Ted Raimi as James
James (Ted Raimi), having taken over the family’s plastics business after the death of his father, finds himself drowning in debts, with his existence threatened, just as his daughter, Jessica, is preparing for a very lavish wedding. Facing life or death decisions versus financial ruin, James is torn apart as he deals with his dilemma with the help (and often bad advice) of a mysterious ghost of a man that follows him around like a shadow, or is he really the devil’s advocate?
Theodore (Ted) Raimi (younger brother of both writer Ivan Raimi and director / Producer Sam Raimi) displays his great screen presence, and turns out to be an excellent choice to play James, a confused, angry, and even tragic figure that leaves us guessing.
Ted Raimi and older brother Sam
With his somewhat dour appearance, he takes to this lead role like a duck to water, swaying from kindly father and friend, to a violent and desperate man who has little more than an hour to decide his fate. We get hints thrown our way there have been other brushes with these extremes before, and his clean-up man, Slavko, the utterly convincing Ernesto Cavazos, is suitably very creepy.
Ernesto Cavazos as Slavko
Raimi has often appeared in horror movies, shows and series and there are moments when his presence evokes memories of screen personas like Max von Sydow for being, apparently, in control. He is well-known for having played in films such as ‘The Evil Dead (1981)’, and famously for his superb performance as the possessed Henrietta in ‘Evil Dead II’(1987). He also played Ted Hoffman in ‘The Spider-Man Trilogy’ and a heavy metal youth in ‘Twin Peaks (1991)’.
More recently Ted Raimi played Travis Hackett in the video game ‘The Quarry (2022)’ a hybrid horror adventure. Built on the foundation of some 1980s horror, it avoids developing into a typical slasher. It has a top ensemble and is a clever ride, ripe for genre fans. Just the sort of material that Raimi has always enjoyed, as he says in a recent interview: -
“I’m mostly known to my fans as ‘the horror guy’. I’m proud of that, but this movie [Failure!] is going to show a different side of me that the fans will really dig. Also, it’s at the 2023 FrightFest, the biggest horror and thriller event in the UK — my kind of moviegoers…it’s an hour and a half and there are no cuts!”
Failure! also stars Merrick McCartha (Senior Year), Melissa Diaz (Ruthless), John Paul Medrano (Seven Days) and Daniel Kuhlman (Voodoo MacBeth) and Noel Douglas Orput. The film was produced with Marco De Molina, Kaylo Fortun and Jose D. Rodríguez via Kahuam’s Promotora NAE, and De Molina’s Spacebrain Entertainment, so it has a very strong Mexican connection.
Juan Pedro Medrano as Michael
Mexican director Alex Kahuam chose to film ‘Failure!’ in the format of a one- take movie, having a fascination for the form. Being in real time, as it were, the tension rises at every moment. Directed and produced by Mexicans, it reminds us that Mexico has a long history of traditions relating to death in one way or another, with the Day of the Dead featuring high on the annual calendar. Death is seen more as a companion to life, than an end in itself. Also, it is tinged with traditional idiosyncrasies and humour, and in much the same way, a cynical and dry humour pervades ‘Failure!’ often shifting the levels.
Merrick McCartha as Mr Serge
The music by Vincent Gillioz is minimal, but adds to the suspense from the start. The hand–held camera (Ernesto Lomeli) seems to manage impossible angles with aplomb, never losing focus or lighting levels, indicating a very finely-tuned choreography to the film and, I am sure, countless rehearsals!
Hungarian Béla Tarr was one of the first to manage a 57-minute shot in ‘Macbeth’ (1982). However, films claiming to be in one-take are not always so. Individual shots seldom last longer than 15 minutes in length, although with clever editing and meticulous camerawork, the one-take effect can remain and is always effective.
Sam Mendes’ award winning film ‘1917 (2019)’ appears to be one long 118-minute take. Despite being masterly in the way that it was shot, the answer is no, it is not in one–take. The same goes for another celebrated one-take (119-min) movie, ‘Birdman) by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñarritú. ‘Birdman’, like ‘1917’, also appears to be one long take, but in reality, Iñarritú also used clever editing and illusion to convey the effect. That is not to say that some extremely difficult long continuous shots, considered well-nigh impossible in a practical setting, were not superbly well achieved.
Ted Raimi as James and Melissa Díaz as María, his daughter.
Alfred Hitchcock also played with the idea of long takes, but in earlier days, footage was limited by the reel size. It is said that James Stewart, when filming ‘ROPE’ for Alfred Hitchcock did not like the long takes at all, and was heard muttering on set, that cameras were becoming ‘more important than the actors.’
In ‘Failure!’ however, the claim, is genuine. The choreography behind such a feat is substantial, even if the whole film takes place in one building. New York Times critic Eric Grode once remarked that one-take movies were “a sobering reminder of temporality, a virtuosic calling card, a self-issued challenge or all of the above.” Now that is a grandiose statement.
In my personal view, in ‘Failure!’ the effect is tremendous. It brings the movie closer to theatre, so some previous theatrical experience on the part of the actors became essential.
Alex Kahuam and Ernesto Lomeli ( DOP)
In a film, the actor’s emotional journey is constantly interrupted, as there are long gaps when the different takes are set-up with cameras and lighting being moved to new positions. On the other hand, in ‘Failure!’, the lead character James (the charismatic Ted Raimi) is so immersed in the drama that he carries us all along with him on his traumatic journey. Without obvious cuts, it adds to the suspense, which rises as he faces a number of impossible decisions. Without distractions, the immediacy of the cinema verité effect of the hand-held camera conveys a palpable sense of reality.
Ted Raimi was initially overwhelmed when given three weeks to learn a script of 90 pages in which he was constantly in the frame. He felt blessed that he had done some theatre in the past as it proved essential in giving him the necessary resilience, but he insisted that his companion, the ‘unknown man’ should also be an actor with theatrical know how. So it was, that they chose Noel Douglas Orput for the role of the unknown man.
Daniel Kuhlman as Alvar
The film is divided by captions into 3 Chapters: The Family/The Greed/ The Power. We are left with an ambiguous, but satisfying ending. As the director Kahuam says: - “It was quite a challenge, but it turned out great.”
Failure! (2023) will be screened at London's 2023 FrightFest Festival /
July 24- July 29 2023
Cineworld, Leicester Square
"There are so many amazing genre festivals but I can't think of anything more exciting than premiering at Frightfest" said Brennan Full, Cinematographer
FAILURE! (2023) CREDITS
Written & directed by Alex Kahuam /Producers Alex Kahuam and Marco de Molina/ Kayli Fortun, Ted Raimi and José D. Rodríguez / Exec producers Adrian and Pedro Bodegas / DOP Ernesto Lomeli / Music Vincent Gillioz / Prod Designer José Rojas /Sound design & Mix Golda García / Editor José Kahaum González
CAST
James: Ted Raimi/ Unknown man: Noel Douglas Orput/ Mr Serge: Merrick McCartha / María: Melissa Díaz/ Alcar: Daniel Kuhlman / JP Junior: Spencer Langston / Slacko: Ernesto Cavazos/ Nick: Joe Barra / Michael: John Paul Medrano
Promotora NAE production / Spacebrain Entertainment Production
