User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. If we need a poster child for independent film, perhaps this little gem from writer/director Trey Edward Shults should be the leading candidate. The film is daring and raw and proves that even a familiar theme can be interesting if the creative forces are allowed to do what they do best. And on top of that … it was filmed in 9 days with no "stars" and almost no money.

The extended opening shot is a close up of only a woman's face. Her eyes are expressive and her lip begins to quiver. Her look could be described as unnerved, and with the ominous music playing, our mind leads us to believe we are headed towards a horror film. Oh, how right … and wrong … that initial impression proves to be.

That woman is Krisha (played by Krisha Fairchild), a sixty-something year old who is joining her family for Thanksgiving dinner – after a 10 year absence. Of course, there are no shortage of family holiday dinner disaster movies, but most of the time they are either slapstick comedy or so stagey that the frustration never strikes a chord. Not so with this one.

Tension is palpable in every scene. It's as if everyone is waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Krisha is a trainwreck as a mother, sister and person. She is an alcoholic and drug addict, though she proclaims herself healed. It's pretty obvious to everyone (except herself) that her best intentions are not firmly planted in reality … and the inevitable is only a matter of time. Old wounds are re-opened (though they were probably never closed), and a simple conversation on the patio or checking the timer for the baking turkey become near catastrophes.

Mr. Shults has economically and effectively cast many of his own family members, and filmed in his mother's home outside of Houston. Krisha is his real life Aunt, and Robyn (who plays Krisha's emotionally devastated sister) is the director's mother. This is a story that works because of the realness of each moment. It feels like family members unloading on each other rather than two actors reciting lines. Krisha's swig of wine in the bathroom provides a moment of relief for both her and the viewer. Having been called "heartbreak incarnate" and an "abandoneer" … we even sympathize with her instinct to retreat to the bottle, though it's with dread and misery.

Director Shults displays promise as a director who can capture a personal moment, no matter how awkward or painful. Krisha Fairchild has a Gena Rowlands on screen presence (very high praise) that delivers a touch of grounded realism to her words and actions. As a lover of independent films, here's hoping we see more from them both in the very near future.

"Krisha" brings the story of the title character. As the movie opens, we see Krishna, a woman in her 60s, arriving with her suitcase at a house in suburban Texas. Turns out to be her sister Robyn's house, and the entire family is gathering for Thanksgiving, and also to celebrate the birth of a baby to Robyn's daughter. It is clear that this is Krisha's first time seeing most of them in a long time, and that during that absence she deal with personal issues. At this point we're maybe 10 minutes into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love for Trey Edward Shults, who directed, wrote, edited and stars in the movie. Not to mention that this movie was made on less than a shoestring (primary funding came from a small Kickstarter campaign). In the first half of the movie, we witness how this family is enjoying their time together, even if it is straining for Krisha. But the second half of the movie truly delivers. One key scene after another unfolds, and will leave you nailed to your seat. There are a number of key performances, none more so than Krisha Faichild in the title role (most other characters also use their real life names in the movie). Check out the scene where she is reunited with her mentally frail mother, who looks to be in her 90s. Just wow. Robyn Fairchild as Krisha's sister is equally excellent. There is an interesting score courtesy of (for me unknown) Brian McOmber.

This movie made quite a splash at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it's taken over a year for this to finally get a release in theaters, but better late than not. "Krisha" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. That is a darn shame. This is a top notch if heavy duty family drama which deserves a larger audience. If you have a chance to see this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, by all means do not miss it! "Krisha" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I don't know where that "comedy" label on IMDb comes from. I don't think it functions even as a black comedy. Absolutely heavy and quite dark, but fabulously written, directed, and acted. There are many films that deal with this sort of premise (even Rachel Getting Married comes to mind) but this really took it to another level. Completely immersive, watching it all unravel just hurts to watch. Not an easy viewing by any means and definitely one that will divide audiences completely (even on this board, I can see many people hating it). I loved it though, easily one of the best of the year so far. Krisha Fairchild should absolutely be in contention for end-of-the- year awards, and Trey Edward Shults shows a lot of talent.

