Slices of Life (2010) - 3/4

   Slices of Life is a horror anthology film containing three stories, all directed by Anthony G. Sumner. Each story addresses an aspect of life--work, home, and sex--and are bound by a frame story in which an amnesiac girl starts to remember her own life.

   Anthology horror movies are very difficult, especially on a low budget. The short horror film is a difficult craft in itself. Justifying the inclusion and order of the short films in an anthology often appears arbitrary. Sumner's approach shows a degree of thought and seriousness, as well as familiarity with the genre, that is of an unusually high order and these virtues are consistently present in each story.

   The first, and best, of the stories, "W.O.R.M." concerns a sadsack mailroom clerk who uses experimental technology to make people be his friend. He's actually a rather likeable guy, thanks to a fine performance by Jack Guasta. But he has the misfortune of inhabiting a kafkaesque corporate office that rewards jerks and bullies exclusively. Sumner crafts this environment so expertly and believably that the eruption of a Cronenbergian sex-and-violence nightmare into this environment seems an appropriate and fitting end to its denizens.

   The second story, "Amber Alert," is a well-crafted ghost story in which a pregnant woman begins to receive visitations from a kidnapped little girl. The outcome is a bit predictable and the telling too reliant on digital effects, though they are at times beautifully inventive. The depiction of an African American male may strike some viewers as either amusingly or lamentably racist.

   The final story, "Pink Snapper," concerns a brother-and-sister duo who leave their abusive uncle and stumble upon a mansion in the woods where a girl is chained up in the basement and a body has been butchered in the bathtub. "Pink Snapper" is an excellently structured suspense-and-gorefest with a Hennenlotter sort of vibe. It works primarily on a visceral level, and it works very well. The practical effects in this segment are particularly praiseworthy.

    The films are ordered almost like a work of classical music, the first movement exciting, the second slow and somber, and the third fast and playful. I found the momentum of the film highly engaging, making the heavily-allegorical conclusion, venial if a little misplaced. Sumner's work in each short is deft and thoughtful. It's a degree of seriousness too often lacking in independent film. The stories and gore are all consistently entertaining and thought-provoking, and the overall design of Slices of Life is as elegant as the creepy scrapbook props of the frame tale.

   It's a shame that an independent, anthology horror film that's this good is so viciously trashed in its Internet Movie Database rating (3.7 at time of review). Slices of Life is what horror filmmaking is and a horror fan must be pretty jaded not to get some thrills from it.