Bittertooth Review (2023) American Courtyard Productions
Bittertooth is one of those movies that has a pretty cool concept in mind, but has trouble with the execution. The story follows two female true-crime podcasters who talk about and track down a serial killer. It’s like a detective story that is influence by all of those true crime podcasts you hear now a days. This is Monte Light’s third feature film and with each film, you can see him refine his craft a bit more each time. He has come a long way from his first movie Space.
If there’s a bloody axe, then you know someone might be dying soon.
However, one of the main problems with the film is that it's mostly exposition dumps with the characters just talking in rooms a lot. The film almost feels like it turns into an actual podcast at points. This isn't helped by a hectic editing style at times where the film constantly just cuts way to much. Most likely in a attempt to keep things interesting. There is a part when the film turns into a found footage movie, which had me worried a bit but that moment turned out to be one of the best scenes in the movie as some actual action and tension came into play with an pretty cool jump-scare.
I feel like they should taken their podcast more on the go instead of being confined to the room the whole time.
The performances are mainly solid from its small cast. Autumn Ivy and Genevieve Thomas do a pretty solid job of carrying the film. The use of a true-crime podcast delving into the history of crime in their area and reporting on the same killer that had attacked one of them earlier presents some good tracks for the film to run on. However, the script does not feel fleshed out enough. I wish there was more out in the world investigation or more reenactments of the crimes to dive into. Joe Altieri also makes a reappearance after being in the director’s last film as the creepy killer. He delivers a solid performance and it seems like this role was more up his alley.
The film has a pretty solid start and an interesting enough of a finale with a twist, as things are not quite as straightforward as they seem. The two act feels dragged out, due to the podcast style which the film embraces. When the movie becomes a movie, and gets out of the podcast zone, it becomes more engaging and fun. I just wish the film has went more with the show and don't tell approach in order to flesh it out a bit more. But overall, if Monte Light keeps it up, I' have a feeling he’ll be making something pretty special soon.
