The Story: When members of a dance troupe are lured to an empty school, drug-laced sangria causes their jubilant rehearsal to descend into a dark and explosive nightmare as they try to survive the night — and find out who’s responsible — before it’s too late. (Google)
What I Like: Writing isn’t the only expressive art I find release in. Dancing signifies so much culturally, and like a story, it varies from person to person. Storytelling through dance is such a great visual medium, and when that is married to horror, it catches my attention. I loved 2010’s Black Swan for it’s demented dive into a dance world that threatens to be too much for its prima ballerina. That’s what I was expecting from Climax and in some ways it delivered that for me.
It cinematography and soundtrack has been praised. After some expository intro of dancers, we are thrust into a celebration. The dancing pulls you in and music pulses like a heart beat. Though you know conflicts are brewing, the dancing distracts you.
I enjoyed the many forms of dancing: burlesque, vogue, breaking, krumping and whaaking, all as eccentric as the cast of dancers. Representation like this should always be commended.
What I didn’t Like: Getting to the point where things turn for the worse, and the dancers realize that their sangria has been spiked, is an act of patience. The pace of this movie is slow. The horror is in the slide to madness made more confusing from all the camera work and trickery. At some point, I actually got a headache from staring at the screen.
The Verdict: I’m not sure if Climax had something to say. If I did, I didn’t pick up on that commentary. It could be about the influence of rave culture and the power of group think. Or it could just be about a director’s interest in exploring how dance and horror can be coupled. Either way, there isn’t much of that sustained energy from the intro carried throughout the film. As things pick up, there’s not much dancing, very minimal to no dialogue sometimes, and a bunch of people writhing on the dance floor in fits of madness. Somewhere in there, there’s a complete story, although it doesn’t really give into all the elements necessary to really create a sense connection to anyone in particular.