Applecart (2015) User Reviews

Sophomore Art Sleeze

[paul-day-clone · 5/10 · 17 November 2015]

I don't want to trash this film, because there's a sincerity to it. That said, I imagine the casting notice included, "must be willing to masturbate on film".

The film is a series of four short, downbeat films with various shots of apples in between them. Mills appears to love David Lynch's Rabbits series since the style of all four mirrors it - mostly static shots, minimal or no sound with canned audience response with some fairly effective, almost imperceptible sound effects occasionally thrown in.

The theme of each of the films is squalor and death. I'm tempted so say Mills was just looking for shock value but I feel he was shooting slightly above that. Still, in The Sleepover, Dad masturbates while watch his daughter and her friend engage in lesbian sex. Mom sees this and kills everyone. In Caretaker, we see elder abuse including urinating in the old man's oatmeal, more masturbation, sex and then death. In Dad, the rebellious daughter of a hypocritical Christian masturbates, get pregnant by her boyfriend (who the Dad then kills) and then she dies giving herself and abortion. In the final film, a working class guy gets rejected by a female co- worker. The guy's friend (being a pal) abducts her and gets killed by his friend for his pains. Then the guy masturbates while she's chained up and, after she's released...she kills him.

The actors in all of the stories wear masks. I know this is supposed to be a statement (the tag line is "Everyone wears masks") but there's not enough meat on (no pun intended) or variation in the stories for this pretension to work. That's not to say it's not effective. Except for the final story which suffers from the lack of dialog, the actors do a good job. I've done mask work and it's not easy get your point across without using you face.

It also speaks to the competence of the script that Mills pulled off the complete lack of dialog.

The black and white photography is lovely and works well. The film looks very nice. Even though the apple motif isn't developed (that I could see on one viewing) they're a nice linking device and, again, look lovely.

If you want something odd and have a penchant for joyless masturbation, this is your movie. I'm sure Mills has some better movies in him and I'd love to see him as he matures.

Definitely not for everyone, but something I'd still recommend most people to see.

[gojiseb · 7/10 · 15 June 2015]

Dustin Mills is without a doubt my favourite director working in the indie horror scene nowadays. His films are weird, creative and 100% inspirational. That being said, not all of his stuff really appeals to me. I love his films Easter Casket, Zombie A-Hole, Heart Attack and Skinless, but some of his more mean spirited stuff isn't my cup of tea. That being said, that doesn't mean those entries are any less well-made or creative. And that goes for Applecart.

While I cannot fully recommend it, it does have it's audience and it is a film that I think anyone who is interested in independent art should check out. It's mean, honest and punctuated by some strikingly creative sound design.

A half spoon of Godard, a sprinkling of early Lynch and oodles of Dustin Mills equals a whole applecart of goodness

[DVD_Connoisseur · 8/10 · 16 April 2015]

Proving that his productions are unpredictable and wildly different from one another, Dustin Mills' latest low budget shocker is a totally different kettle of fish to his previous movies.

Shot in beautiful monochrome, Applecart is Mills' homage to the silent movie. Think The Artist, but with gratuitous nudity, violence and a prosthetic penis that is startlingly realistic (thanks to Marcus Koch's outrageous talent). Divided into a quartet of short fables / modern morality tales, the film is experimental, daring and, at times, uncomfortable viewing. Not since Douglas Buck's A Trilogy of America have I felt so exposed to the dark underbelly of modern suburbia.

Whilst I prefer the more conventional storytelling contained within Mills' earlier offerings, Applecart is a solid film. It managed to make me flinch, jump and wince, not an easy feat.

Hats off to the team for their bravery. It's a reflection on Mills as a director that he manages time and time again to bring out outstanding and memorable performances from his cast. They trust him and the results are sheer brilliance. I'm gobsmacked at the candid nature of the Crumpleshack productions. Yet, despite the nudity and adult themes, Mills' always manages to retain a sense of morality. There's no glorification of violence (unless it's killer rabbits running amok) and sensitive topics are handled with the appropriate care.

8 out of 10. Not my favourite offering from Dustin Mills but the bar's set so high, my favourites will take some beating. If you're new to this director, I'd recommend Her Name Was Torment, Kill That Bitch, Easter Casket or Skinless to begin with. This is more of a palette cleaner between his more traditional genre movies and more art house than independent horror.

Completely different. Completely Brilliant.

[messiahrp · 10/10 · 15 June 2015]

Applecart comes at you immediately like a refreshing blast of cold water in a desert wasteland of missed opportunities that seems to permeate the Indie Horror scene. From the very first scene Dustin gives you an inkling that the film you are about to watch is going to offer imagery that might be bluntly presented to you and often can push boundaries.

This is a film that uses a silent film set up but uses a laugh track as a way to nudge the audience into understanding where the characters stand as well as making that track a character itself. The actors all use masks and use body language to evoke emotion but all put on incredible performances and articulate the character's emotions better than most speaking roles do. The masks themselves feel very natural very shortly into the film and you have to credit the cast for being able to make you forget they're wearing them. The stories themselves are all fairly short and tell tales of lust, cheating and failed seduction and are done so very convincingly.

The score is one of piano music that you would definitely associate with the old musical sets that would accompany the silent films in the theaters. Watching this on a bigger screen and even in a theater atmosphere gives you a vibe of instant nostalgia that only heightens the experience.

Overall this is a film without spoken dialogue yet it had a lot to say. The actors weren't hindered by masks that prevented their facial expression, they were enhanced and emboldened by it. Some people might find the graphic nudity and sexually explicit scenes to not be their cup of tea and to them I say - this is art. Art is expressive and raw and sometimes it requires an extremely open mind to really appreciate and interpret, but once you toss all of those prejudgments aside you really get a pretty amazing film.