STARRY EYES is one of the
best body horror movies/ insightful look at the struggles of young actor’s
tales I have seen. It stands apart as
one of the best horror movies of this year. Alexandra Esso gives a breakout
performance as Sarah. STARRY EYES is a
combination of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter with an unsettling score by
Jonathan Snipes. The struggles actors go
through are relatable to anyone (especially actors who are trying to stand out)
as we try to find purpose in our lives and faced with what we would sacrifice
for our dreams.
Sarah Walker (Alexandra Esso) spends her days
working a dead
end-job as Taters girl at a Hooters-like restaurant to make ends meet while she
rushes off to audition after audition to break into Hollywood
as she dreams of being a star. She
answers an ad to be part of a horror movie called the Silver Scream. She gets
a call to audition and the audition
doesn’t impress the casting people of Astraesus Pictures, but she is called
back in after she has a fit in the bathroom and they want her to repeat what
she did in the bathroom. She gets a
callback for a second and yet stranger audition, and eventually a meeting with
the producer. She learns they are part
of the Hollywood occult elite who want to transform her
from her old self to be reborn, but her dreams require sacrifice. Meanwhile,
her friends want to make their own
movie while they try to figure out what to do with their lives.
STARRY EYES is destined
to be in my top 10 movies of 2015 and Alexandra Esso is an actress to watch
because her role as Sarah is her breakout chance for other big roles. The movie
is something you can find new
things in repeat viewings and explore the themes of the movie in addition to
what the directors are saying about the Hollywood system
and the struggles of aspiring actors who want that chance to stand out from the
rest. It is an unsettling movie which
crawls up on you as you can’t turn yourself away from Sarah’s descent into the
destruction of who she is to get her dreams and her struggles against what she
would do.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The audio commentary with writers/ directors
Kevin Kolsch
and Dennis Wildmyer, and producer Travis Stevens is an insightful track on the
making of the movie and how Alexandra Esso was cast (plus the story of how she
went all out for this role).
10 deleted scenes which were cut for pacing and
to craft the
tighter edit of STARRY EYES, but they are
interesting to watch anyway.
Also included are the two auditions that Alexandra
Esso did
for the role (and she even impresses during what she sees as imperfect during
her interviews for the movie), a behind-the-scenes music video by Jonathan
Snipes, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and the theatrical trailer.
FINAL ANALYSIS: STARRY EYES
is highly recommended. It is a horror
classic that combines body horror with a portrait of actor life along with a
metaphorical look at the forces behind big Hollywood movies who want to use and
craft talent to their whims.
This review is ©4-7-2015
David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments
to feedback@enterline-media.com
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