Velvet Buzzsaw - Review Thread

Velvet Buzzsaw is a movie that doesn't ultimately work, but certainly not for lack of trying. The one thing you can't accuse this movie of is being bland. But while it sports some unique combinations of genres (that being mainly dark satire and horror), that doesn't mean they necessarily work together in this context. If there's one word that I feel can best sum up this movie, it's inconsistent. On its own, the central idea of a reclusive (and psychotic) artist's paintings having a malevolent force attached to them that unleashes itself on those who profit from them obviously sounds like the basis for a neat little horror film, but the problem with Velvet Buzzsaw -- or at least one of the problems -- is that there's just not enough of it. Writer/director Dan Gilroy leans more into the dark satire of the art critiquing community, and to his credit, it more often than not does feel like he has something to say in that regard. But the issue there is that the satire just doesn't feel as biting or funny as it could and probably should. Not only that, but it's also hard to get invested in or even like any of the characters, and even though I suspect that that's on purpose, it still creates a disconnect. As for the horror elements themselves...unfortunately, the trailer gives away nearly all of them. On their own, the scenes are honestly effective and do actually have some nice dashes of dark humor after a couple of them, but I could've used more. After a while, I really just found myself waiting around for the next one. The tones and genres just could've been balanced out better.

It's a shame that Velvet Buzzsaw doesn't fully come together, because there IS something here. If you find yourself watching it, you at least won't be bored, but if you liked what you saw in the trailer...prepare for disappointment, cause all the best stuff is in there.