‘Falling Stars’ Fantastic Fest 2023 Review: Microbudget Folk Horror Done Right
The witch is a prevailing figure in the horror genre and in world history more broadly. Whether a beautiful sorceress or an old crone covered in warts, the witch has taken on many forms, from evil monsters to humanity’s saviors. In their new film Falling Stars, directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki craft their own version of the witch, one that is never seen or even heard, but whose presence is always felt. This folk horror tale is an impressive and surprisingly sad film not just about witches, but about three brothers who fall under a terrible curse.
The film starts on an October night where three brothers—Mike (Shaun Duke Jr.), Sal (Andrew Gabriel), and Adam (Rene Leech)—are driving to meet a friend who supposedly killed a witch. In this world, witches come to earth every year for the Harvest, which yes, refers to harvesting humans. They use the dark autumn night to hunt their prey and appear quick as a flash, appearing like shooting stars and giving their victims no time to run away or protect themselves. Regardless of the risk and the warnings blasting over the car radio, the brothers are still going out to see the body. After all, their friend knows all the rules to keep them safe, right? Oh, the hubris of man.
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And there’s always the chance their friend is lying. Falling Stars really captures the nature of legends and storytelling as no one really knows the truth about the witches. While their friend is certain about how things work, he doesn’t have any evidence to back it up. It’s purely based on conjecture and what a friend of a friend said once. But still, once they see the corpse, the brothers are ready to believe anything. But their wonder is short-lived when Adam accidentally spills beer on her body. This desecration is a grave offense and the group believes they may now be cursed. As they try to break the curse, they discover that few really understand how to combat these witches.
Karpala and Bienczycki drop us right into a world where witches are real and hunt humans. This is my new favorite trend in horror where filmmakers trust the audience to understand and immerse themselves in these fully realized worlds that, at first glance, look our own. It’s a delicate balance of trust and explaining just enough to keep viewers from confusion. Falling Stars beautifully strikes that balance to create both a detailed world and a rather tragic story about three brothers.
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The chemistry between Duke Jr., Gabriel, and Leech sells the emotional stakes of the film as all three feel like brothers. They bicker like brothers but also know when to quickly band together to protect their own. They never waiver in their love and loyalty to one another even in the face of an unknowable curse. But Karpala and Bienczycki don’t just focus on the brothers. In an effort to further expand the world, they incorporate a radio DJ who tries to debunk fears of witches appearing nearby. This inclusion makes this universe feel even bigger as we meet more people aware of the Harvest.
With a minimal budget, Karpala and Bienczycki get creative in crafting their fear, opting for quick disappearances offscreen or through quick cuts instead of intricate hunting sequences. And yet something about that is even more terrifying. There’s no warning that the end is here, it merely comes and goes in the blink of an eye. It also makes each death all the more shocking as they feel like they come out of nowhere.
Falling Stars is a shining example of how to craft a fully realized world on a minimal budget. Set in the middle of the desert, Karpala and Bienczycki utilize their barebones setting as a blank canvas, a perfect place to project their world of unknowable magic. This directing duo deserves more money and more time to tell more stories in this world as with Falling Stars, they have more than proved themselves as creative storytellers and world-builders. This is contemporary folk horror at its best, fascinating, unique, and immersive in its approach to terror.
Summary
‘Falling Stars’ is contemporary folk horror at its best, fascinating, unique, and immersive in its approach to terror.
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