Burning Men is definitely its own entity. Sometimes that works in its favor; sometimes it becomes a detriment. But when it comes down to originality alone, the film’s innovative qualities are admirably brave.

We follow the stories of Ray (Ed Hayter) and Don (Aki Omoshaybi), two young, struggling musicians from South London who find themselves hastily evicted from their small flat. Taking a leap of faith, they sell their prized vinyl collection so as to have another shot at success in Memphis, but their insufficient funds lead them to steal an extremely rare black metal record at the Camden fair. But as they head north–whilst picking up a hitchhiker named Susie (Elinor Crawley–they begin to be stalked by otherworldly forces, and the stolen record may be to blame.

Story and characters aside, the most notable aspect of Burning Men is definitely the cinematography, which is filmed in a POV format for nearly every shot. It works well for the film’s realism and is effective at making the viewer feel more connected with our protagonists; however, it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of as far as remembering whose point of view we’re looking at, which ultimately becomes a distraction that lasts the entire film. But I have no choice but to commend such a ballsy decision; plus, my coffee-less brain at the time might be at fault. And horror-wise, it can be an intimate creep factor that you wouldn’t experience elsewhere. 

In order for such an innovative technique to most effectively land, the other aspects of the film need to follow suit, which was not held up well in Burning Men‘s editing, which seemed a bit too slow and offbeat to keep the flow of action and dialogue fresh and tight. (That came out weird, but you know what I mean.) However, the talented cast of relatively unknown, young actors carries the film with realistic acting and an awkward likability.

With any new style, imperfections are inevitable but forgivable. And in this case, Burning Men is an intimate piece of cinema that is worth viewing for creativity alone.