As a moviegoer, there are few things more frustrating than watching the work of a filmmaker who is obviously blessed with talent, vision and an intriguing point of view—qualities that are clearly at a premium these days—but whose work I nevertheless find it hard to connect to the most basic of levels that would make their films ultimately worth watching in the end. This is a problem that I have had with the works of rising and prolific horror filmmaker Jennifer Reeder, whose films (including Knives and Skin and Night’s End) seem to check off all the important boxes in theory—she has an unusual visual eye that evokes the visions of the likes of Lynch and Cronenberg without devolving into mere imitation, her films invoke familiar genre tropes and motifs (not to mention lots and lots of gore) in order to make potent and pointed observations about important social issues (primarily involving gender and sexuality, two concepts not always given a fair shake in the genre) and often mix weirdo dark humor in with the grisliness—but don’t quite come off in a satisfying manner when all is said and done. That is the case with her latest, Perpetrator, a decidedly outré entry that seems to begin like a standard-issue serial killer thriller (complete with an opening montage mixing together footage of a teen girl being stalked and tortured by an unknown assailant with newspaper headlines reporting her disappearance) before going way out on a limb.
After that opening, we are introduced to Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan), a high school senior who lives at home with her pill-popping father—her mother has long since vanished from view—while looking for a way out of her life. Just before her 18th birthday, her dad, no longer able to cope, sends her off to live with her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone) in a town that has been plagued by a rash of disappearances of young women—so many, in fact, that most people hardly seem to register them anymore, even as nearly every available surface seems to be covered with “HAVE YOU SEEN ME?” flyers. Once she turns 18, some bizarre changes overcome her—bad headaches, gallons of blood pouring out of her orifices at the drop of a hat and strange shape-shifting visions that allow her to somehow morph into or hear the feelings of others, including some of the missing girls. Apparently, strange paranormal abilities run in her family and as Aunt Hildie tries to help her figure things out, Jonny, along with classmate Elektra (Ireon Roach), tries to figure out what is happening to the young women of the town and use her abilities to stop the perpetrators.
Like most of Reeder’s other features, Perpetrator contains a number of interesting ideas and themes—particularly in the myriad way that young women are being perpetually left to flounder in a largely patriarchal society that is unwilling to see them as anything other than helpless victims or objects of desire—as well as an audacious visual style but never quite manages to find a way to tie them all together into a vaguely satisfying whole. Although Jonny is an undeniably sympathetic and likable character, we can never quite get a fix on her because the character arc Reeder has for her feels frustratingly incomplete at times, especially in regards to how the narrative involving her missing mom plays out. Things get especially messy towards the end, where a bunch of seemingly key revelations are tossed away in such a strangely nonchalant manner that they hardly seem to register. Also, while this is obviously an unfortunate coincidence, the fact that it happens to be coming out the same weekend as Bottoms, another knowingly over-the-top high school saga using dark humor and violence to make points about female empowerment, albeit in a more audacious and ultimately successful manner, does not do the film any favors.
Still, even though I don’t think that Perpetrator works in the end, it comes closer to that mark than her recent efforts and is easily her most constant work since Signature Move, her endearingly quirky 2017 non-horror rom-com. Reeder has some good initial ideas and the film is always striking from a visual perspective in ways that keep you watching even as the narrative becomes more befuddling. The film is also blessed with a strong and sympathetic performance from McKirnan as Jonny and an amusingly oddball one from Silverstone, whose decidedly offbeat line readings only serve to accentuate the weirdness. Those who are primarily focused on the gross out factor will be delighted to know that Reeder does not skimp on the gore here, presenting it in ways that are by turn horrific, strangely funny and deeply disturbing, sometimes all at once. Most of all, it once again demonstrates that Reeder is a filmmaker whose willingness to march to the beat of her own decidedly strange drum deserves to be encouraged and nurtured. Perpetrator may not be the horror classic that her supporters have been hoping for but it does serve as perhaps the most potent suggestion to date that she will eventually give us one, hopefully sooner than later