Director – Eric Stanze (Ice from the Sun, Savage Harvest)
Starring – Jackie Kelly (Tennessee Gothic, The Man in Room Six), Jason Christ (Deadwood Park, Ratline), and Marcella Miller (Doorway, Heat)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 4/5
Several years ago, I reached out to the Wicked Pixel Facebook page asking for news to share on the site or movies to review. I befriended filmmaker Eric Stanze and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to review his films Scrapbook, Ratline, and In Memory Of. I haven’t really heard anything from Stanze since the pandemic began and was caught off guard a few days ago when he messaged me to review his newest film Anxiety. I had no idea he was working on a new film, and I jumped at the opportunity to check it out. I want to thank Eric for sending this one over.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Renee (Kelly) who is a recovering alcoholic. She finds herself struggling during the early stages of the pandemic and when her inner demons begin to show themselves, she has nowhere to turn but within herself. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into Anxiety knowing absolutely nothing aside from the fact that it starred Jackie Kelly. I had no idea what to expect but deep down I was hoping for another visceral underground film like Ratline and Scrapbook.
The acting in this one is absolutely phenomenal. Kelly really impressed me when I first saw her in Stanze’s In Memory Of and she did not disappoint here either. Most of the film followed her character alone but she does a wonderful job carrying the film in that regard. Her narration blends very well with her actions in the scene to hold the viewer’s attention. It was also great seeing Jason Christ as well, but I was a disappointed in how little screen time he actually had. The remainder of the cast does a phenomenal job as well with a surprise performance from the director himself.
The story for this one really threw me for a loop and was something I was not expecting. The film is heavily influenced by the pandemic, and I have a huge suspicion that it was shot early on during the pandemic with social distancing fresh in everyone’s mind. This would explain Christ’s performance and why he was only shown during recordings. Would also explain the small cast and the locations chosen for each scene. I liked how the pandemic played a crucial part in the young woman’s mental stability and battle with alcohol dependence. So many people suffered losses during the pandemic and the isolation and uncertainty caused many to seek mental health treatment.
The anxiety portion of the film is very relatable to many of us but it does move at a snail’s pace. I was ready to rate the film a 3 out of 5 and move on but then we hit the last 20 minutes or so of the film which is where it picked up for me. The anxiety fueled nightmare and fear of relapsing meets ghosts of her past resulting in a hellish look into her future if she doesn’t stay her course to clean living.
Finally, the film had me fooled into thinking it was going to be relatively mild until we reached the last stretch of the film where we got some blood and fun effects. I knew I shouldn’t have doubted Stanze and his dedication to his fans when it comes to blood. Overall, Anxiety is one hell of a ride from a seriously underrated filmmaker. The cast is great, and the story may take a little too long to get going but once it does it does not disappoint. I highly recommend this one.
