A cavity is a painful emptiness; a hollowed-out space within a healthy body that causes a numbing and maddening discomfort. It is also a powerful – yet here somehow underused – metaphor in this hybrid-lenght (50 min) boiling point psycho-horror by Yuta Nemoto.
“Cavity” is screening at Japan Filmfest Hamburg
A shy and reserved young man works as a driver for a small prostitute business. His role is to drive the girls to and from the clients and at the same time to keep an eye on them. His boss is a pathetic small fish but he likes venting his frustrations, acting bossy and sleazy with Driver and the girls. As if the boss's bully-ism wasn't enough, Driver is nagged by his constantly quarrelling neighbours, a violent man and his victim wife. One day, a new girl joins the crew and she catches Driver's attention and – most of all – his imagination. Sonoko is the typical innocent-looking, next-door girl, funding her studies with this seemingly fuss-free activity. She is completely un-bothered when a pervert ties her up like a salame just before strangling himself and passing out, or when a client films her in action and plans to post the video on the net, but Driver, who has grown fond of her, is not of the same idea.
“Cavity” is indeed a slow burner. The purposely letargic pace mimics the insidious and gradual disruption of a crawling tooth decay. One frustration after another, Driver's sanity (and molar) is relentlessly attacked and violated. The dense, almost tactile saturated colours are a big part of “Cavity”'s appeal and effectiveness in creating a gloppy, gooey atmosphere that anticipates the final showdown.
One problem with “Cavity” is a certain lack of “oompf” and courage in its nodal points. The aforementioned engulfing atmospheres are ultimately diluted by the scarcity of daring choices; daring to be sleazier, daring to edit down some excessive minutes, daring of being more assertive or extreme. As the plot is not particularly original – including the questionable topic of prostitutes enjoying their jobs (sic) – the film would have benefited from a stronger dose of deviated fun.
The finale indeed packs a punch, especially the deliciously gruesome dentistry action, although it is not completely supported by an adequate tension-mounting prequel. Produced on a budget but elegantly shot and framed, “Cavity” makes a very good use of its stony-faced protagonist and his deadpan eye-gaze, often shown in diagonal or mirrored point of views. Mr Nemoto's work is a good starting point that show stylistic confidence and that hopefully will facilitate more narrative confidence.
