The Forbidden Room

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Larkin K Evan Johnson (director) is a violent domestic abuser who has rendered his girlfriend unconscious countless times. Can't recommend Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/25 Full Review Mason M This film is definitely not for the faint of heart, and I can't fully say that I get what the point of this film is yet. But this was such a wild and unique watch, and I can't help but admire Guy Maddin's craft on this film. Maddin somehow makes images in this picture that are both visually stunning in nature, but also some of the most vile to look at in composure. And his filmmaking creates and atmosphere like no other I've seen. Even though this was a very flawed film, and there were parts of it that I didn't enjoy very much, I still felt incredibly moved and satisfied by the time the end credits rolled around. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/06/25 Full Review Audience Member Complete waste of time. The critics rating this so high on the tomatometer are probably of the same caliber that see paint flung on a canvas by monkeys and extol the virtues and beauty in the randomness of the splatters. Really surprised at the critics on this one. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I wanted to love this and on one level, I really do. Guy Maddin's latest is a triumph of style over substance, perhaps his most eye-popping feature yet. The screen bubbles and melts and exudes raw colour in a variety of cinematic fashions (silent, old technicolor, sixties schlock, etc.). Things are typically outlandish, silly, and sometimes gruesome or sexy. The high concept here is that Maddin decided to recreate some lost films based on surviving descriptions or scripts alone, films that Maddin himself really wanted to see (but obviously could not). After all, he is also a film historian of sorts (with interesting pieces in Film Comment that I am half-remembering now). So, 4, 5, or 6 films have been sliced and diced and welded together to make a deranged feature film (apparently to secure funding that the shorts could not). The result is largely incoherent as a sum of parts but there are so many wild vibrant moments across the 2 hours - and thinking of this as an experimental film really helps matters. Probably though it is not for the uninitiated and there are other easier entry points to Maddin's oeuvre (My Winnipeg, 2007, is my favourite thus far, of those I have seen). But really, just wow. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member It's often the case that experimental cinema is frustrating and boring. But Guy Maddin manages to be frenetic and self referential without losing the audience. Forbidden Room taps into the high melodrama of silent film in a way that is extremely entertaining, well paced, cogent, and often funny. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member With very few redeeming qualities, experimental film hero Guy Maddin's The Forbidden Room is an impenetrable and self-indulgent work that will really only appeal to those individuals who want to appear to be intelligent. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Forbidden Room

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