By George & Josh Bate
In recent years, there has been a notable resurgence of appreciation for 1970s and 1980s era horror films. Take Teenage Death and Sex at Camp Miasma, for example – Jane Schoenbrun’s latest project isn’t just an exploration of sexuality and queer identities, it’s a love letter to the golden era of slasher films (and, in particular, the Friday the 13th franchise).
Premiering at this year’s Fantastic Fest is Platypus, another film that exists as a love letter to the slasher genre. However, filmmaker Joshua Gratton attempts something decidedly different with the slasher flick, not only embracing the conventions of the sub-genre, but also the micro-budget, grainy horror cinema of the 70s and 80s.
Platypus follows a young woman named Kimberly (Kayla Lundstram), who has increasingly disturbing dreams of a serial killer terrorizing her town. Kimberly’s dreams show the killer pursuing one victim after the other, while her closest friends don’t believe her when she warns them of her premonitions. The film methodically shows the killer’s spree of violence before advancing the story with the presence of a local college professor, who agrees to help Kimberly (and her friends, who have now come around to the idea) track down the masked man.
Director Joshua Gratton deserves immense credit in what he attempts to achieve in his second feature film. Shot on Super 8 and having the style of a retro PSA video, Platypus fully embraces the obscure indie films that it’s inspired by, which marks a massively bold swing for the director. The film is so committed to the 70s B-movie tropes, and to the stylization more broadly, that there’s hardly any dialogue in the film that isn’t ADR. In fact, almost all of the speaking comes from Kimberly as she narrates what’s going on around her. The camera will perplexingly linger on innocuous objects or moments, akin to how amateur movies from the 70s and 80s would meander with their focus. These are the kind of filmmaking decisions that yield mixed results when it comes to the final product of Platypus, but Gratton deserves immense praise for his commitment to the style he’s trying to implement.
This style is bound to make Platypus one of the more divisive films to come out of Fantastic Fest. Those who enjoy the films that Platypus is inspired by may feel invigorated by Gratton’s unique, bold piece of work. On the other hand, the intense commitment to the style may also end up alienating some viewers that aren’t as fond of the indie 70s and 80s horror B-movie tropes. That means that Platypus, and whether or not one enjoys the story, comes down to a matter of personal preference, even more so than most movies.
There are times when the style both helps and hurts the film, however. The distinct visual nature of Platypus is bound to immediately catch the attention of the audience, with a dream-like aura around the proceedings, even when Kimberly is awake. At the same time, the film does feel too stylized for its own good at times, with the lack of dialogue between characters a prime example of this. The story is not only slow paced as a result, but it’s also very surface level as the film isn’t using conversations between characters to progress the already razor-thin plot.
VERDICT: 6.5/10
Platypus is an unapologetically stylized and purposefully unpolished throwback to micro-budget, amateur-ish horror movies of the 70s and 80s. Joshua Gratton’s commitment to the aesthetic gives the film a distinctive dreamlike quality, even if its sparse dialogue, heavy use of narration, and slow pacing occasionally work against the story. While its unconventional approach may divide audiences, Platypus remains an ambitious showcase of Gratton’s filmmaking voice and an inventive love letter to the slasher genre and niche corner of the horror cinema that inspired it.