Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: BULK [Fantastic Fest 2025 - Austin, Texas]

"Bulk," playing a midnight slot at Fantastic Fest, tries to play with the form of structure using a multiverse concept but devoid of special effects beyond the baseboard kind (for aesthetic reasons). Director Ben Wheatley (who just showed the more mainstream "Normal" at Midnight Madness at TIFF) ops for something a little more conceptual. Kudos to him for trying something different but even with the four main characters, it sometimes comes off a little tricky in understanding their shifts from one universe to another, beyond stylistic changes. Granted some people do this approach for the sheer creativity (though very rarely). Others with less means have to do it by sheer necessity. Here Sam Riley plays Corey, a freelance journalist who acts like a private eye and may want to be an actor. He gets stuck in a loop jumping through a house, likely through no fault of his own or likely completely of his own doing, through his interaction with a scientist (Alexandra Maria Lara) is the most prevalent. The movie begins in black and white using that as a framing mechanism but that choice does not staying consistent. Lara discusses the idea of who they might be in each universe and even does it to camera though the confessional element could have used a bounce board (like Harry and Sally) just to further play with what the formula. Noah Taylor (looking now suspiciously like Ben Mendelsohn) understands this type of material (see "Vanilla Sky") going from questioning husband to an almost Noah-type figure, warning a different Corey to stay away from Mara's recommendations lest he makes the wrong choice.

Mark Monero plays Anton, a would-be billionaire who seemingly wants to keep people away from the experiment he is conducting with string theory (and failed one at that). The interesting concept is debating if or why the characters are aware of their other selves beyond their surroundings. While Wheatley tries to mask this in sci-fi ideas and metaphors, the issue is more contemplated in if they want to remember. Lara's character is the most aware and she talks to the screen to almost interrelate why this is. But at the same time, the ending tries to recounter the context of what we are actually looking at. The issue is that by pointing at itself it almost negates the point in the context of "look at what I'm doing". The credits soften this as Wheatley actually writes and explains in diagrams and his own handwriting (and little asides) what he was trying to do and how he did it. Taylor's Carmel is the only who really gets the tongue-in-cheek of the situation but whether he overplays or underplays depends on the viewer who is watching it. "Bulk" revels in its purpose of low-fi and Wheatley is inherently and purposefully sentimental in trying to not lose his indie roots even as he is making bigger studio fare. The question is the focus of accessibility. Is it being creative for the essence of being clever or reveling more in its own playing of form, like the old masters used to do but doing it to educate and push the modern audiences who now look at storytelling in a completely different way. B

By Tim Wassberg