Intimate family drama turns into a witch apocalypse

Too many films waste time trying to convince their own characters that the supernatural is real. But in XYZ Films’ stunning horror gem “Falling Stars,” the people of San Bernardino County already know witches exist. They’ve spent years dealing with their neighbors’ on-the-fly kidnappings, as evident in a cold film that shows a young woman running down a winding road. One moment she’s skipping in time with her steps, enjoying the desert air and surveying the sprawling landscape; the next it is simple gone.

This scene and many others in this haunting film poem were shot partially overhead. Although “Watch the sky!” is advice usually reserved for extraterrestrial excursions, a bird’s-eye view proves essential to co-directors Gabriel Biencyzycki and Richard Karpala’s stirring reflections on community, survival, and the unpredictable actions of God. Set somewhere between 1996’s Twister and HBO’s The Leftovers, this emotional saga (also written by Karpala) combines a suspenseful disaster film with an intimate family drama to electrifying effect.

An annual worldwide event called “The Harvest” occurs earlier every year, explains local radio host Barry (J. Aaron Boykin). The on-air personality and his book producer Elana (Samantha Turret) help give “Falling Stars” its sometimes “Halloween” feel, and their witty predictions serve as a kind of unifying framework for the residents. If you’re preparing for a hurricane, you might buy groceries and board up your windows – but if you’re preparing for a witch invasion, you’ll gather the ingredients for a fairy circle and stay inside no matter what.

Curious countryman Mike (Shaun Duke Jr.) tempts fate when he invites his younger brothers Sal (Andrew Gabriel) and Adam (Rene Leech) on an ill-conceived adventure in the middle of the new harvest season. In this complex and ethereal universe, people believe in witches without seeing them: a quirk that makes you wonder why these beings were called “witches” in the first place. But when Mike’s friend Rob (Greg Poppa) takes the boys to a remote location outside of Joshua Tree, he discovers the gnarled corpse of a witch he claims he not only saw but also killed with a shotgun months ago.

“The longer you spend with her, the harder it will be to leave,” warns the tortured man.

Rob is the one who puts all four potential victims in danger, and yet his wife Meg (Orianna Milne) is equally suspicious of Mike. With a two-year-old daughter to raise, Rob can’t afford to get caught up in a crazy night of partying – let alone disappear into the clouds. Intense relationship dynamics like these underpin most of the film’s naturalistic dialogue, delivered by a believable cast that draws you in from the start.

This community’s struggle for survival vacillates between passive acceptance, fearful theories, and graphic death scenes that are less graphic or violent than spiritually intense. The victims’ understated, almost rapturous disappearance makes this obviously common concept seem more real, and helps its remarkably cohesive cast sell lines like “Demons love to fuck witches, man!” in an impressive script that is at the same time understated and full of stories.

After things inevitably get out of hand at the burial site, the men return to town, fearing that they have brought on a curse that will kill them all. Mike’s mother Danni (Diane Box Worman) is the first to shame him for being so reckless and putting his brothers in danger – but a truly terrifying performance from the actress suggests a judgment riddled with ghosts and regrets of her own Harvest’s past has been compromised. She will push her sons to end the family downfall they started, even as it becomes clear that one or more of them won’t make it through the night.

Don’t miss: “Falling Stars” reimagines the fantasy tropes of witchcraft through the kind of regional character specificity that indie audiences more often see in films like “Winter’s Bone.” This approach results in a quiet, frightening climax that may lack the typical effects of creature features but is problematic in a deeper, more existential sense. The result is a raw allegory ripped from the contradictions of American life – charming but not superfluous under oppressively vast skies.

Grade: B+

XYZ Films’ Falling Stars hits select theaters on October 11th.

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