Like "La Cienaga", this movie has a veracity and intimacy that will freak out most self- appointed film critics (and I'm not one). If you can't handle domestic pain, tension, and heartbreak then don't watch it. As a big fan of Dostoyevsky I found it riveting and powerful. After viewing I immediately sought out the back story and wasn't surprised to learn the cast/family are actual family members. I don't think a filmmaker could achieve what Shults does with an all-actor cast. It matters not a whit to me that he used family members or that you can foresee an inevitable train wreck in the making toward the end of Act 2. A great film, and the audio effects are superb, especially in the kitchen scene and the use of a Nina Simone track to score Krisha's high flying cookoff.

The first shot of "Krisha" is a slow zoom into the titular characters face, with ominous, rising music in the background. The preceding scenes (and the fantastic introductory long take) show that Krisha is coming home to family that she hasn't seen in a while on Thanksgiving day, and has good intentions for her visit. But this mood of uncertainty established in the opening shot rises throughout the movie. Even though Krisha is simply participating in usual small talk towards the beginning of the film, the unpredictable soundtrack, frantic movement of the camera, and the performances of the characters suggest Krisha isn't stable.

The film is very subtle and deliberate in what it reveals to us about this family and Krisha's past. The film starts after much has already happened with her character, and many things are revealed about her throughout the film, but most are just suggested. She has problems in her past that have affected her whole family, and her sudden visit to them intends to make up for those problems.

The camera and aspect ratios tell us a lot about the state of Krisha's character. At first the camera movements are frantic but fluid, showing Krisha is in control, but could lose it at any moment. Then the camera is shaky and the aspect ratio narrows, with two black bars at the top and bottom, showing Krisha is on the verge of breaking, relapsing into alcoholism. Then the aspect ratio boxes her in and the editing and camera movements are spastic, showing her isolation and inability to escape it.

While the cinematography tells a lot about Krisha, the actress portraying her, Krisha Fairchild, really tells the most. Her repressed suffering is evident with this actress. This is the type of film where all of the actors make each scene feel natural and incredibly realistic. They seem like real people in a family we could know, and that's part of what makes the film so brutal.

Krisha is a devastating, deeply emotional character study and one of the best films of 2016.

This movie is a depressing, well-shot trip full of heart-pounding music. The shots are long and flowing, depicting the downward mental spiral of a crazy old woman. I'd call this a thriller. Its worth watching just to experience the mild insanity of this thanksgiving gathering. Mundane scenes in this short slice-of-life story are intensified by an incredible soundtrack. This movie doesn't have much in the way of a plot or script, and is heavily reliant on stunning visuals. This story is a sad one and not for everyone, but if you're interested, then this is worth a watch.

First time IMDB reviewer here but felt compelled to write in contrast to some of the less favourable user reviews.

Firstly, this was shot in 9 days. 9 days! I'm not sure if you've ever been anywhere near a film set, but to shoot something in 9 days is an unbelievable achievement. To shoot something this good? Impossible.

Second, some people have struggled with the stylised nature of this film and others seem to object to its content. Well, film is an art form and film doesn't always have to be some hemogenized, easily digestible, happy-ever-after product. The storytelling in Krisha can be bumpy but at times exquisite. As someone who has grown up around addiction the handling of this sensitive subject made me feel heard and seen. What is art if not to shine a light on what makes us human? Warts and all.

Lastly, hats off to Shults, his cast and crew. This film is filled with brave work. Taking risks both filmically and emotionally. It is no small feat to make a film so raw. The strength of this film lies in its rough corners and uncomfortable moments. When watching don't fight against those rough edges, embrace them and allow the film to take you into the mind of Krisha. Rarely will you experience a narrative so uniquely inside one persons perspective.

Superb filmmaking.

For reasons never made entirely evident, 60-something Krisha has willfully severed ties for several years with her family, including a now young adult son. She decides to reconnect with her kin for Thanksgiving dinner at the suburban home of her sister and her family.

