Worth: $8.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Aramis Sartorio, Jen Soska, Andrea Jin, Mackenzie Gray, Sylvia Soska, Ola Dada
Intro:
... the major flaws in filmmaking fundamentals, the wooden acting and (cock-and-ball) torturing runtime will have audiences screaming the safe word.
The Soska Sisters (Canadian identical twins Jen and Sylvia Soska) burst onto the scene with the hilariously titled micro-budget indie Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009), a film brimming with attitude and subversive humour. However, it wasn’t until 2012 when the sisters really found their groove with the much-lauded American Mary: a gory revenge flick, set in the body modification community, starring the great Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps).
Since then, the Soskas have been directors for hire on a number of projects that have ranged from the forgettable (See No Evil 2) to the decent (Rabid – a remake of the classic David Cronenberg film). Fans have been eagerly awaiting their next original work. Well, now it’s here, in the form of the kink-themed psychological thriller On the Edge and the results are… not very good.
On the Edge is the story of gormless family man Peter (Aramis Sartorio), who never quite seems able to get his shit together. After thoroughly disappointing his wife and twin daughters as usual, Peter heads to a hotel for a 36-hour session with dominatrix Mistress Satana (Jen Soska), where things take a turn for the dark and kinky. What follows is an exhaustive (and frankly, exhausting) journey through an initially dark but ultimately cathartic bondage/roleplay appointment.
It’s a cheekily provocative premise for a low budget thriller, and on paper would seem right in the wheelhouse of the Soska Sisters. Why then is the result such a slog?
Kinky movies set in a single location can work; 2018’s Piercing is a cracker of a flick, bristling with energy and tension. However, what that dark little nugget of a movie had working for it was a great cast and an 81-minute runtime. On the Edge, by unfavourable comparison, stars two people who feel hopelessly miscast and runs for 116 endless, interminable minutes. This might be acceptable if the film was stylish and atmospheric (like American Mary, say) but it’s not. In fact, it’s so badly lit, oddly edited and bafflingly scored, it’s hard to believe the Soska Sisters were responsible.
There’s probably an audience for this film. The theme of kink as catharsis is a strong one (although better realised in Secretary (2002) and about a dozen other films), and for folks primed for that kind of material, On the Edge will have you pegged. For everyone else, the major flaws in filmmaking fundamentals, the wooden acting and (cock-and-ball) torturing runtime will have audiences screaming the safe word.
