What strikes you most upon viewing Aaaaaaaah! for the first time, is that as a viewer, you become very accepting, very quickly of the crazed way in which the story plays out. Perhaps writer/director/actor Steve Oram forces this acceptance; the film in many ways is a wild and frenzied ambush upon its audience, which is by no means a bad thing.
The script — translated into grunts and shouts — tells a tale of monkey-like humans enacting their elemental thoughts and desires upon one another. With performances from a frankly spectacular cast, it’s difficult to not enjoy this seemingly mind-boggling viewpoint on an alternative modern day life. Along with Oram, Toyah Willcox, Lucy Honigman and Julian Rhind-Tutt are all superbly strange. With additional appearances from the likes of Noel Fielding and a battenberg loving Julian Barratt, there is no doubt about the cast being up to the challenge of such a production based on performance. Each grunt given is entirely original to each character.
Aaaaaaaah! is in many ways completely flabbergasting to watch, and it is a fantastic example of what you can do on a micro-budget with some wild imagination. You’d be forgiven for your surprise at the sheer fearlessness of it, with a great deal of sex and violence that is often hugely funny on some strange, inner level.
This is a film that does provoke some base thought, however; looking behind the ape-like interactions, there is a great deal of method to this madness. The primal relationships between the “men” and “women” in the film are a clear indication of male dominance, along with a highly satirical look at television sitcom, Aaaaaaaah! does delve into viewers’ minds in a more studious way. However, whether you see the psychology behind it or not, with its many moments of savage, sexual squabbling, Aaaaaaaah! is a first class, unconventional film, and certainly one that is sure to leave an unashamedly wacky impression on its audience.
Aaaaaaaah! will be screened at Indie-Lincs 2016 on Friday 11 March; between 19.00 and 21.30 in a screening with Jake Hovell’s I Could Eat a Horse, Cristian Sulser’s Scrabble and Mark Brocking’s The Barber’s Cut.
The film has been nominated for 1 award: the ANGRY IMP for Most Challenging Film.
For more information on Indie-Lincs 2016, including information on scheduled screenings, special events, film descriptions, awards, and tickets; check out our Indie-Lincs article or visit the Indie-Lincs website.
- Reviewed by Ben Reynolds
Eyes on Screen 