I grew up in a suburban Texas community not unlike the one which serves as the setting for the entirety of "Krisha". As such, I can almost literally sense the air, smell the scents and feel the sensibility of the space these characters inhabit. I have lived it. The memories for me are lasting. And they are abundantly good. Not so in this mostly morose and melancholy scenario.

Veteran but still little-known actress Krisha Fairchild ("The Killing of John Lennon" representing one of a handful of somewhat recognizable credits) delivers remarkable and wrenching work here. Fairchild is exceptionally effecting as she gives us a deeply troubled profile of an irrevocably tortured soul riddled with substance abuse, self loathing, uncontrollable anger and crippling regret.

This is a mysterious woman to be sure. Where exactly has Krisha been for all of these years in estrangement? What is it that has occupied her life during this time of indistinct purpose? Krisha reveals only vague hints and innuendo to various members of an uncomfortably skeptical family. Observing the holiday festivities and camaraderie carry on all about her, she remains remote, detached, never engaging in any of it, focusing instead almost exclusively and at her own insistence on preparing the super-sized turkey for that evening's meal.

The very characteristics that make Fairchild's portrayal so riveting are the same traits that make this excruciatingly conflicted character so dreadfully off-putting. Because we do not come to know practically anything at all about why Krisha ever abandoned her family in the first place, we never have a frame of reference for why she would ever even choose to do this. This confounding ambiguity leaves us feeling as distant from Krisha as she is from her own flesh and blood relatives. How can we genuinely invest in and grow to care for a person about whom we know virtually nothing and who has given us no compelling reason to do so? We feel very sorry for Krisha, sure. But beyond that we are inspired to generate little if any emotion beyond pure pity.

Technically, much of the key speech in "Krisha" was extremely difficult to make out, either as a result of it being overly hushed or garbled as characters talked over and above each other. I by and large appreciate natural dialogue as it is spoken in "real life" in most films, a dynamic that first time feature Writer and Director Trey Edward Shults was clearly striving for in his project. But when it is impossible to decipher what is being said, even after rewinding and replaying these scenes as I was able to do, the overall effect which you are efforting to achieve is unfortunately, and frustratingly, lost in translation. Moments involving Krisha and her wheelchair-bound mentally fragile mother, and what should have been a memorably moving interchange between Krisha and her long-suffering sister toward the end of the picture, are two especially conspicuous examples of these audio recording shortcomings really hurting the overall impact of the story.

Shults's choice to employ a constant instrumental undercurrent of enormously edgy electronica for the first several minutes of "Krisha" certainly serves it's purpose of establishing an atmosphere of palpably building tension. But soon the moody music devolves into an overdone distraction, eventually becoming simply an ill-advised artistic affectation.

This is criticism reasonably forgivable for a rookie from a personal perspective. But ideally they are lasting lessons learned in what, even with these missteps, looks to be a considerably capable career.

This is a depressing movie. Unrelentingly so. And I know from depressing flicks, having seen my share of them over the years. However, there aren't many among this gloomy group that I would rank above "Krisha".

In the end, nothing is clarified and nothing is resolved in "Krisha". Consequently, as an audience we are left with no appreciable degree of either resonance nor redemption. Only a sad and sour familial holiday experience. And, though granted generally not this extent, haven't we all in our own lives had our fill of at least some manner of domestic dysfunction? Watching somebody else's tumult and torture and classifying it as worse than one's own is not exactly a superlative barometer for satisfying cinematic consumption.

I'm giving "Krisha" a charitable 6 out of 10, almost entirely, and quite candidly, because the film was shot in The Lone Star State and out of high regard for Fairchild's arresting performance.

Krisha is the story of a woman who has struggled with some substance abuse, who is now trying to reconcile with her estranged family over Thanksgiving dinner. There was a ton of authenticity to the film in the way the characters interact. This felt just like a real family, and I appreciated the way different people reacted in their own unique ways to any conflict. There were a number of scenes that felt a lot like they were improvised, which can get a bit awkward. It takes truly talented improvisational actors in order to make artificial long conversations feel real. But most of the way through Krisha didn't feel overly staged. It also touches on real problems that families can deal with when they have someone they see as a black sheep. Although, I haven't personally seen this kind of conflict at family gatherings, and I'd probably avoid it because I find it so unpleasant.

