Two suburban teens set out to test a thesis: can you
convince someone they are being haunted? The boys’ initial fun, entertaining
plot quickly takes a turn for the mysterious, and expectedly fatal. As a
self-described thriller, The Waiting fails
to evoke true fright from the audience. None-the-less, the film presents an
entertaining, suspenseful story which constantly challenges the viewer on who to
root for.
High school best friends Ethan (Logan Miller) and Sean (Keir
Gilchrist) decide to conduct an experiment at the sake of their elderly,
disliked neighbor Mr. Grainey (James Caan). Through secretly bugging his house
and videoing his every move the boys are able to set off a series of “haunts”
that rival the events seen in the likings of Paranormal Activity.
The first hour or so, is mainly a reflection of the title as
the boys wait to see their “crazy, psycho-hermit” neighbor’s reactions to their
haunts. Opening and closing doors, cracking glass and triggering loud
sleep-disrupting noises are only a few of the ghostly disturbances they inflict
on Grainey. To the boys’ surprise, and later frustration, Grainey remains
passive and resigned to everything.
The boys become inebriated within a God complex by their
ability to control someone’s life without physical altercation. While sociopathic Ethan wants to
continue to push the envelope, Sean shows some concern about the irreversible
effect their ploy could have on Grainey. The
Waiting becomes a game of the audience deciding between the lesser of two
evils. Two boys are purposefully torturing their old neighbor, but viewers have
been told he’s a wife-beating, drunk. So, who cares? Who’s at fault?
Waiting for something major to happen for two-thirds of the
film could definitely deter viewers, but writers Mark Bianculli and Jeff
Richards break up the monotony with the boys staging different haunts. Suspense
continues to build as the old man continually disappears into his basement,
which in a perfectly cliché manner is the only place in the house without
surveillance. Ethan, Sean and the audience are left racking their brains on what
he could be hiding down there; assumingly something murderous.
Directed by Kasra Farahani, the film was released at the
2016 SXSW Festival. Farahani’s stylistic choices keep the audience interested.
The majority of the scenes during the planning and execution of the experiment
are actually placed in the past. Reality comes into check as the film cuts back
and forth to a trial. Shots of a bloody carpet, gun, etc., hints at a dark
ending.
The idea of multidimensionality continues with the choices
in cinematography. The entire movie is essentially shot within Ethan’s house, or
better yet his bedroom, and Grainey’s home. Shots jump between spy cameras and
self documented footage with a DSLR. The most valuable scenes come when the
audience is introduced to Grainey’s past and his life at home.
Caan’s performance brings the film to another level. The
plot is interesting enough, but through minimal dialogue Caan is able to evoke
loneliness and fear, yet also remained relatively unmoved by the haunts. His
character comes full circle at the end of the film, when the scenes from his past
the audience were introduced to throughout previously are built upon and
explain his character.
After its
premiere at SXSW, The Waiting
received a variety of reviews. Many critics’ views agree
with my own
that the film’s big reward comes at the end. However, everyone failed to
identify the
films obvious ode to societal events like the Columbine. It echoes what happened
behind the
scenes of the fatal high school shooting. One sadistic, evil teenager manipulates
a
smart, kind but
desperately friendless boy to carry out a bizarre revenge plot. Ethan’s
sociopathic
tendencies are put to the test as he becomes drunk off power and frustrated
with
Grainey’s
inability to scare from the events. It’s scary to watch Ethan so easily
convince Sean to
not only follow
along with his idea, but believe he wants to be a part of it.
The film doesn’t work as a thriller, or a serious drama,
which viewers who attend this movie expecting so will be confused and left
frustrated. Outside the context of which the film was marketed, The Waiting works as an indie film
working with a variety of complex emotions. The teen’s dialogue made me laugh,
Caan taking an axe to a door made me grab my seat in fright and a shocking
revelation at the end made me cry from heart break.
Despite the film’s debatably dry waiting period and
inability to scare off the majority of viewers, Caan’s performance and the
final act of the film make The Waiting
worth your time.
The Waiting
Director: Kasra Farahani
Writer: Mark Bianculli, Jeff Richards
Producer: Trevor White, Tim White, Allan Mandelbaum, Giri
Tharan, Rosalie Swedlin, Elana Barry
Cast: James Caan, Logan Miller, Keir Gilchrist
Running Time: 98 min
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