‘Pathetic Fallacy’ Is an Emotional Rollercoaster That’s Worth the Ride [FANTASTIC FEST REVIEW]

A Trippy Exploration of Grief

Stories about grief, especially in the horror genre, are a dime a dozen. It’s a genre that really lends itself to exploring what that pain means and how it feels to lose someone you love dearly. With Adam Egypt Mortimer’s Pathetic Fallacy, the film explores how far someone is willing to go to connect with the one they love. And somehow, that theme plays beautifully into Mortimer’s wacky style and whiplash tone of Pathetic Fallacy.

The “cold open” of the film is an emotional roller coaster that left me sobbing throughout it that quickly shifts into something a bit sinister and jarring. The jump happens multiple times throughout the film that lulls you into an emotional state before twisting the knife into something else entirely.

It’s hard to explain exactly what makes Pathetic Fallacy special, part of it being Kid Cudi’s performance as Asher, but whatever the reason, there is something truly special about this movie. Iris (Jessica Rothe) and Asher fall in love and are meant to be together but is it worth selling your soul to keep that love alive? That’s what Pathetic Fallacy asks its audience to consider.

How Far Would You Go?

Within the more supernatural elements of the film, we get to unpack the idea of what someone is willing to do to make their wishes come true. In Asher’s case, his is about his wife Iris and less about career driven desire. Mortimer directs the Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari script to, at times, feel like a muppet adventure. The comedy when Asher goes to the mountain is truly hilarious and makes you laugh when you want to cry and the continued eb and flow of emotions throughout it makes Pathetic Fallacy more than just a slasher film.

With all the different horror elements mixed into Mortimer’s film, you could easily see a movie like this taking on too much. That isn’t the vase here though. You have a slasher and a drama and a thriller and a sci-fi story all woven into one and it truly works to make this something more than just a run of the mill horror film.

Verdict: Kid Cudi Is a Star

At the core of Pathetic Fallacy is Asher. If his story wasn’t believable, the movie would not work. Which is what makes Cudi’s performance such an impressive feat. We’ve seen Cudi act in the past, my favorite being his cameo in Bill & Ted Face the Music. But we’ve never seen him take on a starring role. It was worth it to have Pathetic Fallacy as his first starring role.

There is just an honest energy to Cudi’s performance as Asher that carries throughout the film. And that mixed with Rothe’s beautiful performance as Iris made this slasher more than just another movie you’d forget about as soon as you’re done with it. Instead, it is a gorgeous look at love, loss, and what it means to be careful what you wish for.