Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons starting in a horror film together? Oh how Glorious, I'm definitely up for that! In all seriousness, though there's nothing serious about this film, Glorious is one to watch.
Wes (Ryan Kwanten) is in a Bad Place. Wracked with guilt and self-loathing, he's clearly made a mess of things and would do anything to get his girl back. Instead, he drives across the state before stopping at a rest stop, drinking his way to the bottom of a bottle and waking up feeling very worse for the wear. And that's when his trouble really begins and Wes learns how not to trust weird men in dingy bathrooms when they tempt you to stick body parts in holes with the whole known universe at stake.
Ghat (J.K. Simmons) is a being of impossible malevolence and destructive potential. He's also stuck in a toilet cubicle in the armpit of America and can't bear to be looked at but that's an other story entirely. All he needs in order to unleash his creator's every whim is to destroy the life of a completely innocent and undeserving man.
Because Wes is completely undeserving, right? And surely he's broken enough already after suffering an unbearable breakup, never mind his terrible upbringing?
Claustrophobic and grimy as they come, Glorious is very funny and a very enjoyable ride. You might never quite see Ghat in all his glory but J.K. Simmons commands the whole, shitty, disgusting space with just his voice. Well, you wouldn't expect any less from him, would you?
"Glorious speaks to my adoration of Lovecraft, gore, absurdist humor, philosophy, and the type of transgressive movies that leave you thinking I can’t believe I just saw that. It is a wild mix of horror, humor, and heady moralistic concepts about our own existential realizations of who we really are, forcing each of us to stare into our personal abyss. And sometimes, the abyss stares back… and maybe has a favor to ask." - director Rebekah McKendry
With belly laughs rather than jump scares and a generous side helping of toilet humour, Glorious is an excellent way to pass 1 hour, 19 minutes. Don't be fooled though, this is definitely horror and I look forward to what director Rebekah McKendry (All the Creatures Were Stirring) delivers next. Four stars from me.
★★★★☆
A Shudder Original Film, Glorious, premiers Thursday, August 18, 2022
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