Decay (2016)
Starring Rob Zabrecky, Lisa Howard, Elisha Yaffe
Directed by Joseph Wartnerchaney
It’s a blurred line between love and obsession at times, with one rarely gaining any distance between the other, but when that obsession turns into straight-up unsanitary nastiness, it’s time to get some serious professional aid. In Joseph Wartnerchaney’s Decay, the instance of coveting someone WAY past their expiration date is showcased to loving extremes…”come on Roy, get your hands dirty.”
Rob Zabrecky plays a lonely, reticent man named Johnathan whose days consist of watering his beloved plants, getting the gossip lowdown from an overly nosy neighbor (Jackie Hoffman), and heading off to work at the local theme park. Simple, unobtrusive, yet potentially damaging in the scheme of things, all crushed in between multiple flashbacks to when he was a child, dealing with a mother (Howard), who for lack of a better term, was a crazy bitch. After a botched break-in into Johnathan’s home after they perceive it to be a marijuana grow-house, both of the “burglars” end up on the deceased side of things, and lucky John has found himself a lady-friend…who cares if she’s dead? He doesn’t! His overwhelming need to be accompanied by the female persuasion is severely muddied, and frankly, this chick is starting to get a wee-bit stinky as time goes by.
As the movie rolls on, there isn’t terribly too much along the lines of dizzying action or brutal imagery, just a look at a poor soul who has been on the short end of female affection over the course of his years, and now after he’s obtained one under his roof (hey, I didn’t praise the guy for HOW he did it), his nature is to attempt to care for one, much like his prized flowers that he attends to so diligently…frightening, a little morose, but in the scheme of things, it’s basically what he’s known, and we are all going to watch this bizarre “relationship” start to blossom (sorry, couldn’t resist). Zabrecky holds down the fort quite admirably as the quiet, tortured little child still in a man’s body, and while some could empathize with his situation and even his demeanor, make no mistake, this man is a danger to not only himself, but those around him. There are FAR too many slow points in the film’s progression to give this an overwhelmingly positive review, yet the dragging tempo does aid with the strengthening of the overall story, and while I felt a little detached from the movie in some aspects, I was reeled back in by the intense display of pride and care that Zabrecky’s portrayal emitted – anyone need a good looney-tune in their next film? I know someone who could knock that role out of the park. In the end, I could certainly recommend Decay to someone who knows what it’s like to covet something do dearly…even if it does need a good embalming for freshness purposes.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
