"Virtual Reality" (2021)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Virtual Reality (Realidad Virtual; Argentina, 2021), directed by Hernán Findling and released by Kino Lorber.

Synopsis

An indie film director schemes with his shady producer to make their recently completed movie a hit with the help of a mysterious artificial intelligence file. He invites his cast and crew to his house, but what begins as a celebratory screening of the final cut quickly turns to a bloodbath when the movie characters, including a sword-wielding, violence-loving Celtic knight, come alive and begin to exact their revenge on the innocents.

The Good

Joseph:

Virtual Reality (or I Never Meta Horror Trope I Didn’t Like [Just kidding with that subtitle!]) takes viewers on a wild ride in which reality and cinematic fantasy collide for a group of filmmakers, thanks to a Faustian pact that the director makes with the producer in order to become famous. The proceedings get eerie, silly, convoluted, and far-fetched, but ultimately the film winds up as a satisfying, entertaining slice of escapism. “What is real? Why is it real?” are questions you may ask yourself while viewing, but thankfully “Why am I watching this?” most likely won’t cross your mind because of the chutzpah with which Findling directs and the cast performs.

Mike:

Virtual Reality has an interesting premise that turns the “film within a film” scenario on its head and does something rather original with it. There are the expected characters you’d find in this type of movie, but that’s a plus here since it helps you to quickly get to know each character, which might otherwise be difficult unless you’re fluent in Spanish.

There’s some efficient tension when needed and Findling does a nice job at keeping things looking good with interesting transitions and smooth editing. Not that it’s groundbreaking stuff, but it’s better than what you would expect from an independent feature. Although it’s sometimes hard to tell when you’re not able to get a good read on vocal inflections when a movie is in a language other than your own, the acting seems fine with the cast conveying fear, confusion, etc., in their facial expressions and body language.

The Bad

Joseph:

Just who the baddie behind the slaughter is will be rather obvious to seasoned fear-fare fans well before the big reveal. With a movie that tries to play with viewers’ heads as much as Virtual Reality does, not everything is going to land properly — the dynamics behind the computer working and not working are a little shaky, for example.

Mike:

There’s not a whole lot of character development that occurs outside of being told what someone is like via other characters and when you couple that with having to rely on translated subtitles it becomes pretty hard to develop any type of affinity for them.

The premise is presented in a way that almost seems to be a bit more convoluted than it needs to be and is a bit of a stretch with realistic acceptability that makes you sort of tilt your head and squint at the screen while saying “Huh?”

Some of the CGI was a bit suspect — in one admittedly “blink and you’ll miss it” shot, a character’s finger moves behind what is supposed to be the screen of a laptop — but a decent amount of practical gore effects limit this to being too much of a knock.

While a minor quibble, the title is a bit of a misnomer and may lure some viewers in who could feel a bit of bait-and-switch, which might cloud their opinion of the film. Perhaps Findling should have stuck with the name of the film he apparently copiously borrowed elements from, his own film Director’s Cut from 2006.

The Verdict

Joseph:

In my humble opinion, Virtual Reality will be best enjoyed if you just give into its craziness and don’t fret too much about specifics. Findling serves up several characters with whom to side — well-written and well-acted — a good deal of suspense and grue, and an earnest attempt to do something different with a film-within-a-film approach. Argentina has been the hotbed of some solid scare fare of late — Pussycake, Terrified, and Fabián Forte’s one-two punch of Legions and Witch Game, to name but a few — and Virtual Reality adds to the list.

Mike:

Virtual Reality, despite its name, is a clever bit of slasher cinema with some twists that make the plot worth its somewhat messy explanation. The characters, while likable, aren’t too fleshed out; however, the cast does the best with what they’ve got and at least deliver believable performances which provides enough gravitas to keep you invested in them. Fans of slasher flicks and twisty plots should find this worth a watch. Oh, and make sure you watch past the end of the credits.

Virtual Reality, from Kino Lorber, is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and most streaming services.

Virtual Reality