Review: GUSH

 by Patrick Bromley

A new horny horror movie from the good people at Bandit Motion Pictures? It's been too long.

I've been following the work of the indie collective out of Indiana known as Bandit Motion Pictures since writer/director Scott Schirmer's debut feature Found in 2012. It wasn't until 2016, though, when Schirmer teamed up with his Bandit Motion Pictures partner Brian K. Williams for the one-two punch of Harvest Lake and then Plank Face that their work began to crystallize and a voice started to develop. They make odd, original films -- sometimes dark and bold (The Bad Man), sometimes raunchy and silly (Space Babes from Outer Space) -- but always unique and always worth seeing. Their latest effort, Gush, is their first movie since 2018 and a welcome return to form: an erotic horror about creation and destruction, death and rebirth both literal and figurative, buzzing with the same energy that made the pair's Harvest Lake (still my favorite of their films) so special. There's nothing else quite like it.

Indie horror mainstay Ellie Church (a member of the Bandit collective who also serves as producer and art director on Gush) stars as Sally, a celebrated horror novelist recovering from a tragedy by renting a remote cabin in the woods to complete her next book. Though seemingly alone and struggling to find the inspiration to write, Sally begins being repeatedly visited by a Muse (Alyss Winkler) and the words start flowing, as does some intense sexual energy. As fantasy and reality begin to blur together, Sally doesn't know who or what to trust -- but it sure isn't her husband (Jason Crowe), who may or may not be fucking someone else back at home.

Movies like Gush can be a challenge to write about because they're more about vibes than plot, and vibes are hard to review. You're either on their frequency or you aren't. I am very much on the frequency of Gush, which combines dreamy eroticism with occasionally horrific imagery -- the sequence that gives the film its title is particularly shocking and fluid-heavy -- in a manner that feels organic and strangely nonexploitative. I've seen plenty of indie horror films that traffic in nudity and sex as a way of attracting eyes or because the creators believe those elements to be staples of the genre. In the case of Gush, though, it's part of the story being told -- for every act of creation, something else is destroyed. The Muse can offer inspiration and hot lesbian sex, but she's going to take something from the world in return, whether it's a human life or some kind of toxicity that she then has to spew from her body like so much snake venom. 

The film also gives Ellie Church her best and most challenging role to date. I've seen her do a lot in movies: she's been silly, she's been spacy, she's been sexy, she's been funny, but never has she done the dramatic heavy lifting she's called upon to do in Gush. Her Sally is recovering from serious trauma (of which we see glimpses in the movie's opening moments), grieving one loss while still attempting to birth something new into the world. Her marriage may or may not be falling apart, rotting from the inside well before this latest infidelity. Church has to run the emotional gamut in the movie, bouncing from anger to lust, from blood-soaked sex scenes to tearful monologues in honest, naturalistic fashion. She's something. Also, please don't get the idea that Gush is yet another A24-style "horror as metaphor for trauma" exercise; Schirmer and Williams demonstrate no interest in copying trends in any of their work, and though Gush is informed by tragedy, it's not all the movie has on its mind. It's too original for that.

I won't pretend to understand every single element in Gush -- it's a movie that defies 1:1 explanations -- but its abstractions are among its best qualities. With its colorfully bold photography (by Williams, who acts as DP) and its dreamy score, this is a film that wants you to feel more than think. I have my own interpretations, some of which I've shared here, but I have no idea if any of them are correct. Truth be told, it really doesn't matter. It's the closest thing that Bandit Motion Pictures have made to Harvest Lake in nearly 10 years: strange and atmospheric and sexually charged and pretty terrific. Everyone else's mileage may vary because that's the kind of film it is, one that doesn't play anything safe or walk any middle ground. You're on its wavelength or you're not. More horror should take such a stand.

Gush will hit streaming in October and a commercial Blu-ray should be available soon at banditmotionpictures.com.