The artist and star of, and within, Amy Everson shone brightly, I gravitated towards her as she pulled me in with her performance. Sadly for Felt, if Everson doesn't captivate you, you won't have much else to grasp on to, there are other characters but she carries the film.

  I don't know if I'd suggest Felt to everyone, I think it takes a certain type of patience and interest to watch Banker's films as they're more character studies that eventually turn into an anthropological horror film, but not until the very end. Thankfully I fall into that audience because Jason Banker is a brilliant cinematographer and a very interesting director, I look forward to what he does in the future.

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  ★★★★½ review by MrTaylor on Letterboxd

  We all wear masks, but meet Amy...

  
  
  "Being human is overrated". Felt has so much to say and often skips full explanations but isn't that how fear and confusion dominate us? Repressed emotions in a male dominated world slowly see the light of day throughout this examination but there is plenty of darkness in the mix. Plenty.

  Amy is a young artist and we see immediately that she's a little different from her friends. Withdrawn and often crude. She's hurting and it's a social barrier with every other word exchanged as she copes with the pain that men have seemingly delivered onto her all her life. Then we begin to see the alter egos she is assigning realities to (complete with costumes and genitals) and know we are in for something scary. About the time she seriously entertains murdering men for their devilish ways, she falls for a nice fella named Kenny. Will this soothe the mental storm brewing in Amy or will old wounds be reopened? Themes of this woman fighting a "man's world" grab attention early and begin a sharp decent. Themes are equally matched by Amy Everson's night and then day, complex performance as she spirals out of control, pulling you down with her.

  Director Jason Banker delivers a psychological thriller that has no boundaries. The scars of brash masculinity are etched deep into Amy's mind and it all begins to cave in. What transpires along this trip will disturb and perplex - but you just won't be able to shake it. The depths of this type bruised, female character study have not been attempted perhaps since Repulsion (1965). It's one of those experiences that left me a little guilty for leaning into it so much and many will not share my appraisal. But therein lies the value in separating this from the pack. It's going to get every conceivable degree of reactions. Love, hate and the middle ground will appear but if you yearn for the remarkable and have no inhibitions, take your mask off and let this take control for a spell.

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  ★★★★ review by Dave Jackson on Letterboxd

  I watched the trailer for Felt a few months back and was instantly desperate to see it. I even set an alarmed reminder in my phone for its iTunes release — something I pretty much never do (my to-watch pile is big enough as it is). I was mainly excited by the trailer because I had no idea what the hell the movie was or what it was trying to be, and even having now watched it, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it. Felt is a loosely structured, anxiety-fuelled, mumbly nightmare that is occasionally distressing, sometimes funny, and always (at least for me) engaging.

  We follow an artist, Amy (Amy Everson), who has serious issues with men and the way she's treated as a woman. She sees every man as a potential predator and spends her spare time dressing up in costumes, often involving felt-genital attachments. Amy Everson's performance is wonderfully bizarre. She's unpredictable, sometimes easily manipulated, other times brutally fierce and furious at everything around her. Everson also co-wrote the film and is, from the sounds of it, essentially playing herself, which makes the film all the more unnerving and fascinating.

  The film's cinematography, editing and music compliment Amy's story beautifully. With its soft colours, misty backdrops and bleak score, Felt is mostly stunning. The film is at its best when it plays it loose, cutting scenes together with jump cuts, allowing actors to (I assume) improvise. Its small moments — like a fantastic sequence where Amy derails an erotic photo shoot with a felt vagina — feel natural and very much real. Where the film stumbles somewhat is when Amy starts a relationship with the soft-spoken Kenny (Kentucker Audley). While Audley's performance works and it's a nice turning point for Amy, the conclusion of the relationship is hinted at a little too aggressively and the film's finale is heavy-handed. That said (and I won't ruin what happens) the imagery of the ending is admittedly pretty great.

  I think Felt will strongly divide audiences (and judging by its insanely low rating on IMDB, it already has). Its feminist outlook will irk many, and some will find it draining, boring, and pretentious. I prefer to view this as one character's intimate experiences, rather than straight out, plotless feminist doctrine as some reviews have described it. I highly recommend checking out Felt. You might hate it, but give it a shot.

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  ★★★½ review by Juan Bacaro on Letterboxd

  Inusual cinta de género impuro que amalgama suspenso, horror, romance, misterio y varias bizarradas. También acaricia lo experimental. O eso creo.

  Por momentos absurda, pero siempre enigmática. Pienso que tiene su valor, aunque tal vez esté un tanto sobrestimada gracias a algunos reviews que andan por allí.

  Los afiches están muy buenos. Este en particular me recuerda el mismo doble sentido que se aplicó en uno de los pósters promocionales de "Deadgirl". Hasta diría que las tesis que abordan ambos filmes son similares.

  Es atrevida y al menos es una película breve.

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  ★★★★ review by D.A. on Letterboxd

  Bold, eerie, and darkly haunting, FELT is a brutally nihilistic journey through the life of a cynical young woman disenchanted with love and the world around her. Though slow-paced and meager in providing any discernible plot, FELT succeeds as an unparalleled exploration of feminism, sexuality, and the bleakness of human existence. FELT probably also holds the record for the most fake penises and vaginas shown in a film.

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