There were some terribly lackluster scenes in Krisha. For instance, the moment where two boys go watch porn in the parents' room is easily one of the most pointless scenes I've seen in recent memory. That time would have been more useful if they had worked in more conversations between Krisha and the boyfriend who encouraged her to attend this event. The MVP of the film was easily Bill Wise who plays Krisha's wise-cracking brother-in-law. I found him hilarious, and I could actually imagine certain family members of my own who would behave just like him. Krisha Fairchild who shares a first name with her character did a decent job as well, because you could see her growing frustration and despair as the movie progresses. This kind of heavy family drama isn't exactly my favorite, and at times I found it a little tedious. But I did appreciate that the film felt real, and I think people who are fans of mumblecore will get a kick out of Krisha.

As an aspiring filmmaker, I cannot help but feel as if I relate to the debut filmmaker Trey Edward Shults. This film is heavily stylized and intense, and I feel that if I were able to make my own low budget film it would turn out to be something like this. The film focuses on extreme emotions, making the audience feel somewhat warm and humored at first, but completely crushed by the final shot. The film is overall extremely ambitious in its approach, due to Shults' use of long takes, black humor, and an atmosphere that contains both heavy realism and surrealism. "Krisha", one of the finest and funniest films to come out last year, is not only a beautifully made film but also the most earth shatteringly heartbreaking portrait of addiction since "Requiem for a Dream". It takes place during Thanksgiving as a family prepares for the holiday. One somewhat special member of the family has visited this year, Krisha, an old woman who has been absent of their presence for 10 years. This brilliant, harrowing shocker combines elements of humor and horror to craft a modern miracle. Unfortunately, this masterpiece is quite obscure and underrated-but I must urge anyone stumbling across my review to check it out immediately! It is a jaw droppingly fantastic work of art.

Don't let the plot synopsis fool you. First-time writer-director Trey Edward Shults has managed to craft a unique and absorbing family drama from a premise which appears mundane and conventional on the surface.

Krisha Fairchild is magnificent in the lead role, and the mostly non-actor cast add a heightened sense of honesty and realism to the drama, which can make for engrossing, if at times uncomfortable viewing.

However, what makes Krisha truly stand out is the cinematography and score. With an opening shot lasting about six minutes, it's clear from the start that this isn't your run-of-the-mill family drama. The camera is used in ways that can sometimes call attention to itself, but is always in service of the story. The rattling score permeates the film with a feeling of dread and anxiety which, with the camera-work, really makes us feel what the title character is feeling.

While Krisha is not a perfect film (although the opening 20-30 minutes come close), it manages to feel unique and original in ways I didn't think would be possible in 2016. This is the most pleasant surprise of the year, and I can't wait to see what Shults does next.

Trey Edward Shults' feature film debut is a competently crafted drama that's brought to life out of almost nothing. It very much feels like a homemade video made during a family gathering, and the casual set of events that unfold in the movie only add more authenticity to it.

Krisha tells the story of its titular character, an elderly woman with a troubled history who returns to her family on Thanksgiving as a reformed lady after being estranged from them for many years. But demons from her past threaten to ruin the family reunion and her own self-improved image.

Written, directed & edited by Trey Edward Shults, Krisha instils a sense of foreboding from its very first frame and while it takes plenty of time to set up the whole premise, there is something sinister brewing beneath the surface at all times, and Shults is able to keep that aura alive throughout the runtime.

There are plenty of long takes here, capturing casual conversations & stuff that one would expect in a social gathering yet each scene brims with a feeling that something could go wrong anytime. Performances are no slouch as Krisha Fairchild plays the eponymous old lady brilliantly and is nicely supported by others.

