‘Wounds’ Film Review
WTF?! That is more or less the reaction one typically has after watching Babak Anvari’s ‘Wounds’ (Hulu/USA Netflix/intl.). Weather one enjoys the psychological film is a different thing altogether. So far the film has been divisive among viewers. Some say they do but find it weird & superficial. Upon another viewing & more contemplative look one will most likely find plot of this Lovecraftian tale is much deeperu than the first impression. 
Synopsis:
Will (Armie Hammer), a New Orleans bartender with a bright, beautiful girlfriend, Carrie (Dakota Johnson), and a job that allows him to spend time with his flirty pal, Alicia (Zazie Beetz), who frequents his watering hole — albeit with her new boyfriend Jeffrey (Karl Glusman). One night after a fight breaks out at the bar, Will stumbles upon a cell phone left behind by an unknown patron. Increasingly disturbing and inexplicable events happen to Will while his demeanor becomes more explosive & abrasive.
Based on the novella ‘The Visible Filth’ by Nathan Ballingrud, the film opens with an epigraph from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness:
"It had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception… and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core."
This is a hint at the first level of allegory (there’s at least two) in the story that follows. A paper on T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” is another. It seems the director is intentionally drawing attention to “Hollow Men”. The dialogue seems carefully chosen & placed as well. The imagery is disturbing & unnerving but not in a typical gore way (OMG, that friggen eye!). While there is a rather significant creep factor, Wounds is not a typical Horror movie in any sense. With films like this & ‘Midsommar’ it seems the Horror genre is moving in a a realm of new intelligence & depth. I, for one, welcome this wholeheartedly.
Overall ‘Wounds’ was a entertaining & compelling film. Be warned though, If you’re a not a fan of unresolved endings & dangling plot threads this ain’t the movie for you.
