Written and directed by James B. Cox, Call of the Void tells the story of Moray, who has decided to take a break from the hardships of daily life in a cabin in the woods. Having recently lost her job and still reeling from the death of her brother, her parents are worried about her, but she assures them that she can handle herself. On her first night in the remote place, Moray briefly interacts with one of her neighbors, Professor Blackwood, and his dog, Parkins. The next day, she meets her other neighbors: an amateur band consisting of Lucy, Sterling, Cole, and Darryl (who is not part of the band, but joins them through his sound design work as a film student).
While interacting with them, Moray discovers that the band knows Blackwood because he is helping Sterling with his thesis; however, Blackwood is nowhere to be seen. Neither the band nor Moray think much of it and decide to go for a hike in the woods instead. Call of the Void is very sparsely detailed and only hints that an alien invasion is taking place. The five elements that indicate this are the opening shot of a black hole, the mushrooms, the water, the supernatural monster, and the "music" that seemingly transforms depending on its purpose to complete the transformation from human to something else. Sure, we don't exactly see any alien landing on Earth, but the shot of a black hole, followed by a narrative where strange and unexplained things happen in a forest, is enough to tell us that something arrived from beyond to slowly take over its most intelligent species.
Director: James B. Cox
Writer: James B. Cox
Stars: Caitlin Carver, Mina Sundwall, Richard Ellis
However, how does that explain the death of Professor Blackwood, the transformation of the band into a cult of sorts, and that final scene? Well, based on a brief moment where Moray is touring what appears to be Blackwood's makeshift laboratory and his notes, he's the one who made the first contact. I believe that, in his search for a pure form of music, Blackwood came to the forest and attempted to become one with nature. That's when he found the mushrooms planted by the alien (or aliens), and after consuming them, he became an alien, like the Pod People in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Since it wasn't easy for this possessed Blackwood to get humans to consume mushrooms, he devised a drinkable solution, as evidenced by the chemistry lab equipment in the room.
Sterling trusted Blackwood the most, as he was his disciple. So, I assume that while helping Sterling with his thesis, Blackwood gave him the aforementioned drink under the guise of giving him water, thus turning him into a Void Person (yes, that's what I call transformed versions of characters, e.g., Void-Sterling or Void-Blackwood). Now, to expand his reach and perfect his mind-control serum, Void-Blackwood needed Void-Sterling to convince more people, and that's where Lucy, Cole, and Darryl came in. Moray was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
By the time Moray met the gang, I believe Void-Sterling had already converted Lucy, and they were working together to transform Cole and Darryl. Since Cole was a thick-headed man, he drank the Kool-Aid during the hike with the gang and Moray and became part of the Void's hive mind. Darryl had a sensitive tongue, so he managed to avoid drinking anything Void-Sterling and Void-Lucy gave him. Eventually, Darryl was forced to drink the funky water as well. Even then, he managed to keep his head by strumming his guitar. This act apparently served two purposes. First, the final stage of the Void transformation involved the victim listening to their favorite song, or perhaps the one playing on the cabin's record player. So, to avoid hearing that piece of music, Darryl played the guitar and screamed at the top of his lungs. Second, all that howling attracted Moray's attention, thus luring her into the Void People's trap.
Moray had seen Void-Sterling, Void-Lucy, and Void-Cole acting strangely. He'd found Blackwood's corpse and Parkins's necklace. And he'd gotten a glimpse of the Void People's master invasion plan. Since the Void People had managed to confiscate Moray's car keys and phone, I guess she was ready to return to civilization. Therefore, the Void People used Darryl as bait. As soon as he could get Darryl to stop playing the guitar, his transformation was complete, and he ended up being the one who got Moray to drink the alien mushroom water, thus turning her into a Void People too. I don't know why Blackwood didn't make it in. Perhaps the aliens just wanted him to convert the young man and then kill himself. Perhaps Blackwood had a moment of lucidity and, to avoid being a slave to the Void People, killed himself.
Now, what was the purpose of all these events? What did it all mean? Considering Quentin Tarantino's interpretation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which coincides with Edgar Wright's interpretation of the concept in The World's End, the Void alien species likely perceived that humanity's biggest problem was its wide range of emotions. They didn't come to Earth with the intention of enslaving humans; they probably believed they were curing us. Moray was depressed because she was unemployed and her brother had recently passed away. Sterling and Lucy were having a lot of creative problems. Cole was arrogant. As for Darryl, well, he was probably being subjected to low-key racism from the group of white artists; at least that's what it seemed like to me. So, maybe the Void thought that if people like them could think, feel, and act the same way, it would end all the conflict and discrimination they faced, and they could focus on making great music. Why music, then? Well, it's a universal language. Even if you don't understand the words used, you can connect with it, and as soon as you do, you'll become one with the Void. Of course, the scope of James B. Cox's film is small, but its implications are enormous.
At the end of The Call of the Void, we see the Void versions of Moray, Lucy, Sterling, Darryl, and Cole heading toward civilization, having buried Blackwood's body along with Parkins' necklace, while singing their new favorite song. So it's possible that as soon as they set foot in a town or city, they'll start giving them that alien mushroom water and then play that song. If they gain access to the local water supply and radio station, it's game over. If Cox ever makes a sequel to this film, it will be interesting to see how humans deal with this alien threat. But is the Void really a threat? Well, that's the question: humans are human because they're flawed and messy. Sure, we need a solution, but that change must come from within.
If someone—in this case, the Void—comes from outside and brainwashes us all, that's simply fascism. Also, if we look at it from the perspective of artistic creation, which is presumably why the Void chose Blackwood, Moray, Darryl, Cole, Lucy, and Sterling, has the alien species made them more efficient as artists, or destroyed their art? They've lost their uniqueness. They're creating the same thing, and also through the lens of the Void, rather than their own soul. Until the Void understands this, it will continue to expand its domain. Will it become a Kaiju after enslaving, say, 50% of the planet's population? I don't think so. I think the supernatural monster we see is an image the Void projects onto the minds of humans, and it's as terrifying as we want it to be.
Thank you for watching Call of the Void! I really enjoyed reading your dissection.
ReplyDelete