Starmaker

If becoming a star means joining a cult, then Starmaker is the gateway. A bizarre psychological thriller written by Krystal Lawton, Nicholas Raponi, and director Joshua David Pivato, Starmaker tells the story of Katrina Freeman, aka Katrina Fox (Krystal Lawton). Desperate to be a famous actress, and it appears to be at any cost, Katrina knowingly submits to the methods of the enigmatic “Starmaker” and signs away her life to enter a world where fame is ritual, and escape isn’t part of the script or an option.

From the onset, the look and feel of Starmaker grabs your attention with its lush black-and-white cinematography, alluring jazz soundtrack, and exciting montage of New York City where you can feel the excitement and beat of Manhattan—some nostalgia and a lot of the here and now. Something is surely about to happen and combined with off-screen comments and narration about becoming a star, we are set up for a journey. Then, without delay, Katrina Fox sits before her agent, only interested in hearing that she will become a star if she commits to two months of intense training that is sure to succeed.

Naïve and brainwashed by her fast-talking agent, who throws around baseball metaphors, Katrina signs her life away. Up to this point, Starmaker has set a mood for fame. However, everything changes when Katrina arrives at a large house, “the facility” in the middle of nowhere, and meets her instructor, Simon Dirk (Joshua David Pivato), who tells Katrina she is a lioness—calm, cool, and collected, and ready to pounce. Katrina is captivating, but when paired up with Simon, she becomes vulnerable as Simon tries to break her down.

“If becoming a star means joining a cult…”

Simon immediately starts training Katrina with exercise and odd smoothie drinks while he eats steak, initiating her deconstruction, which he insists is actually construction. Katrina takes a two-month leap of faith without a cell phone, facing strange tests where she struggles to walk straight and begins to feel trapped. When it is revealed that she is asthmatic, despite claiming she had no health issues, she is caught in a lie—not part of the program.

Katrina has dreams filled with fear and anxiety that eventually make her want to escape Simon and his practice, which he claims makes her a movie star. She is told that dreams and nightmares are like one chasing the other, and that chasing the spotlight blinds you to everything lurking in the shadows. When Katrina tries to run away, she actually passes Simon’s toughest test. Still, she’s in disbelief.

What makes Starmaker an interesting film is the buildup of its psychological thriller essence that comes from the work and the less-is-more consistent beatdown ideology. Director Joshua David Pivato, who also plays Simon, has gone to great lengths to develop the threats and ill will occurring in a quiet but sinister way, with a simple, stripped-down approach toward “cracking” Katrina. Although Katrina seems to accept it all without issue, you can sense an underlying, subtle questioning that she is holding back until she realizes she is part of a demented plan, and rage ensues unleashing grotesque horror.

Starmaker’s black-and-white film choice is a great metaphor for the process that is occurring, it has its moments where one gets lost in the shadows or the grain—hard to see what’s around and on the screen. However, it can be a bit lifeless at times—as Starmaker’s “facility” is a large, plain home, set in a cold and dreary season in the middle of nowhere—a frightening vibe and provoking a sense of fear. Yet, a powerful move occurs when the camera is flipped upside down, which adds to a dramatic moment for Katrina in an attempt to escape, which may not have had such an impact if it were in color. One of Starmaker’s several thriller elements, this moment is a pivot in the film where the horror elements of Simon and his personality are unleashed.

Katrina has been groomed to fear, which turns to anger, all propped up by food and sleep deprivation and constant verbal degradation, causing nightmares and instability—and who knows what might be in her smoothie? With a touch of Hitchcock and a subtle critique of the industry, Starmaker blends psychological thriller elements with demonic spirits all collected in its characters. It’s sexy but with somewhat disturbing dream sequences and chilling scenes reminiscent of old and peculiar horror films that are still unsettling today. Perhaps this is what an actor experiences in the subconscious when a star is made.