Bagworm

Preceded by “Content Pigs”

ERIC SAYS Every year there’s a film in the New/Next call for entries that plays so perfectly on first viewing that, despite having more submissions yet to watch than there are hours in the day, I press play again to make sure my reaction wasn’t just a beautiful dream (or an overcaffeinated high). This year that film is Bagworm—and I’m happy to report that the film, as mind-warping as it is, passed this second-viewing test as definitively as any film ever has. Anyone open to transgressive content will feel, with every frame, that they’re in trustworthy hands here. Each narrative choice takes the film in an unexpected direction, yet, as we turn the next corner, feels like the only path that could have been chosen; each aesthetic choice feels both inspired and essential.

But the beautiful thing about the sometimes-disgusting (in the best possible way) Bagworm is that, even if you work in the industry, you won’t be focusing on choices of writing or film craft as you watch—you’ll be completely caught up in this one-of-a-kind experience. If you’ve enjoyed comedic indie gems like Donald Cried, Dogleg, and Rats!, I can’t recommend this one enough. This, too, is the future of cinema—and that future’s looking as filthy as it is bright.