EVERY HEAVY THING

****

Directed by Mickey Reece.

Starring Josh Fadem, James Urbaniak, Tipper Newton, Barbara Crampton.

Science-Fiction, 89 Minutes, Certificate TBC.

Reviewed as part of FrightFest Halloween 2025 - UK Premiere

There’s cult directors and then there’s real cult directors. Craftsmen who quietly plug away, creating a distinctive body of work who often don’t really get the recognition they deserve until years later. Mickey Reece is definitely one of these directors, quietly working away and quietly building a reputation film by film, each one unlike the other. Whether it’s the possession horror of AGNES or the surrealist digressions of his country western comedy drama COUNTRY GOLD, there is definitely an idiosyncratic, absurdist style that makes his films quite recognisable. Now with EVERY HEAVY THING, Reece can add film noir to his catalogue. And science-fiction. And some other stuff too.

Young women have been going missing in the city of Hightown, a fact that does not concern newspaper advertising salesman Joe (Josh Fadem) too much until he witnesses a shocking murder and is made an unwilling accomplice by the sadistic murderer William Shaffer (James Urbaniak), a mysterious tech genius who threatens Joe with deadly consequences. Troubled and paranoid, Joe then begins to experience vivid dreams and visions which bring him closer to the serial killer in ever more unsettling ways. When a co-worker starts investigating the murders, Joe finds himself scrambling to stay one step ahead of everyone, whilst also dealing with relationship problems at home.

The black, deadpan humour that has been a part of Reece’s work is on full display here, and delivered in fine style by a cast of actors who have also starred in their own share of cult films and shows. Appearing alongside Fadem and Urbaniak are other cult favourites such as comedian John Ennis, director Vera Drew and Barbara Crampton as a sultry nightclub singer. They help to broaden Reece’s cult appeal here alongside a synthwave score from Nicholas Poss that gels nicely with the film’s retro 80’s styling, reminiscent of erotic thrillers and low budget sci-fi of the time.

Although low in budget, this could count as Reece’s most stylish and perhaps ambitious film yet. Employing all manner of visual trickery as split screens, screens within screens and trippy dream sequences the film accomplishes a lot with the resources at hand, standing out head and shoulders over the low-budget genre field. It also suggests an exciting direction for its writer and director, but knowing him, he will probably go off and do something completely different and unexpected, which makes him the exciting and intriguing talent that he is.

A tech-noir, psycho-sexual nightmare that is often funny and always intriguing, EVERY HEAVY THING should hopefully broaden the appeal and reputation of its singular writer and director. For those unfamiliar with Reece, this is a good introduction, while longtime fans will be thrilled to see him expand his talents and skillset with this completely original genre mash-up.

Iain MacLeod