The Commune

The Commune is a film with a vast array of themes: sexual discovery, what it means to be a woman and, subsequently, come of age. But the film also deals with the loss of innocence and how those in power, namely your parental figures, can abuse it for their own self-serving needs. Overall, the film delivers in a way that recalls the slow burn of films like The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby. And along with it, comes a stellar building of tension and atmosphere.

Our story starts with a young girl named Jennifer. Fresh out of school for the summer break, she's forced to spend time with her fairly non-existent father. You see, her parents divorced when she was little and her dad left and started a new age-y type of commune with a group of followers.

From the time she first arrives, an eerie sense of foreboding permeates. As the film evolves and the creepy on screen antics of the characters escalate, Jennifer discovers that her father has been hiding a lot more than she thought. This coupled with a scene in which the father subtly makes a pass, your are led to believe that he has less than favorable intentions for his daughter. After a few childhood flashbacks and a revelation that the daughter is not as pure as originally thought, we are brought to a shocking and brutal climax to our film.

The Commune is a fine first effort from filmmaker Elisabeth Fies. The film truly lives up to its tag line: 'Every Girl's Worst Fear.'

I saw this movie by chance at a horror film festival recently. I had no idea what to expect. Two things give me the creeps bad- one is colonial people, and the other is hardcore hippies. I could not move in my seat through this entire movie, it was so intensely realistic. I was a few minutes into it when I realized it wasn't actually set in the '70s, because it really had that look! I couldn't understand what kind of mother would let her daughter go away to a commune with her creepy, deadbeat, hippie dad. The characters were everything you don't want to meet at such a place. The casting was perfect. Chauntal Lewis stars as the unfortunate girl, Jenny. This story was so very disturbing...then all of a sudden, there is David Lago- 'Raul' from 'the Young and the Restless'! He is so pretty it's hard to look! That calmed me down for a minute, anyway. But then the horror continued...for all the sunshine and pretty scenery in this film, it still manages to give you the chills all the way through. It kind of reminded me of 'Crowhaven Farm' and 'Race With The Devil'. I urge you to see it for yourself. It's like a fine early '70s 'ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK'! (That is a high compliment, by the way). I haven't seen anything like this in a long time, and I was really missing these type of movies. Thank you Elisabeth Fies! Again- SEE IT!!

A cutting edge, well structured homage to a 1970's cinematic feel and tone. Well directed, well acted. A taunt psychological thriller and a very important film. This film is a liberation and a testimony to the fact that there is art left in cinema today.Elisbeth Fies shows a rare cinematic deftness and skill. The film is lush and full of character detail and thought. The plot line is a journey into a dark psychological depth and will an amazing execution. We will be see much more of MS Fies in the future we hope.

Elisabeth received the award for Best Emerging Filmmaker this year at The B Movie Celebration.

The Commune, like its lovely heroine, is between a rock and a hard place in a world of delusional, narcissists. It doesn't fit neatly into some prepackaged genre category that Pod People can easily consume sans participation or reflection. This film is an experience best accompanied by active thought and post-viewing discussion. Michael Bay fans may wanna stay clear.

That said, one would not be wrong to call it a horror film. Like Wicker Man (as many before me have aptly referenced) and many of Polanski's darker films, it ventures into territory far too horrific to suggest it is any other genre. However, the movie I watched was more of a post-modern "coming-of-age" turns "psycho-drama" with speckles of dark humor and surrealism inter-woven throughout. Part Alan Ball, part Samuel Fuller, and a whole lot of the delightfully twisted Lis Fies, The Commune is a wonderful achievement in making a low budget look high, making human ugliness look gorgeous, and making us leave the theater with that same sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs as did American Beauty, Happiness, Blue Velvet and Stepford Wives (the original, that is). The Commune reminds us that while life might sometimes appear to be in pretty Technicolor on the outside, one must never forget to look below the surface where the scariest monsters most often reside.

Kudos to any independent filmmaker who strives for intelligence as well as artistry, without being held back by limited budgets. Double kudos to Lis Fies for succeeding.

I first saw this at the Bram Stoker Film Festival, where it won "Best International Feature", and purchased the DVD there (which speaks for itself). It stands up brilliantly to a second viewing, I have to say, and works as well on the small screen as on the big.

The Commune is a good, slow creep in the manner of The Wicker Man, the subject area well researched so that little bits peek through in ways the audience might not always appreciate on a first viewing. It's one of those films where the more you know about the setting the more frightening it is, unlike a lot of horror flicks. The intense colour palette gives it a dissonant quality that enhances the unsettling feeling the film inspires. I feel the climax could have been a little bigger in terms of set pieces, but as it stands it does give the film a more personal feeling.