VOD Review: Faults (2015)

(aka Deprogramming Ain't Easy.)
Release Date: March 6th.
Country: USA.
Rating: NR.
Written and Directed by: Riley Stearns. 
Starring: Leland Orser, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lance Reddick, Beth Grant, Chris Ellis, and Jon Gries.

The best way to describe Faults is that it plays like an Off-Broadway stage play that someone dreamt up after spending a day watching Coen Brothers flicks.

It's definitely an "out there" sort of movie, but in a very subtle, straight-forward kind of way.

*It would be hard to talk too much about the plot of Faults without giving away its twists and turns, so we're going to keep it short and sweet in the breakdown section.

Ansel Roth is one of the world's foremost experts on mind control and deprogramming; when someone you love (who is of weak mind) has been brainwashed by a cult, he's the guy you call in to kidnap them and "return them to normal" by locking them in a room and telling them how stupid they are for five days. Of course this radical deprogramming method doesn't always work, as every now and then one of the people that he "saves" ends up killing themselves, so hopefully, he gets paid up front.

"SO, UM... HOW MUCH IS YOUR DAUGHTER WORTH TO YOU AGAIN?"

Washed-up and getting his ass kicked by life, Ansel is pretty much a jerky asshole who only cares about selling his books and getting free stuff. When he meets the desperate parents of Claire, a mentally fragile young girl who is under the spell of a mysterious cult called Faults, he's offered a chance to not only redeem his past failures, but to pay off his debt to his would-be criminal former agent. Also, free breakfast.

Once the deprogramming begins however, it quickly becomes clear that Ansel has gotten himself into something far deeper (and creepier) than he could have ever imagined. Deep deprogramming ensues.

LET THE HEALING BEGIN!

Faults is one weird and enjoyable little flick that starts out as an almost quirky Coen Brothers-esque black comedy, with a protagonist that I'm pretty sure weren't supposed to like all that much, and then switches gears into full-blown "What in the creepy hell is going on here?" territory, without missing a beat. There haven't been many movies that have tackled the subject of cult deprogramming (the excellent Martha Marcy May Marlene is probably the only other one that we've ever seen), but Faults makes us wish that there were more of them.

TIME FOR YOUR "BATH."

Aside from its compelling story, the real strength of Faults lies with its acting core of Leland Orser and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Both of them turn in compelling performances here, and especially Orser; we're pretty sure that he'll be getting some Indie awards love/recognition for what he did in this movie, and deservedly so. You know what, saying "Especially Orser" seems a bit unfair to MEW, because she acted her ass of in this one as well. They were both fantastic.

"SAY GOODNIGHT TO THE CULT GUY!"

If we have one big complaint about Faults, it's that we'd really like to know a bit more about what happened at the end. It's not really hard to piece everything together in a basic way, but the ambiguity of it all left us with questions. We also could have done without the whole "paying off the ex-agent" sub-plot, as those scenes took a lot of time away from the "deprogramming" section of the movie, which we would have liked to have seen a bit more of.

On a quick side note: It's really annoying when IMDB spoils a movie by listing when actors play dual characters, e.g. Jim/Mangler. Needless to say, avoid reading through IMDB until after you see Faults.

STOP THAT SHIT, IMDB!

Cults are pretty effective at what they do. Also, Leland Orser is way underrated as an actor.

GIVEN THEIR SITUATION, THEY BOTH SEEM A BIT TOO RELAXED.

Our advice to you is that if Faults sounds like a movie that you'd enjoy, don't read anymore about it, don't go and watch any of its trailers, just rent it and experience it, as this is one of those strange little Indie flicks that begs to be experienced in unspoiled fashion. Spoiled or otherwise though, Faults is a movie that definitely deserves to be seen by anyone who likes smart Thrillers... Mysteries... character pieces? Let's just call it a smart movie, and leave it at that.

B+

Faults is available now on VOD.

We'd deprogram Mary Elizabeth Winstead (MEW if you're nasty) any day. To help her, pervs! Get your minds out of the gutter.