In Fabric: A giallo-inspired blend of satire and style

In Fabric - Peter Strickland - 2018

★★★★-Satirizes corporate culture, art, contemporary dating, and the fashion industry. Totally nails the giallo feel. Music was great and on point as well. Also has a Lynchian vibe. Sort of an anthology with people coming into contact with the dress and things going down. Little like Cat's Eye, but with a dress. It's an exceptionally weird movie. I strongly disliked it, though there were moments when I found it enjoyable. I haven't stopped thinking about it either. The more I contemplate it, the more I like it, but I'll never watch it again. 

Written and directed by Peter Strickland. A24 film. Available on Paramount+. Gist is a malevolent red dress haunts its various owners, bringing a death curse into their lives. The solid cast includes Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace ,Blindspot, Homecoming), Hayley Squires, Leo Bill, and Gwendoline Christie (the giant from Game of Thrones and Wednesday). Haven't really seen any of them except Jean-Baptiste and Christie before. Julian Barratt from The Mighty Boosh and Mindhorn plays a bit part.

First owner is a woman that's a lonely hearts type (played by Jean-Baptiste). She's a single mom with an adult son. He's an “artist.” He's also a fucking asshole. She walks in on him eating out his girlfriend (Christie) in the middle of the night in the living room. Come on, man. The girlfriend sees her and starts moaning louder. Fuck that chick. Sees the son's gross art of her butthole and her underpants with her son's face on them. This poor mother. 

When we see her on her first date, the guy goes from being a real wet blanket to a piece of shit. Plus he's got a dumb looking face. She's way too good for this shit, before she gets her killer dress. 

The sales lady says some mysterious, weird shit, but she seems pretty cool. I'm definitely buying whatever sartorial accoutrements she is peddling. This store is pretty fucking weird. Just gets more insane from there. The brawl at the end is pretty bananas and fun, and likely my favorite part of the movie.

One of those, what is this type of flicks. Pretty funny at times. Like when one of the guys tells the bankers of this dream he had of his wife giving birth. When the doctors pull the baby out, it is wearing the dress. He waves and the baby “has none of that,” and flips him off. He bangs on the glass and the doctor hoses the glass off. 

Definitely has a style that I appreciated. Direction and acting were both above average. It is a weird one, but my kind of weird. Atmospheric, stylistic, powerful. Wild, weird, and beautiful. I loved it. If you like Suspiria, this will be your type of film.