On an overall scale, Krisha is well-crafted & firmly told but Shults takes a tad too long to switch to next gear and much of the earlier excitement fizzles away by the time earlier wounds open again. It's a good effort for a first feature and bit experimental as well but Krisha as a whole fails to leave a memorable impression. Worth a shot anyway.

Between this, "It Comes at Night" and "Waves" the director has some real strengths and weaknesses. This director can create one hell of a mood. The actual stories are not all that satisfying. Hook this guy up with a good writer and I cant wait to see what happens. That being said its a movie worth watching.

The unpleasant dynamics and tensions that many families navigate during the holidays can sometimes be downright horrifying. "Krisha," the story of a woman reunited with her family after she estranged herself many years ago in order to face her demons, is a stark reminder of how traumatic confronting the past can be.

Starring his aunt (Krisha Fairchild) and featuring himself and many of his family members, filmmaker Trey Edward Shults has gone extremely personal for his debut feature (based off a short of the same name). The film has a documentary-like feel at times and the family dynamics that play out on screen seem unusually authentic and genuine. Yet underneath it all, Shults works with camera technique and a non-traditional score to remind us how unsettling and difficult this is for his title character.

"Krisha," the film and the character, slowly becomes unhinged over the course of the film. Shults' script smartly denies us the amount of background information we'd like to have; we don't need to know exactly what she's done or what her problems were to be able to observe how frazzled this environment makes her and how confronting these long- ignored but deep-rooted relationships could dismantle her mentally and emotionally.

Shults begins and ends his film with close-ups of Krisha's face giving an indiscernible expression, perhaps with the goal of empathy. Normally we would empathize with the "normal" family members and in many ways we still do, but Shults stays close to Krisha in nearly every moment of the film and gives us piercing access to who she is. Fairchild rises up to meet the challenges that level of intimacy places on an actor. We see Krisha's discomfort and pain, and the sadness when her desire to make things right hits the roadblock of the pain she caused others in the past.

When tension does turn over to drama, the way it plays out feels impressively true to life. Shults clearly plays loose with his script, allowing these unseasoned actors to draw on their own experiences (and perhaps some actual family dynamics) and improvise dialogue. Even if you haven't had a family member melt down in front of everyone, there's a raw truth to the way tense scenes between people play out. That authenticity only makes "Krisha" all the more haunting.

Shults' direction and editing, however, is really the star of this film. He has strong instincts in terms of suspense, creating that slow build and unhinging of his film in the most simple of ways. Even in the most mundane of scenes, he draws forward any tension lurking beneath the surface. He also allows us to see, hear and experience things as the overmedicated mind of Krisha does, yet the techniques are not heavy-handed. He even plays with the chronology of events, weaving together scenes to focus on the emotional arc of the story as it pertains to Krisha rather than feeling beholden to how everything builds up in real time. The result is a much stronger portrait of Krisha and what's truly happening at a deeper level.

Filmmakers that can wield tension and suspense in this way have the skills to tell just about any story well, which bodes well for Shults' career. If he can turn the story of a troubled woman relapsing at Thanksgiving into what you might argue is a horror film that at times verges on Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream," the sky's the limit.

~Steven C

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Well done effort and movie for small independent film. I saw this several months ago. Krisha has demons and a destructive past and has wreaked havoc on her family's emotional reserves for years. Krisha shows up to a holiday dinner expecting all to be well but the family has resentments and pain and cannot forget and forgive so easily. This film can be uncomfortable. This family is on the edge. The tension is palpable.

Overall great film that depicts the addict/emotionally needy and dysfunctional family well.

The movie is paced poorly. The movie only hints at some trauma and doesn't explain it until the last 15 minutes. Other than the ending, the movie is a typical family thanksgiving full of loud kids, nice mothers, and cranky fathers. The movie takes way too long to get anywhere.

After an absence of a decade a 60 year old woman who is a recovering addict returns for a family gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday. The stress of the situation leads her to return to her addictions, resulting in an even worsening scenario.

