Films You Need To See: RIDDLE OF FIRE
I'm obsessed with this timeless neo-fairy tale of wonder.
RIDDLE OF FIRE is my favorite film of the year so far — and it will likely be one of my top faves of the decade. I’m obsessed with it. I’ve been waiting a long time to see it. When I saw the trailer months ago I was already hooked and knew I’d love it. You need to see it.
It’s shot on 16mm Kodak film. It’s gorgeous. It’s hilarious. It’s weird. It’s like LORD OF THE RINGS meets MOONRISE KINGDOM meets STAND BY ME and THE GOONIES….but also feels like OUR GANG films from the 1930s, throwback Disney films from the ‘70s like ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN, a touch of Manson-family ‘60s vibe, flavors from animated Ralph Bakshi fantasies like WIZARDS, and dashes of Cartoon Saloon treasures SECRET OF KELLS and WOLFWALKERS. The inclusion of iPhones and GPS devices set it in modern-day, but the way they are used feels futuristic, while its overall retro aesthetic could easily place it into any era from 1965 to 1985 — making it strangely timeless, set in a universe that could be any time, all the time. It’s all at once dark and spooky, cute and charming. It’s a thing of joy and natural beauty, full of surprises…and did I mention it’s really weird?
RIDDLE OF FIRE is the feature debut for writer-director Weston Razooli, who also stars in the film with a small supporting role. He’s now my favorite new filmmaker and I’m a season ticket holder for whatever he does next.
The main characters are “goblin” children who call themselves The Three Immortal Reptiles: Hazel (Charlie Stover), his little brother Jodie (Skyler Peters), and best friend Alice (Phoebe Ferro). The film opens with them stealing a video game console from a warehouse, only to bring it home and realize Hazel & Jodie’s mom has made the whole TV password-protected (it’s summer after all…they should be outside!). In order for mom (in bed with a nasty cold) to share the password, they must fetch her a blueberry pie from their small town’s bakery. But alas, the baker is sick too, and sold out of blueberry pies. The Reptiles must bake their own pie, but to do so they must seek the one ingredient that eludes them: a speckled egg.
Attempts to retrieve this egg lead them on an adventure in the woods with the cultish witchcraft-practicing hunter Anna-Freya Hollyhock (Lio Tipton) and her band of disciples The Enchanted Blade, described as two ghosts, a troll, and a huntsman. But they are aided in their quest by Anna-Freya’s little girl Petal (Lorelei Olivia Mote), a self-appointed fire fairy and Princess of the Enchanted Blade.
The tangents and tributaries of the unfolding plot are like an ancient fairy tale and post-modern video game rolled into one adventure: to acquire one object they must fetch another. To win one prize they must complete a task or face a challenge. But there are traps and set-backs to their plans. There are enemies to be defeated, tricked and outwitted.
The soundtrack is not by one single composer, but rather it’s a playlist of tracks that mostly fall within the musical genre of DUNGEON-SYNTH — music that lurks in far corners of the internet by indie artists composing themes for fantasy games. These modern warblings of electronic ambience are mixed in with older 70s/80s tunes of kitsch and even a re-purposing of the main title theme to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST for the climactic scene — which for some strange reason, fits perfectly.
An official soundtrack release is not yet available (though I hope to God it will be) — so to fill in the gap, someone has already created a facsimile playlist on Spotify, and I am OBSESSED with it.
It’s not a stretch to say this film may have changed my life. It almost makes me want to be a filmmaker again. I don’t know that I will, but it’s definitely created a spark of inspiration for me as a storyteller — as luck would have it, I’m already working on a major creative writing project with a similar band of child characters on a quest.
RIDDLE OF FIRE has come along for me at the perfect time, and it’s a film I’ll be re-watching, talking about, thinking about, and recommending to you until you tell me you’ve seen it…
…even if I have to put a spell on you.
* Ompéi, Lýkos! *
When I saw the preview for this I thought, I bet Ken Priebe will like this one. Looking forward to watching it!
This is the first time I’ve heard of this film. It does look like a lot of fun!