Here's the synopsis for I'll Be There with You, courtesy of Amazon: "An idyllic spring break road trip turns into the vacation from hell as Aki, Annie and their friends find themselves crossing paths with numerous dangerous characters, including a band of escaped mental patients." That's *obviously* a horror movie, right? Well, it veers far more into the thriller category - people die, and there's a little gore here and there, but writer-director Akihiro Kitamura doesn't seem particularly concerned with scares, atmosphere, or building tension. I'm not sure what he *is* interested in though... I'll Be There with You is a strange, strange film. It's got this rambling/semi-experimental style that is watchable, but maybe not in the way it was intended. The synopsis says "genre-bending," but that just might be a nice way of saying "unfocused."
Anyways, Kitamura starts as Aki, a young Japanese man living in America who is very much in love with his girlfriend Annie. Aki is a bit anxious about his expiring visa, but he's not going to worry about it too much because SPRING BREAK! He's heading out to some weirdo resort/ranch type place with Annie and their random group of friends - Annie's friend Jill, another Japanese guy who speaks very little English but is Quite The Joker, an angry drunk guy, and some random loner that they invite at the last minute. Since the film opens with all of them dead in a field, you know that the trip isn't going to go well for them. But the "fun" is getting there, I guess.
A small taste of the fun to be had? (a) Getting harassed by Constantine (Daniel Baldwin!), one of the creepiest damn guys I've ever seen. He's such a sleazy, lecherous dude in this film that it's almost kind of funny for a while. (b) Annie having strange (animated) nightmares about a green monster killing them all. (c) Lots of drunken antics, (d) crappy nightclubs that look suspiciously like someone's basement, (e) awkward infidelity, (f) escaped killer mental patients, and the elephant in the room: (g) sexual assault. There's no way around it and it has to be mentioned... there's a section of action in the middle of the film that centers around two rapes. (Essentially, of the three female characters - two are raped on screen and the other one is recovering from one.) It's uncomfortable and unnecessary, but I'll Be There with You has a knack for awkwardly going to the most emotional extremes it possibly can, so rape it is. Other than the unpleasantness, nothing that interesting comes of it. And while it's certainly exploitative, the whole film is so heavy handed and tone deaf (maybe on purpose?) that in a weird way it fits in.
Like I said, there's not much here for the horror fan - people get stabbed or shot, but the gore certainly isn't the point. The deaths aren't really built up to in any significant way... they just sort of happen without any tension or release. You do get a bizarre animated monster in a dream for like five seconds, but again, it has little bearing on the film. Honestly, maybe more than any film I've watched for this blog: very little of the film has any bearing on itself. While there is a plot, little things here and there happen that are vaguely connected in a story sense, but don't add up to anything at all thematically. In other words, it's coherent in the "how" sense, but not the "why."
The acting is okay at times, but occasionally dips to Wiseauvian levels. And it's hard for me *not* to compare I'll Be There with You to The Room. It's got the same single writer/director/star thing going on, and while both films feature other people moving the story forward, it's undoubtedly about him. I think Kitamura is a little more likable (and shows a little more restraint - his script actually makes him flawed at times), but it's hard not to see some shared DNA there. But I'll Be There with You is a better movie, which makes it less fun to watch. So be it.
It's reasonably well shot, and even though it looks a little cheap at times, the basics rules of framing, focusing, and lighting are adhered to. The sound isn't always great and is occasionally difficult to hear, but on the whole it's more ambitious and more successful from a technical standpoint that a lot of independent films.
But it's still a hard one to recommend. It's a little too rambling and outsider artsy, and the "story" as it were is too haphazard (or just too off-putting) to get invested in. It's an interesting watch, at least; and in a strange way it was sort of a refreshing break in the daily horror movie grind. I'm sick of watching coherent movies! I wasn't a fan, but I'm glad movies like these are getting made.
I would not recommend this film.
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