PLOT: A tale of two women’s (Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo) journey through a desert, trying to escape the clutches of a devious cult.
REVIEW: The concept of a cult terrorizing individuals has always been ripe for the horror genre. A central figure having such vast control over a group means there are many paths to take it. In The Aviary, we follow Jillian and Blair as they’re finally escaping the cult that has brainwashed them. As they journey across the New Mexican desert, hallucinations set in and you never quite know what is real, and what has been planted there by the cult leader, Seth (Chris Messina).
There’s this jovial spirit in the beginning as the two women don’t fully understand the gravity of their situation. But as things settle in, the mood shifts and things get serious. The hallucinations that both characters experience do a good job of showing the reach of the cult. And while I refer to it as a cult, it’s mostly just Seth. We aren’t able to fully see his reach or grasp how big his cult is which almost feels like a missed opportunity. I appreciated the ambiguity though.
Izzo gives a great performance and Akerman does fine for the most part but doesn’t add much to the role. In fact, both of the characters are fairly interchangeable, so without their performances, there’s really nothing to latch onto. There’s a subplot involving a fourth individual who only really exists to give us a surprise in the end. And likely to add another person to an actor-barren film.
Some interesting elements exist in the story, but this is mostly a character piece. We get to see just how mentally destroyed both of these women are and it adds to the cult mystique. Seth really messes with their minds and has unfathomable control over them. The Aviary almost entirely relies on its performances, which are thankfully very good. The most impressive of which is Chris Messina’s cult figure at the forefront. The film would be significantly more interesting if he were featured more.
There’s a wonderful “oner” where the characters keep imagining Seth talking to them. A character will leave the frame and when they come back in, it’s Seth! Then when the camera floats away and then back over to them, it’s back to their original identity. More of these kinds of camera tricks would have gone a long way. Though I do just have to say: Seth? Really? That’s the best cult name they could come up with? When they refer to him I have to remind myself he’s some scary cult guy and not some stoner who lives down the street.
Chris Cullari and Jennifer Raite serve as the writers and directors here and they manage to pull together a compelling enough tale. There are more than a fair share of beautiful desert and mountain views from scene to scene and, despite its scant cast, the story is rather well-paced. The directors really take advantage of the setting, even harkening back to films like The Blair Witch Project where characters are lost in the woods, going in circles, and unable to escape.
The visual of their food supply being lessened with every day that they don’t reach their destination raises the tension with every cut. But unfortunately, this is the only real peril presented, and it’s not hit upon hard enough. The characters mention their lack of food and water, but it’s hardly a motivating element in the story. They’re able to quickly solve those problems. This is disappointing because it means most of the horror just derives from their fear, and subsequent hallucinations, of Seth.
And as great of a character as Seth is, his control over the women teeters the line of the supernatural. His ominous power goes from this realistic portrayal of what actual cult leaders do, to something that’s decidedly more god-like. By the time we finally get to the big pay-off, it feels cheap versus actually earned. This means that Seth’s aura lessens with each passing minute of the runtime.
Not every idea that is presented fully works, and the ending feels very rushed. I was left wondering if this was a story that the writer/directors were so desperate to tell or one that just worked within the confines of pandemic filming. Thankfully the performances are great (albeit a tad uneven) and the mystery behind the cult certainly adds to the intrigue. But outside of Messina’s performance, I’m not sure I’ll remember anything about The Aviary.
The Aviary is available to watch In Theaters, On Digital, and On Demand on April 29th.