ReelBob: ‘In Fabric’ ★★★½

By Bob Bloom

As the lights came up after the 28th Heartland International Film Festival screening of “In Fabric,” I turned to my Indiana Film Journalists Association colleagues and blurted, “That is the weirdest f…ing movie I have ever seen.”

Later, in the lobby of the theater, a woman came up to a colleague, Midwest Film Journal cofounder Evan Dossey, who along with the other MFJ cofounder, Sam Watermeier, had introduced the movie.

“I am 69 years old, and my father was a projectionist,” the woman railed at Dossey, “and this is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.”

Well, I am 71 years old, and I gotta admit, I enjoyed “In Fabric.” The movie, which will open in early December, is a hoot.

Sure, it is supposed to be a horror film, but it’s actually a satiric, dark comedy about commercialism and consumerism.

I liken it to “Suspiria,” but instead of a ballet school, “In Fabric” is set in a high-class dress shop.

The movie centers on an artery-red gown, first purchased by Sheila (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a woman in her 50s and recently separated from her husband.

She is lonely, has a nowhere job as a bank teller and subscribes to a dating service.

On a whim, she visits the dress shop, which has been heavily advertising its sales on television, and is attracted to the red dress.

“In Fabric,” written and directed by Peter Strickland, is a very strange movie. It emits a ’70s horror vibe blended with Italian giallo genre esthetics.

You will have many questions during this movie — but Strickland offers very few answers. This is more about storytelling than the story.

I could not take my eyes off the screen because Strickland continually creates anticipation. You are mesmerized by and drawn to that dress.

And that is one of the movie’s strengths. Strickland plays off your expectations; your knowledge of supernatural thrillers. He is continually winking and poking you in the ribs.

Usually, when you laugh during a horror film, it’s to relieve tension. “In Fabric” is a dark comedy with very eerie elements.

Strickland frames the movie as a critique of monstrous consumerism. He inserts many shots of crowds eagerly pressing against the store’s doors waiting for them to open.

But he does not hit you over the head with his theme because he does not want to distract from the supernatural shenanigans of his red dress, which floats, spins and hates to be thrown into a washing machine.

He extends this to the store’s personnel — especially Miss Luckmoore (Fatma Mohamed), the main clerk whose sales pitch is overly pretentious and through existential blather about how a dress and a customer become one.

She plies this spiel to Sheila who eventually buys the red dress.

The dress eventually falls into the hands of washing machine-repairman Reg Speaks (Leo Bill) who, after being forced to don it during his bachelor party, passes it on to his fiancé.

As anyone who owns the dress learns, the garment seems to have a mind of its own, and nothing good happens to anyone in its presence.

Much of what occurs during “In Fabric” is unexplained. For example, who are the people running the store? A coven of witches? A satanic cult?

And why do they so desperately want to get rid of the dress? Obviously, it is cursed. But are they the ones who placed a spell on it, or are they working so hard to sell it so they can lift a curse from themselves?

The answer isn’t necessary. Like me, you should just go along with the ride.

The movie offers many bizarre sequences. One that features a mannequin in the shop’s underground workshop is a jaw dropper.

The other centers on Stash (Julian Barratt) and Clive (Steve Orman), two officials at the bank where Sheila work. They are the movie’s comic relief, bringing in Sheila to question her about bathroom breaks, waving at the bank owner’s mistress and other inane matters.

The sequence is repeated when Speaks, after losing his job for repairing his own washing machine, meets the bankers about a potential loan. Stash and Clive ask him to describe how he would repair their washing machine, and they become nearly orgasmic when he begins spouting technical jargon.

As I said, “In Fabric,” which was screened at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis and is scheduled to be released in early December, is a very odd movie, and it will not fit everyone’s tastes.

But it is original. It also is creepy, stylish, maddening and funny. It has something to say, and Strickland teases you by having you try to figure out what that is.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

IN FABRIC
3½ stars out of 4
(R), disturbing and bloody images, language, violence, sexual content