Krisha - Review

R | 1h 23min | Comedy, Drama
Review - Matt Mungle

**In select theaters March 25th 2016**

Synopsis: Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.

Review: In KRISHA we get a mix of fact and fiction in a story that though intriguing tends to come off a bit common place. Although our families may not have the same type of demons, we all have something going on. So it is easy to look at this and think, "ok, so what, let me tell you my story". But kudos to writer/director Trey Edward Shults on building tension and a sense of awkward unease that crawls across the skin. That isn't always easy to do. 

Krisha (Krisha Fairchild) is in many ways mysterious. Not much is known about the who and what of her separation from the family. Fairchild is an actress who makes you believe she isn't performing. The lack of recognition to her and the cast help solidify the voyeuristic elements of the film. In fact many of the supporting actors are actually her real family. This often is not a good idea but with the nature of the story and the commonality it wasn't a bad choice here. 

There are a few things though that were bad choices and keep the film from being stand out. The dialogue is at times hard to decipher. I thought maybe the mix was off or it was a sound problem. But after seeing other reviews I realize that is was on purpose. The soundtrack is over bearing and though tension building soon becomes annoying. 

As the story plays out we get the sense that our over active imaginations are going to be dissapointed. We aren't going to get the climactic cat in the bag we hoped for. But rather a look into a family that has its problems like everyone else. Some far worse. 

KRISHA is rated R for language, substance abuse and some sexual content. It is an adult film that only adults would even want to watch. I give it 2 out of 5 turkey rubs. Far from the "Extraordinary" quote on the poster, unless it is referring to Shults. He may end up being a better director than a writer.