SXSW Film Review: Kryptic

The quest for ourselves can last a lifetime. It usually doesn’t come cloaked in a monster-hunting adventure, but that’s where Kryptic switches things up.

The feature debut from director Kourtney Roy, Kryptic is full of goopy, gorgeous visuals and interesting ideas about autonomy and self-realization. The story follows Kay Hall (Chloe Pirrie), a woman who can’t remember anything about her life, but is taken aback when she learns about Barb Valentine, a well-known cryptozoologist and monster hunter. Valentine happens to look exactly like Kay, turning the search for her doppelganger into a journey towards herself. Along the way, she’ll encounter the cryptid Valentine was last pursuing, a Sasquatch-ish creature. There will be mucus-filled sex, metaphysical visions, and plenty of intrigue along the way.

Perhaps the strongest parts of Kryptic are its visceral visuals and atmosphere. Roy is an art photographer, and her eye for compelling and creepy imagery plays great here. Green hues and empty space fill up the frame and let the imagination run wild. We never fully see the cryptid at the heart of this mystery, and that works in the film’s favor, too. The things we do see: a mass of hair and fur creeping up through the forest floor, slick flesh sliding over itself, a dizzying and jarring sight.

Also worth noting is the lead performance in Pirrie as Kay/Barb. Pirrie brings a roiling, internal force that keeps the movie’s momentum going, and keeps the audience on its toes. We never know what Kay/Barb is going to do next; Pirrie makes the chaotic, untethered nature of the dual roles a compelling tight-wire act worth seeing. From investigating leads to being potentially possessed by something beyond our understanding, she makes the intensity of Kay/Barb’s journey real.

Despite Kryptic’s gripping atmosphere and great lead performance, there were elements I wish had been probed deeper. The movie lays out a lot of interesting ideas about autonomy, self-discovery, and sexuality but it leaves them all at a surface level. Ambiguity isn’t necessarily a bad thing in movies: Sometimes an idea is better left for the audience to chew on after leaving the theatre. But it’s a problem if the ideas you present simply go nowhere. Leaving the theatre after watching Kryptic, I was left with no clear idea of where to land my focus or thoughts.

However flawed, Kryptic presents a promising debut from Roy. I’ll be looking forward to wherever her next feature leads.

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Kryptic

Midnighter, World Premiere

Tuesday, March 12, 10:45pm, Alamo South Lamar
Friday, March 15, 6:45pm, Alamo South Lamar

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