The Fits (2015)
May 15, 2017 11:56 PM - Subscribe
While training at the gym 11-year-old tomboy Toni becomes entranced with a dance troupe. As she struggles to fit in she finds herself caught up in danger as the group begins to suffer from fainting spells and other violent fits. (72 minutes.)
It's refreshing to see a film so committed to its own rules and style (all on a micro budget); a film that doesn't compromise itself or its intentions. The mystery remains intact and the questions reverberate off the empty gym walls. Toni watches. What she sees and what she feels is up to the viewer to decide.
-- Sheila O'Malley, rogerebert.com
You honestly don’t know what to expect, and when the film is done, you’re not exactly sure what has happened. Again, Holmer isn’t going to tell you. It may sound frustrating. Instead, it is immensely satisfying.This film has a 98% critics / 57% audience rating on rottentomatos.com. It's currently viewable on Amazon Prime.
-- Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
If you liked the film We Are the Best! you might like this one too. Both of them are films about girls growing up and trying to carve out space for themselves, but whereas WaTB is exuberant and unstoppable, The Fits is guarded, fearful, stoic, precarious...
It's not really a horror movie, but it does nail the horrific feeling of adolescence.
What really adds to the uneasiness is that almost every scene of the movie takes place inside the community center. There's no classrooms, there's no living rooms, no school bells.. All the stuff you might expect to find in a story like this isn't there. I think there's only like one adult in the movie. So it's this world of kids and young adults, but it's not fun and games, it's work and rules and tasks and ranks and status...
Beezy, though, is great.
(Fake edit: waaugh, sniped)
posted by fleacircus at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2017
It's not really a horror movie, but it does nail the horrific feeling of adolescence.
What really adds to the uneasiness is that almost every scene of the movie takes place inside the community center. There's no classrooms, there's no living rooms, no school bells.. All the stuff you might expect to find in a story like this isn't there. I think there's only like one adult in the movie. So it's this world of kids and young adults, but it's not fun and games, it's work and rules and tasks and ranks and status...
Beezy, though, is great.
(Fake edit: waaugh, sniped)
posted by fleacircus at 12:42 AM on May 16, 2017
Yeah I've been telling my horrror fan friends, it's not really a horror movie but it hits all the buttons of and has the feel of a horror movie.
Whichnis what puberty is
posted by The Whelk at 1:14 AM on May 16, 2017
Whichnis what puberty is
posted by The Whelk at 1:14 AM on May 16, 2017
Thanks for the link to the Overinvested podcast. I have been slamming them down.
posted by fleacircus at 5:28 PM on May 16, 2017
posted by fleacircus at 5:28 PM on May 16, 2017
Ooooh I am so glad someone else has watched this! I saw it as soon as it was available on Amazon and have yet to be able to convince someone else to see it or have met someone who has. It's such a beautifully tense, true movie, and Royalty Hightower deserves a hundred times more recognition than she's received.
posted by Anonymous at 3:17 PM on May 28, 2017
posted by Anonymous at 3:17 PM on May 28, 2017
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But yeah it's a come out nowhere delight- real punching above it's weight low budget movie-short, direct, intense, like yes this is good movement for movies to go into. Loved all the evocation of that middle school period of life without being a one to one allegory. It's like when you're 11 or such you're just dying for SOMETHING to happen.
posted by The Whelk at 12:35 AM on May 16, 2017 [1 favorite]