Circulation (film)

Last updated
Circulation
Directed byRyan Harper
Written byRyan Harper
Produced byJason Mitchell
Starring
CinematographyPaul Nordin
Edited byJason Mitchell
Music byMichael Mouracade
Production
company
Salty Dog Studios
Distributed by Cinema Epoch
Release date
  • June 7, 2008 (2008-06-07) [1]
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish

Circulation is a 2008 fantasy-psychological thriller film written and directed by Ryan Harper. It stars Yvonne DeLaRosa and Sherman Koltz as residents in a purgatory-like existence where people are reincarnated as animals.

Contents

Plot

Opening narration from Gene, a middle-aged American, explains that he has died, entered purgatory, and has been having strange dreams and compulsions. In this afterlife, people slowly take on the characteristics of animals, and Gene's nature is that of a spider. As he drifts aimlessly through Baja, Mexico, where he died while on vacation, he meets a Mexican woman named Ana who can speak no English. Ana, who is taking on the characteristics of a caterpillar, died on the way to meet her boyfriend when her abusive ex-husband attempted to kidnap her. Because he speaks no Spanish, Gene can only understand that she needs help. Grateful to find a purpose, Gene decides to help Ana, unaware of the danger posed by her violent ex-husband, who also died in the botched kidnapping attempt. Along the way, Gene and Ana witness much in the way of strange behavior, and they begin to give in to their own bestial compulsions: Ana begins eating leaves, while Gene becomes obsessed with wrapping everything in web-like rope. Although ashamed at the cannibalistic ramifications, Gene ultimately begins eating corpses he has wrapped in rope. In the end, Gene preys upon and consumes Ana's ex-husband.

Cast

Production

Director Ryan Harper was inspired to set the film in Baja after taking a road trip there himself. Harper, a scientist, describes himself as not spiritual, but he wanted to explore concepts of death, reincarnation, and animal instinct. Harper recruited the cast and crew through Craigslist and other local websites. [2]

Release

Circulation premiered at the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco, California. [1] It was theatrically released in November 2008. It was released on DVD on December 9, 2008. [3]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Mike Everleth of the Underground Film Journal says that a lot of the appeal of the film is how nicely Harper lets the film reveal itself. [4] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called it inept and muddled. [5] LA Weekly wrote that its originality saves it from becoming dull due to the slow pacing. [6] Cheryl Eddy of the San Francisco Bay Guardian called it slow-paced but enjoyable. [7] Jeremy Blitz of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars and called it a "moody, hard to classify film that is often confusing, most of the time intentionally." [3] David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it a bizarre, original film that comes close to being too pretentious. [8] Travis Keune of We Are Movie Geeks says that Harper shows that even with a limited budget, he can still stretch that dollar by utilizing creativity, ingenuity and a clear understanding of what it takes to make an interesting movie. [9] Scott Larson wrote that there is a bit of magic realism going on here, and the unsettling sense of dreaming and the strange noises on the soundtrack remind us a bit of David Lynch. [10] The David Lynch comparison was also made by Film Apocalypse who writes, "From a viewer's perspective, the story seems much more natural in the beginning and only slowly moves into a strange and eerie, David Lynch style as the movie progresses." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Blue Velvet</i> (film) 1986 American film directed by David Lynch

Blue Velvet is a 1986 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by David Lynch. Blending psychological horror with film noir, the film stars Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, and is named after the 1951 song of the same name. The film concerns a young college student who, returning home to visit his ill father, discovers a severed human ear in a field. The ear then leads him to uncover a vast criminal conspiracy and enter into a romantic relationship with a troubled lounge singer.

<i>Mulholland Drive</i> (film) 2001 film by David Lynch

Mulholland Drive is a 2001 surrealist mystery film written and directed by David Lynch, and starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller, and Robert Forster. It tells the story of an aspiring actress named Betty Elms (Watts), newly arrived in Los Angeles, who meets and befriends an amnesiac woman (Harring) recovering from a car accident. The story follows several other vignettes and characters, including a Hollywood film director (Theroux).

<i>Dune</i> (1984 film) 1984 film directed by David Lynch

Dune is a 1984 American epic space opera film written and directed by David Lynch and based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. It was filmed at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City. The soundtrack was composed by the rock band Toto, with a contribution from Brian Eno. Its large ensemble cast includes Kyle MacLachlan's film debut as young nobleman Paul Atreides, Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Sean Young, Sting, Linda Hunt, and Max von Sydow.

<i>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</i> 1992 film by David Lynch

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a 1992 psychological horror film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It serves as a prequel to the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), created and produced by Mark Frost and Lynch. It revolves around the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks and the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer, a popular high school student in the fictional Washington town of Twin Peaks. Unlike the series, which was an uncanny blend of detective fiction, horror, the supernatural, offbeat humor, and soap opera tropes, Fire Walk with Me has a much darker, less humorous tone.

"The Cage" is the first pilot episode of the American television series Star Trek. It was completed on January 22, 1965. The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Robert Butler. It was rejected by NBC in February 1965, and the network ordered another pilot episode, which became "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Much of the original footage from "The Cage" was later incorporated into the season 1 two-part episode "The Menagerie" (1966); however, "The Cage" was first released to the public on VHS in 1986, with a special introduction by Gene Roddenberry, as a hybrid of the color footage that was used in "The Menagerie" and black and white footage which was not used in "The Menagerie". It was not broadcast on television in its complete all-color form until 1988. The black and white version and all-color version were also released in various standard-definition media including LaserDisc, VHS, and DVD formats.

