The world of street art has its mysterious personas with pseudonyms like Blek le Rat, COST and REVS, Invader, and SAMO. Many attempt to keep their real identities secret, and their anonymity only seems to fuel their intrigue. Banksy, of course, is the most obvious example of this. With Mr. Jones, writer-director Karl Mueller takes the concept of a prolific and anonymous artist and applies it to his titular character, a mysterious recluse who has produced a handful of creepy, nightmarish statues (or totems, or scarecrows, there is no consensus on their exact description or purpose) over the last several decades, sending them to individuals around the world.
Scott and Penny (Jon Foster and Sarah Jones) are a young couple who venture out to a cabin in the wilderness on a sort of art residency. Penny is a photographer but the charge is led by Scott, who wants to make a nature documentary. The camerawork in the introductory part of the story is appropriately beautiful, with lots of great footage of flora and fauna before things start to get crazy. The pair believes themselves to be alone, but soon discover someone already lives nearby in a dilapidated house. He seems to be aware of their presence but makes no attempt to talk to them, even when they try to initiate contact.
At one point they venture into their reclusive neighbor’s squalorous house to recover a backpack that he took into his home, and in his basement find a workshop full of his frightening sculptures (created for the film by Halloween artist Pumpkinrot), as well as a covered hole which suggest that something further lies below.
After realizing the identity of “Mr. Jones,” their research into his work opens even more disturbing questions about his motives and possible supernatural elements of his work. And although it isn’t ever mentioned, his totems look something like twisted crucifixes, lending an eerie spiritual (or anti-spiritual) aura to their already vaguely sinister appearance. Emboldened by the great documentary material they’ve inadvertently stumbled on, they decide to uncover the hole in his basement and venture below solve the mystery of Mr. Jon
I think it goes without saying that neither the increasing prevalence of the “found footage” style frameworks nor the PG-13-ificiation of horror can be considered positive trends for the genre. Noting that Mr. Jones exhibits both of these, it’s already starting from a place of deficit, at least for some viewers. Despite that, our own Ed Travis, whose tastes lie very close to mine, caught a festival screening and expressed a high opinion of it, which bolstered my desire to check it out and give it a fair shake.
The film does an admirable job of navigating the overhead of plotting the footage angle. Since Scott is a documentary filmmaker, he has cameras set up to record from various vantage points. He’s also rigged his primary handheld with an additional action cam in the reverse direction, which allows him to record exposition and reaction shots while the main camera is rolling, which makes sense narratively. A lot of movies would be happy with that much groundedness, enough to achieve suspension of disbelief, but Mr. Jones gets a bit more clever, still. There’s reason to believe Scott and Penny may not be the only ones with cameras rolling.
If there’s a plus side to the PG-13 horror trend, it’s that it forces filmmakers to make smart, effective scares without relying on the more exploitative elements of gore and sex to carry the picture. Mr. Jones definitely sets up its own mythology with an even bigger universe at play than what’s seen on the screen, which leaves things open to more expansive sequels. The movie does have a few “You’re so stupid!” moments when the characters do idiotic stuff in service to the plot, but that trope almost comes with the genre. The last act is a confusing blitz of weirdness that’s intentionally mind-bending but also a bit head-scratching, but it successfully makes you think and puts you in the characters’ shoes. With some genuine creepiness and decent entertainment factor, I found Mr. Jones to be a worthwhile trip to the woods.
THE PACKAGE
Mr. Jones arrives on Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay/Starz with attractive cover art and a foil slipcase. The film is rated PG-13 and includes English subtitles.
Special Features
None, not even a trailer.
Given the film’s mystery elements and barebones disc, this is definitely not a blind buy situation, but I enjoyed watching it and would consider it worth a rental.
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
Mr. Jones — [Blu-ray] | [DVD] | [Amazon Instant]