Scavenger’s Song: Johnson’s Chilling, Stylized Sophomore Feature
Opening with a brooding, atmospheric ambience as we drift through a throbbing drug bust set to an electric synth score, Gerard Johnson’s exciting sophomore film, Hyena, recalls early 80’s efforts from the likes of Abel Ferrara or Michael Mann, an exciting concoction of style and tone overlaying familiar narrative tropes. Though the film doesn’t quite maintain this level of elation, dipping into a customary groove that reveals little outside of the inevitable consequences that accompany the actions we see here, Johnson proves to be a promisingly abrasive new voice coming out of the UK. Utilizing the talents of DoP Benjamin Kracun (For Those in Peril, 2013), and bringing along composer Matt Johnson and editor Ian Davies from his 2009 debut, serial killer film Tony, the end result is an unsettling nightmare sporting an arresting energy often absent from trajectories so recognizable.
Opening with a brooding, atmospheric ambience as we drift through a throbbing drug bust set to an electric synth score, Gerard Johnson’s exciting sophomore film, Hyena, recalls early 80’s efforts from the likes of Abel Ferrara or Michael Mann, an exciting concoction of style and tone overlaying familiar narrative tropes. Though the film doesn’t quite maintain this level of elation, dipping into a customary groove that reveals little outside of the inevitable consequences that accompany the actions we see here, Johnson proves to be a promisingly abrasive new voice coming out of the UK. Utilizing the talents of DoP Benjamin Kracun (For Those in Peril, 2013), and bringing along composer Matt Johnson and editor Ian Davies from his 2009 debut, serial killer film Tony, the end result is an unsettling nightmare sporting an arresting energy often absent from trajectories so recognizable.
- 5/1/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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