editor

This year, one film had the gall to suggest that in biblical times, editors were the vanguards to the gates of Hell. As someone who has lived with an editor for many years now, I can safely say that I completely believe this myth is plausible.

THE EDITOR is a cheeky send-up of horror films from days gone by. In it, a film editor named Rey Ciso finds himself surrounded by death and bloodshed. Years ago, a foolish accident on the job cost him four finger on his right hand. Now, bodies are turning up all over the set of his latest film – each one of them being discovered sans the same fingers from their right hand. Is the editor a murderer? Or is someone far more evil trying to taunt him?

What’s great about THE EDITOR is the way it can touch the bases of its influences without becoming a full-on spoof. This film is completely absurd, but it’s absurd in a way that is more sweet than snarky. Snark would have limited its appeal, and cast it down into the depths of SCARY MOVIE territory. But by understanding how to honour its influences instead of skewer them, THE EDITOR finds the right tone and becomes something far funnier than a spoof (which, for the record, I stopped finding funny long ago.

It doesn’t hurt that the subject it has chosen to homage is already absurd. Even with my limited exposure to Giallo films, I have a clear sense of their craziness. The super-saturated colour palate, the curious mix of sex and gore, it’s all here. The difference is where those films have just a sliver of seriousness to them, that sliver is missing here…so there is never even a moment where we consider being genuinely afraid. Instead we are able to mock the craziness full-on, and laugh at it for all the right reasons.

In addition, the film is even clever enough to tease us. Time and again, a conversation will be happening on one side of the screen – meanwhile on the other side of the screen, something silly is taking place (usually involving a half-naked woman). It’s a great way to use the spacing of a frame and to further mock the grave tones that are being employed in the discussion opposite the distraction.

THE EDITOR is a fun watch that doesn’t insult its audience – and far too often nowadays, those two ideas are going hand-in-hand. While it wants to make its jokes and make its references, it also wants to present itself as something polished, something handsome, and something sharp. Usually, where films like this are concerned I’d suggest one beware of sharp objects, but in this case I encourage everyone to play with this sharp object to your heart’s content.