Overlook 2023 Film Festival – Sometimes, we do what we have to do to make a buck and pay rent. In the case of Trim Season, the main character, Emma (Bethlehem Million), takes a job trimming weed on a remote marijuana farm with a diverse group of characters. However, it turns out that the farm has some pretty sinister secrets that prevent the workers from just getting up and leaving. Oh, and it turns out, certain strains of the weed kill.

The feature, directed by Ariel Vida and written by David Blair, makes it clear from the get-go that this is going to be quite the gory and gnarly ride. The opening minutes entail a woman stabbing herself again and again with a pair of scissors. After this startling opening, we’re introduced to Emma, who just lost her job and is then kicked to the curb by her roommate because she can no longer afford rent. Desperate for income, Emma takes a job on the farm with her bestie, Julia (Alex Essoe). There, they’re introduced to quite the cast of characters, including the rebellious pot connoisseur Harriet (Ally Ioannides), non-binary Dusty (Bex Taylor-Klaus), and Lex (Juliette Kenn De Balinthazy), who can’t feel physical pain. Overseeing the workers is the secretive and domineering Mona (Jane Badler), along with her two sons, Christopher (Cory Hart) and Malcolm (Ryan Donowho).

What Trim Season initially does well is flesh out the characters. The first half spends sufficient time exploring their stories, including their personal struggles and past hardships. This mostly occurs as they sit around a table and get to know each other as they smoke blunts and trim the weed with scissors. This set-up is also effective because when they start dying under strange circumstances, you actually care about the loss. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say one of them endures a pretty nasty death after inhaling red weed. The camera doesn’t cut away when the characters suffer, and boy, do they suffer.

The feature also holds its cards to its chest, at least initially. It’s clear from the first time she’s introduced that something is up with Mona, and after she makes comments to Emma about valuing her youth while she’s still young, there are hints she’s a witch and has something to do with the strange and murderous power of the cannabis. This becomes more apparent in the film’s second half. Badler really does one heck of a job playing a baddie. She steals many of the scenes she’s in, while exuding an aura of mystery mixed with power. In contrast, Million does a good job in the lead role, playing a noble character just trying to get by, before eventually fighting back against Mona’s sinister powers. Meanwhile, Essoe already has a storied horror track record, and her character is Emma’s rock. They play off each other well and even have some serious romantic vibes.

My only real gripe with the film is that Mona’s story isn’t fully explored, nor how she quite has the powers that she does. The explanation that eventually comes opens up more questions than answers.  She’s quite an arresting villain that deserved more backstory. To that end, when her powers are on full display, they’re quite terrifying, especially her ability to make others harm themselves. This film has more than one brutal death beyond the violent opening, along with its fair share of trippy moments where the frame turns red whenever Mona is at peak power.

Trim Season is a bloody trip. Beyond the smoke haze lies a witchy film that shocks and entertains. Somehow, this premise about killer weed works and manifests into a potent story about female power and kinship.

7 Out of 10