The first film screened at the Freakshow Film Festival was ironically not really a horror flick at all, at least not in a traditional sense. The Canadian Nobody is a hybrid flick. Part 1940's noir crime picture and part existentialist nightmare, this is one hell of a unique film. And I don't use the term “unique” without a fair amount of adoration. It is rare when a film can come completely out of nowhere to completely surprise me.

I want to discuss it with you. I feel like sitting down and dissecting Nobody scene by scene with you, and really flushing out its brilliance, but I can't with this review. This is just a film review, damn it. This is just me saying that you should see a movie, or you shouldn't see a movie and here are the reasons. Why should you see Nobody? Well, because it's genius. That's why. If you and I were on a higher level of trust, you could just take me at my word and you would know that I wouldn't steer you wrong. Perhaps we are and you feel no need to read further and if that's the case, then stop reading this and just keep the film title in mind. See it when you get the chance, and then come back here and talk to me about it afterward. Anything I specify pre-emptively will just dull the effect.

I mean it.

Okay, now that I know that where you and I stand, we can continue. I'll do what I can to keep vague.

You will spend much of Nobody in a state of confusion, not quite grasping the implications of what is happening on screen. The story is not told with a linear timeline. It bounces in and out and you will see the same scene from different angles and from different character's perspectives. This is not only a stylistic choice (although it is that as well), because I would rarely applaud a film for committing that fallacy. This non-linear method of storytelling is critical to the film's unfolding. You see, it is not only the plot that is being unravelled as more information is given to you, but also the logic of the nightmare.

If this sounds alienating to you, you're correct to an extent, but the film has actually considered that it might be, as it puts its protagonist in precisely the same position as you. At one point, as he narrates overtop of the action saying that even though this is not reality as he understands it, there must be rules. If he can figure them out, he can play the game. The film gives you something that you can sympathize with, a character that can help carry the viewer through what seems like a plot of intriguing nonsense.

I feel I should mention the cinematography, which is dark and beautiful for a digital film. As well, I should say something about director Shawn Linden's eye for imagery, which is as profound as anything I've seen from a first-time director in recent memory. It reminds me of seeing Blood Simple and Donnie Darko for the first time, and marvelling at how a young director can get “it” on their first attempt. In a sense though, I don't necessarily care about that. It's merely icing on a delicious ice cream cake of a film.

This is one of my favourite movies I've seen this year. I just hope I haven't ruined it for you by attempting to explain why.