Now I named this one my top new film I saw at last year's October Horror Movie Challenge, and I stand by that. Thing is, we're going to get a lot of tired "post-horror" arguments about this one too, I just know it, as just calling it a horror is going to give you a very wrong idea about this film. In Fabric is so determinedly odd that it defies a lot of pigeon-holing. There is a lot of very chilling and weird stuff in here, in the same distinctly 70s Euro-horror vein that characterised the same director's last two films; Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy. However, like those two this has a knowing sense of humour to it too, except it's at its broadest and weirdest here. This, plus the old-style department store setting for some of the film, does mean I'm not the only one to describe it along the lines of "if Jean Rollin directed an episode of Are You Being Served?". Even that doesn't fully fit, as it's one of those works that though it displays its influences on it's sleeves, it's unlike any of them in a lot of important ways.
If it sounds like I'm having trouble trying to explain the film, even some of the cast have the same problem. That picture is from Monday when I was at the BFI for Mark Kermode Live in 3D, and the guest you see there is Leo Bill, who plays washing machine repairman Reg Speaks in the film. (At a previous #MK3D night, Hayley Squires, who play's Reg's fiance Babs, was the guest, where she plugged In Fabric along with Happy New Year Colin Burstead). He was similarly having issues trying to explain it to the audience; the general plot of the film, the idea of this cursed dress, is fine, as is his role in the film. It's points like his weird hypnotic delivery of washing machine mechanics that he was having trouble with. He did do a good Q&A with Kermode though, discussing how the film draws a lot from Peter Strickland's childhood.
So it's impenetrable to discuss plotwise or compare it other films. OK then, no biggie, I'd rather you discover it for yourselves, so here's why you absolutely should catch a screening sometime this weekend. Firstly the sheer originality of the set-up should be a selling point; if I just say "a department store that runs on witchcraft sells an evil dress", you're curious as hell to see where that's going already aren't you? Then, there's a superb cast in here; the biggest name will probably be Gwendoline Christie, although she has a fairly small, but memorable role (probably fitting in around GoT filming times!). Marianne Jean-Baptiste is great as our primary lead, giving a very natural feeling down to Earth performance, anchoring us as we're exposed to the hyper-real world of the film. There's a great double act in here with Julian Barratt and Steve Oram as a pair of bank managers who crop up regularly. The real stand out though is Fatma Mohamed as the unearthly manager of the department store Miss Luckmore; with her anachronistic dress/make-up, and noticeably odd, roundabout way of speaking, she could easily end up being a new cult film icon.
The main reason to see it though is that it's a real feast for the eyes and ears. The soundtrack is by a band called Cavern of Anti-Matter, who earn the right to have a name that cool, with again a very retro synthsound, much of which is halfway between John Carpenter and a BBC Schools Maths program. Much of the film has a 70s look, but later it introduces some deliberate more modern looks and items, giving everything this feeling of being unstuck in time. Like all the best Eurohorror directors, Strickland gives everything a wonderfully oversaturated colour pallette whenever possible, with the dress in particular an almost glowing red every time it's seen. Strickland also mentioned in the Q&A at LFF (see above) that he incorporated a lot of ASMR elements to the film, and it is noticeable with lots of shots and sounds of paper being rustled and such; it will be interesting to see it with anyone who indulges in that to see what effect it has on them. Finally, there are some just plain indelible images, ones that you won't forget in a hurry; there's one sequence involving a mannequin that I imagine will be the moment that you'll either love the film to bits or just go "WTF am I watching" (or perhaps a bit of both). Yeah, what happens here certainly wouldn't have happened to Kim Cattrall!
In Fabric may be Strickland's just plain weirdest films yet, and that's saying something consider what's come before, but in an odd way it's probably his most generally accessible film to date too. It's a creepy, funny, confusing, slightly erotic, dazzling display of a film, mashing up elements as diverse as fashion catalogues to the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas to superb effect. If you like stuff that points out the creepiness and/or weirdness of British culture in the 70s like Look Around You and/or Scarfolk, you'll probably get a lot out of this. It's the sort of project we really need to encourage and get more of, so go check this out when it starts playing at Curzon Cinemas from Friday.
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