The best way to watch this kind of movie is to see it without any idea of what it is at all. No posters, no synopses, no trailers.

And no reviews.

That said, if you’re already here, let’s go:

Wes (Ryan Kwanten, best known for portraying Jason Stackhouse on True Blood) finds himself in a rest stop bathroom occupied by an eldritch horror (voiced by J.K. Simmons) on the other side of the glory hole. Throughout the film, we learn more about each of them through flashbacks and animations.

The vast majority of this film takes place in one room, with only one actor on screen (and one voiced from behind a stall wall). It could easily be adapted into a play. The special effects are very good, but not really required for the story to feel “real.”

The dialogue and philosophy reminds me of a Tom Stoppard play. The setting and dread make me think of Pontypool. The effects bring to mind Naked Lunch. Maybe some Phillip K. Dick and Lovecraft mixed in there, too.

I hope director Rebekah McKendry would be pleased with these comparisons.

If any of that appeals (or spending an hour with Ryan in his underwear), then I cannot highly-enough recommend this film. This one’s going to have people talking.

I think if I were marketing, I’d consider the tagline, “You never really know who’s on the other side of a glory hole. Or what.”

Ryan’s acting is solid, going from smoldering resentment to terror to rage and then to existential dread is quite the challenge. By contrast, J.K.’s dry delivery (mostly) is a constant foil and counterpoint. Cinematography is grotty and oppressive, sound and effects serve the story rather than the other way around. Overall a refreshing, delightful, often funny, often gross film that kept me wondering, “how is this going to turn out?” And even when I thought I knew, I found the resolution both surprising and satisfying.

9 out of 10 Glory Holes