At this point, it wouldn’t feel like Fantasia without an offering from Alice Maio Mackay. The prolific Australian filmmaker has dropped vampires, ancient parasites, cult murders, and even a Christmas movie, among others delightful genre goodies. She’s back once again with the world premiere of Our Effed Up World, tackling a neon-soaked ‘80s throwback sci-fi horror with her roguish, lo-fi, deep-baked queer sensibilities, and the result is a damn fine time.
Because it’s an action movie starring Bob Odenkirk as a seemingly regular guy pushed to extreme violence and was written by Derek Kolstad, Normal is going to get compared to 2021's Nobody, for good and ill. (Honestly, the similar title doesn’t help in that regard.) While there are definite parallels, Ben Wheatley’s new movie is more average-Joe-in-extraordinary-circumstances than it is secret-badass-hiding-in-plain-sight. Quite a bit of Normal is a total blast, but just as much, if not more, sags under curious, often baffling choices. It’s a weird, mixed bag of a film.
