Once again I will confess my predilection for one-location movies, where the cast is in one place for a short period of time and the film follows them work through something. I like talky, messy movies that don't give easy answers and make us think about things. Bystanders is coming at a time when there is few topics more compelling than the nature of consent and its complications. I was captivated by the film's script and the performances of its cast.
Bystanders starts out like a standard horror movie. A group of 20 somethings are gathering for a weekend at a cabin in the woods. Only instead of the sort of terror we are expecting, they have to confront something else. What if one of them has done something monstrous? What is their role in that? How do they respond? It is a fascinating question.
And Bystanders doesn't make it easy. The conversations meander (giving it a very real world feel) and the characters' motivations are complicated, their perspectives sometimes contradictory. Everything about Bystanders felt real and honest. And the film's own wrestling with how it is to handle its central character and his behavior is, well, complicated. It doesn't let him off the hook, but it also doesn't let anyone else (including us) off either.
The film ends without having resolved what happens next. Which is likely for the best. Any attempt to solve the issue would have felt disingenuous. Instead we are just left to sit with everything. And it is a lot to sit with.
Bystanders
Starring: Taylor Olson, Marlee Sansom, Cavell Holland, Peter Sarty, Deborah Castrilli, Kaitlyn McCulloch
Director: Koumbie
Writers: Taylor Olson, Lisa Rose Snow, Koumbie
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