<i>The Fly</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by David Cronenberg

The Fly is a 1986 American science fiction body horror film directed and co-written by David Cronenberg. Produced by Brooksfilms and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and John Getz. Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name, The Fly tells of an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature. The score was composed by Howard Shore and the make-up effects were created by Chris Walas, along with makeup artist Stephan Dupuis.

<i>Inland Empire</i> (film) 2006 film by David Lynch

Inland Empire is a 2006 experimental psychological thriller film written, directed and co-produced by David Lynch. As of 2024, it is the last feature film Lynch has directed, marking his longest hiatus between film projects. The film's cinematography, editing, score and sound design were also by Lynch, with pieces by a variety of other musicians also featured. Lynch's longtime collaborator and then-wife Mary Sweeney co-produced the film. The cast includes such Lynch regulars as Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, and Grace Zabriskie, as well as Jeremy Irons, Karolina Gruszka, Peter J. Lucas, Krzysztof Majchrzak, and Julia Ormond. There are also brief appearances by a host of additional actors, including Nastassja Kinski, Laura Harring, Terry Crews, Mary Steenburgen, and William H. Macy. The voices of Harring, Naomi Watts, and Scott Coffey are included in excerpts from Lynch's 2002 Rabbits online project. The title borrows its name from a metropolitan area in Southern California.

<i>Stupid Teenagers Must Die!</i> 2006 American film

Stupid Teenagers Must Die! is a 2006 spoof film directed by Jeff C. Smith and written by Smith and Curtis Andersen. During production and initial festival screenings, the film was originally titled Blood & Guts, but was changed before being sent for distribution.

Brains (<i>Thunderbirds</i>) Fictional character

Brains is a fictional character introduced in the British mid-1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, who also appears in the sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968) and the 2004 live-action adaptation Thunderbirds. The puppet character was voiced by David Graham in the TV series and the first two films, while Anthony Edwards played the role for the live-action film. Brains is voiced by Kayvan Novak in the CGI remake series Thunderbirds Are Go, which aired in 2015.

<i>The Onion Movie</i> 2008 American film

The Onion Movie is a 2008 satirical American comedy film written by The Onion writers Robert D. Siegel and Todd Hanson. It was filmed in 2003 and released on June 3, 2008, direct-to-video. It is Rodney Dangerfield's final film role, prior to his death in October 2004.

<i>The Simpsons</i> (franchise) American animated comedy franchise

The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.

Jason LaRay Keener is an American filmmaker from Alabama. He is best known for his stream-of-conscious, non-linear shorts. He is related to serial killer Nannie Doss. In 2006, he founded the Jacksonville State University Film Society. In 2012, he married frequent collaborator Diane Rose.

<i>Maximum Shame</i> 2010 British film

Maximum Shame is a 2010 dystopian science fiction fantasy film, written and directed by Carlos Atanes and released in September 2010.

Episode 2 (<i>Twin Peaks</i>) 3rd episode of the 1st season of Twin Peaks

"Episode 2", also known as "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer", is the third episode of the first season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. The episode was written by series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, and directed by Lynch. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise and Richard Beymer; and introduces Michael J. Anderson as The Man from Another Place, Miguel Ferrer as Albert Rosenfield and David Patrick Kelly as Jerry Horne.

<i>Marvel Animated Features</i> Direct to DVD series of animated films by MLG Productions

Marvel Animated Features (MAF) is a series of eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios and Lions Gate Entertainment.

<i>Eraserhead</i> 1977 film by David Lynch

Eraserhead is a 1977 American independent surrealist body horror film written, directed, produced, and edited by David Lynch. Lynch also created its score and sound design, which included pieces by a variety of other musicians. Shot in black and white, it was Lynch's first feature-length effort following several short films. Starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, Laurel Near, and Jack Fisk, it tells the story of a man (Nance) who is left to care for his grossly deformed child in a desolate industrial landscape.

<i>The Device</i> 2014 American film

The Device is a 2014 American science fiction horror film directed by Jeremy Berg. It stars Angela DiMarco and Kate Alden as sisters who must deal with an alien abduction after one's husband, played by David S. Hogan, becomes obsessed with a strange black ball.

Art horror or arthouse horror is a sub-genre of both horror films and art-films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror.

References

  1. 1 2 "Date Lines". SF Gate . 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  2. ↑ Everleth, Mike (2009-01-12). "Interview: Ryan Harper". UndergroundFilmJournal.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  3. 1 2 Blitz, Jeremy (2009-06-06). "Circulation". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  4. ↑ Everleth, Mike (2008-05-07). "Movie Review: Circulation".
  5. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (2008-11-07). "This 'Captain' veers off course". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  6. ↑ "Movie reviews: House, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Also, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa". LA Weekly . 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  7. ↑ Eddy, Cheryl (2008-06-04). "Another Hole in the Head: another couple of reviews!". San Francisco Bay Guardian . Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  8. ↑ Johnson, David (2009-01-08). "Circulation". DVD Verdict . Archived from the original on 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  9. ↑ Keune, Travis (2008-05-17). "Review: 'Circulation' - We Are Movie Geeks". We Are Movie Geeks. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  10. ↑ Larson, Scott (13 October 2008). "Scott's Movie Comments". www.scottsmovies.com. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  11. ↑ "Circulation review on Film Apocalypse". www.filmapocalypse.com. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.