Phoenix Film Festival: The Shower

Ok, so it’s possible that I am already a bit biased about this movie, since I started tweeting with the cast and director before I even saw it! In my defense, however, it was on my list of movies to see this weekend even before that.

After ending the night with two deep drama films last night, it was nice to see something a bit lighter first thing today. Well, light as far as comedy… but definitely not one for kids! The Shower is about a group of unemployed, underemployed, and former members of show business, all with hopes of someday making it in Hollywood. But, well, life happens and that climb to stardom can be slow.

The movie takes place at a baby shower (hence the title) where this group is experiencing a pretty normal day… until something happens. They find out that some sort of virus has been unleashed in the area, and one by one members of their group start exhibiting some very strange behavior. They lock themselves in the house and try to wait it out, but that proves to be more difficult than they think. The members of the group fight hard to protect themselves from what is going on outside, until it gets in.

The Shower takes on the horror-comedy genre as a film with great cinematography, and a large but well-developed cast of characters. Horror movies tend to have characters that you either don’t understand or don’t like, just because by nature of the genre you don’t know how long they will live, but this movie gives you a glimpse into a group that you will get attached to. Too bad you don’t know which will be the first or last to go!

One of the reasons I like attending the Phoenix Film Festival is because they know how to pick good, entertaining movies and this one is no exception. I definitely enjoyed this flick, and if you’re ok with a little (ok, a lot) of blood and some laughs, I recommend catching it when it comes to the nearest film festival (or hopefully theater) near you.