Slamdance International Film Festival 2025 Review!
Merl (Colin Burgess) has terrific hair. Thick and wavy and moldable as clay, his bonce is a thing of beauty. This is just as well, as he has a giant doppelganger protruding from his yard atop of which every strand stands proud, giant and majestic, like a glossy Hokusai threatening to break across his lawn.
Why is a giant version of his head sticking out of his garden? Is there even one there, or is it a delusion? This is the main hook of In The Mouth, a surreal adventure that mines the daytime horror of an anonymous American suburb with Lynchian aplomb. It is a simple idea, and writer/director Cory Santilli deserves credit for working a slim notion so very well during the course of a proper feature film.
Nervy Merl never leaves his house, something he seems to have acclimatized to totally. He chastises a visitor for not removing their shoes, and when Merl’s own slip-ons are pointed out, he politely explains they are ‘indoor shoes.’ How long he has been a shut-in is not clear, but it won’t be for much longer – his landlady appears regularly to remind him that he is being evicted for nonpayment of rent. The film takes up most of its time with the schemes and adventures he gets into to not have to leave; trying to sell Beanie Babies, then taking in a roommate who is quite obviously a highly sought, on the run ‘man slaughterer.’ (There are a lot of nice, silly choices to do with language here.)
Santilli has really knocked it out of the park. His film is as funny as it is intriguing. Shot entirely in inky black and white, his tale of Merl balances dark surrealism with light humour, with the two opposing strands twining elegantly into the mutant double helix of a pretty good, and very weird story.
… (takes on) a room-mate who is quite obviously a highly sought, on the run ‘man slaughterer.’
Burgess gives a great performance, a stumbling mental block of a man whose discombobulation is pretty great dramatic grist for every scene he’s in. His awkwardness is constant and total, especially once on the lam Larry (Paul Rothery) moves in. The interactions between the two are a treat, with lonely Merl’s optimistic accommodation of Larry running nicely counter to Larry’s own drama with the career criminal goombas who are helping him lay low.
Burgess and Rothery work together on screen really well, aided by a script which is good at showcasing the Beckettian absurdities life presents to both men.
It doesn’t all entirely work though, the ending may have you asking what the hell you just watched, not necessarily in a good way, as it feels like it really couldn’t come up with a climax as convincing as everything beforehand. It’s not the worst ending, but it is certainly not the equal of the rest of the film.
This certainly deserves nominating for the What The F**k Was That category when Film Threat’s Award This next rolls around, though, that’s for sure. I don’t know what the f**k it was. I liked it, though.
In The Mouth screened at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.
"…I don't know what the fuck it was. I liked it, though."
