Decay

Decay is one of the most fascinating movies I've see in years.

This movie is a character study. And a great one at that. The film is perfectly cast and the direction is pitch perfect. Within each scene lays deep caverns of unspoken information depicted through the art direction, cinematography, and performance.

The symbolism throughout is utterly amazing!! Upon a second viewing, I have discovered a far more in-depth understanding of the intricate scenes that have been delicately crafted. These scenes paint patterns of the main characters (Jonathan) life and tell a truly tragic tail.

I absolutely loved it!

Jonathan is a man with many problems, he finds himself trapped in a routine that seems to be the only thing to keep his fragile mental stability. All his problems are caused by his mother, whom we see through several flashbacks, too apprehensive and severe with his only son. Jonathan becomes a compulsive accumulator, which leads him to keep the body of a girl who died of an accident in her home. I did not expect such a maniacal care for photography, with scenes to say the least stunningly visual, with an actor looking absolutely perfect for his character. Unfortunately I regret to admit that they have focused too much on photography, but not so much on the screenplay and the plot, not developed not at full potential. The flashbacks are the backbone of the film, the only scenes really disturbing, but not visually, it destroys you in thinking of the physical and psychological torture suffered by poor Jonathan because of the mother, who is obsessed with germs and the possibility of dying because of a lit stove or an open door. It is very easy to empathize with the protagonist, both as an adult and as a child, which I really appreciated.

The movie has some very good acting . It is also very beautifully presented giving it a psychedelic feel in many scenes . It makes a good effort in developing the character. The problem is that it moves very slowly for my taste. The thrill element is also missing. I feel that this may be liked by people who like contemplative style of narration. It makes a good effort of the motivation of the character but provide little logic on why does he do the things he does . Interesting idea to begin with i.e exploring the loneliness , child abuse. Average story . Good acting by main and supporting cast specially the friend who is quite funny. Good direction.

When I sat down to watch "Decay", I must admit that I had hoped for a bit more weight on the horror aspect of the movie, since it is labeled as a drama / horror / thriller here on IMDb. So while the lack of horror to the movie was a bit disappointing, I will say that this was more of a thriller than it was a horror movie.

With that being said, don't get me wrong here, as I am not saying that "Decay" is not a good or enjoyable movie. Quite the contrary. It is actually a rather interesting and offbeat movie, one that differentiates itself from so many other movies in the horror genre. And that was a nice change of pace. So the lack of horror elements faded in lieu of the storyline and the drama of the story.

It is a combination of the morbid storyline and the characters in the movie that make "Decay" interesting. In particular the Jonathan character, because he was so odd and unique.

"Decay" is a movie that is driven by a strong and detailed storyline. This storyline has lots of backstory to it and many subtle details which really helps to build the characters and the events in the movie.

While the cast ensemble is relatively sparse in "Decay", there is an additional pressure on the performers in order to carry the movie. And I will say that the actors and actresses they had gotten together for this movie carried the movie quite well. Especially Rob Zabrecky in the role of Jonathan was really outstanding in his performance of this quirky and odd character. And with the traumatic upbringing and troubled childhood that you see glimpses and flashbacks to Jonathans childhood with his abusive mother, no wonder that Jonathan turned into such a troubled man.

The music score of the movie is somewhat offbeat, but it really matches the movie and it compliments the movie quite well. There is some upbeat and almost comical music set against the somber backdrop of the movie, which just heightened the sense of bizarre and absurdity of the story. There is also some very subtle and sort of disturbing music that creeps and settles in the back of your head as you watch the movie.

The effects in "Decay" were actually quite good, taking the premise of the movie into consideration. And the gradual decay of the corpse friend of Jonathan was rather impressive and looked quite realistic. These kinds of attention to detail is always a boost for a movie.

Director Joseph Wartnerchaney makes use of an abundance of visual impressions throughout the movie, by means of glimpses and imagery. Some of these visuals don't always make much sense, so some of what the director was trying to instill with these images was lost in translation.

Now, it should be said that "Decay" might be somewhat slow paced and uneventful for some viewers, depending on what you are expecting from the movie and your preference of movies within the horror genre. I was genuinely entertained by the pacing of the movie as per set up by director and writer Joseph Wartnerchaney.

"Decay" proved to be a different and somewhat interesting movie, although it veered quite far from what I had initially hoped for. But it is still an enjoyable movie and a watchable movie. However, I doubt that this is the type of movie that you will actually watch more than a single time.

Decay is such a good film. I saw it free online! I always end up regretting the 'free films' I watch in the graveyard hours but Decay is different. It is psychedelic but such a well made film.

Such a shame that it has a low rating here. It seems like a lot of folks haven't understood the reason 'Decay' has been made the way it is - the idea is to really get into the skin of the character, to understand his past and present issues. I felt instantly drawn to the main lead, I felt sympathetic towards him. This doesn't happen very often and Decay makes you feel for the guy. I loved it. There are reasons for the uncomfortable and repetitive nature of scenes. This is how it is living with severe OCD for many people out there. Everything in life is patterned. It is the same thing day after day after day. And when something does change in the routine, it take a huge effort, a lot of courage and strength to change even a little bit of the routine. There is this stricture to routine and set patterns that can get maddening for some viewers as is evident by some reviews here but I think this needed to be shown and one must give credit to the director and main lead for portraying it so well.

Very well done. Please make more films!