Vivarium (2019) Review

Vivarium (2019) Review

A surreal and twisted sci-fi tale from the executive producers of MANDY, THE VOID and the producers of THE LAST DAYS ON MARS: a young couple looking for the ideal home find themselves trapped in a terrifying labyrinth-like suburb of identical houses and endless streets. VIVARIUM stars Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots and Jonathan Aris.

I have been keen to see director Lorcan Finnegan’s second feature, since first seeing it advertised, as I have a taste for the more off-beat and surreal in my film diet. Sadly I was left wanting from the end result which felt like it was being deliberately obtuse and weird simply for the sake of being deliberately obtuse and weird.

Everything you need to know about the film is right there in the title and backed-up with metaphors and imagery spelling out what you already know – it makes for a frustrating and pointless viewing experience. The film’s production design and performances are on the money however such talent has been squandered on a flick that resulted in a bemused ‘huh?’ from this viewer come the climax.

It’s not that I didn’t get the gist, I did. The only mystery left unclear for me was why a single-idea got rolled out into as a feature length film a half-hour TV format would have done the job just as adequately – disappointing.