Friday, May 12, 2017
Proxy
Proxy
Production Year: 2013Release Date: 08/12/2014
Studio: IFC Midnight
Director: Zack Parker
The first few moments of Proxy will immediately turn off a number of viewers. The savage brutality inflicted towards a pregnant woman (Esther; Alexia Rasmussen) is enough to make even the most seasoned genre fan a bit queasy. The beating leaves Esther bloody, broken, and without child and soon she begins attending a support group to help cope with the loss. At one of the meetings Esther meets Melanie (Alexa Havins) and the two bond over their tragedies. Lets not forget that his is a horror film, not everything is quite as it seems. While its easy to get behind the characters youll soon find out they both have very dark motives, Proxy is a film devoid of wholesome characters.
Its extremely hard to review a film like Proxy without giving away many of the twists and turns. Its a tale of sociopaths whos innocent children pay the ultimate price. As mentioned, there really are no protagonists in the film, the characters live and die by dark selfish motives, its an extremely strong and unpredictable film.
Rasmussen is excellent in the film and does a great job in the role of Esther. Her portrayal of a lonely girl-turned-psycho great, a very believable performance. Another of Proxys strongest assets is director Zack Parker who did a great job with a number of the brutal scenarios, the bathtub death in particular. The direction, editing, and cinematography of that particular series of shots was outstanding and will certainly make it a nominee for "best death scene of 2014."
With solid acting, direction, and a very off-kilter story, Proxy might not be a film youll enjoy (per se,) but its definitely one you wont soon forget.
Its IFC, as such you know this release is in good hands. The PQ/AQ were as expected, excellent. This is a recent film so I wouldnt expect otherwise. The detail presented is immense and sharp; the colors are extremely natural. The sound mix is interesting on this film, the score is wonderful but when its present there theres generally little to no dialogue. The 5.1 DTS HD track sounds great, all of the dialogue is crisp and clear.
This disc is loaded with special features, most of the content is made up of short interviews with the cast and crew. Some of the featurettes do dive a bit deeper, the main Behind the Scenes video goes into great detail about the production of the film. The Extended Interviews available also give the viewer a wealth of information regarding the making of the film and working with the director Zack Parker.
Alexia Rasmussen On-Set (01:40 HD)
Alexia Rasmussen and "The Support Group Scene" (01:16 HD)
Kristina Klebe On-Set (01:23 HD)
Alexa Havins On-Set (01:38 HD)
Alexa Havins: "An Actor Prepares" (01:48 HD)
Joe Swanberg On-Set (01:50 HD)
Behind the VFX (02:51 HD)
The Phantom Set (4:54 HD)
Extended Interview: Alexia Rasmussen (05:53 HD)
Extended Interview: Alexia Havins (13:14 HD)
Extended Interview: Kristina Klebe (08:08 HD)
Extended Interview: Joe Swanberg (16:17 HD)
Extended Interview: The Music of PROXY (06:18 HD)
Trailer (02:05 HD)
Its an interesting film to say the least. The lack of real protagonists might turn some viewers off, but I rather enjoyed myself. The mix of the direction, editing, acting, and story is enough to leave a definite impression on the viewer. IFC put a lot of effort into this release offering up a loaded blu-ray with an outstanding transfer. Click here to order a copy!
Available link for download