Krisha is an unrelentingly depressing viewing experience. Its central character is well played but she is a person I found basically somewhat difficult to care about very much at all. What we know is she has allowed her personal habits to take precedence in her life and she has chosen them over her family, who she has abandoned. I found it quite easy to understand why the extended family members were reluctant to embrace her fully. So from the get-go I guess I had a problem with this one, as in a serious drama such as this it helps massively if you care for the predicament of the central character, at least in some way, but I found myself ambivalent at best. During the course of the film Krisha remains an outsider within the family unit. We never know exactly what she has done in the past exactly but it would be fair to assume she has messed up pretty bad. The film is quite successful, however, in presenting the anxieties that large family gatherings can bring about even at the best of times, and it does play upon this quite universal feeling quite well. The director and cast all seem to be actual family members themselves and all sport their real first names, so it's a pretty personal affair that is for sure and it does achieve a certain claustrophobia and intensity at times. The director also experiments with differing aspect ratios and a dissonant score, both of which I can't say I cared for too much. While this film does achieve a certain realism with its raw approach, I can't say I liked it very much. It wasn't what I would classify as either entertaining or informative really. Just a downer but not in a good way.

Where to begin? . . . . Cinema, at its best, is an experience. It is a medium through which the viewer is engaged; titillated, repulsed, shocked, confounded, angered, humored or otherwise incited to feel any number of emotions among the spectrum of the human experience. As an avid movie- watcher, it is sometimes easy to forget the potential and power of the medium.

Going into the film, I knew close to nothing: something about a thanksgiving dinner complicated by an estranged and drug-addled family member. I had no expectations other than to be entertained, which has unfortunately become the basic function of most mainstream filmmaking. One and a half hours later, I was absolutely floored. Mouth agape and scrambling to find out who the cast and director were, as well of the title of an immaculately applied Nina Simone track in one of the most poignant scenes I remember having seen in a long time.

The film's 27-year-old director (writer and editor to boot) Trey Edward Schults exhibits such a masterful technical literacy in the editing and execution of this film, it is hard to believe that it is his first feature. I am so pleased to see a filmmaker who is so consciously aware that the camera, not the actors, is the primary storyteller. It reminds me that the director is still the auteur, and not just a shot-manager who is paid to dress up performances.

Even so, Krisha Fairchild's performance will forever be burned into my brain. It is not always easy to watch, as it surely was not easy to perform, but even if the film's execution had been otherwise mediocre, it would still be worth the rental price to watch this gem in action.

I hope I've piqued any prospective viewers' interest. I will keep it short from here on out. I give the film 9 out of 10 stars for several reasons.

1. Aforementioned Shults' direction and Fairchild's performance. 2. The film's testament to the fact that vision and execution will always trump budget and star- power. Let that be a lesson to the industry! 3. The soundtrack is unique and extremely emotionally manipulative.

I hope Mr. Schults will grow and continue to do very promising things in the future. I also hope that other young independent film-makers like Shults will emerge, paying homage to the greats (as Shults seemed to have done with the Shining here) while offering their own novel and idiosyncratic language. Bravo.

This is not a film. This is 83 minutes of torture. If you can honestly sit through its entire length and come out with a positive experience you are a true die-hard. Tension is built around organic and often unexpected moments between characters yet I never felt surprised. Every scene was predictable in a way that felt forced. I was cringing more at the horribly drawn-out scenes where nothing but silence happened or where we're just being shown blank interactions without focus, totally unnecessary. I also couldn't get Ellen Burstyn's face out of my head constantly reminding me of how much better Requiem for a Dream was after the opening scene. Things happened too slow for me to feel connected. I was really hoping for more from this. I spent many years estranged from my mother after her divorce and subsequent drug addiction. I can totally connect with the emotional context but I was disappointed at how empty the story was shown to the viewer. It felt more as if this film was ad- libbed by the family who acted it out rather than having a writer's grand vision. It's pretty much impossible for me to see how others have given this movie praise. There are far better indie/low-budget dramas with compelling and well portrayed stories than this amateur outing. I hate to be so negative but I literally FORCED myself to finish this just so I could legitimately write a bad review. Yea.