Fantastic Fest 2023 – Falling Stars is a gorgeous and mesmerizing movie that operates, in part, on its own mythos about witches descending from the skies during the October harvest. The cinematography is engrossing, and this is one of the more enchanting folk horror films that we’ve had in a while. It’s a perfect, witchy watch for spooky season.

The film follows three brothers, Adam (Rene Leech), Sal (Andrew Gabriel), and Mike (Shaun Duke Jr.), as they decide to go for a drive one night and dig up a witch’s body. Because, well, why not? They’re joined by Rob (Greg Poppa), who claims to have seen a witch’s body and knows just where one is buried. Under the stars, the group drives past desert lands and eventually do unearth a corpse. However, things go horribly, horribly wrong. From there, the brothers fear that if they don’t burn the body or make a sacrifice, they’ll be cursed and attacked by witches swooping down from the heavens on broomsticks.

While this film certainly has plenty of horror elements, especially around the halfway mark, it’s also a well-scripted drama about a small town and its folklore, specifically how people react to it. Mike and Rob are especially interesting characters, their stories fleshed out during the car ride when they discuss their lives and where they see their futures going. I do wish that Adam and Sal were given a little more to do because for too many scenes, this feels like the Rob and Mike show, though they are older and their lives are at a crossroads, so perhaps it makes more sense that their characters are given a little more weight.

So much about this feature feels entrancing and unusual. There’s an uncanny quality to several characters. The mom, Danni (Diane Worman), gives one of the oddest monologues I’ve heard in a film in quite some time. I suspect people will be talking about it after the credits roll because it becomes quite unsettling. Meanwhile, there’s also a paranormal radio show host, Barry (J. Aaron Boykin), and his sidekick, Elana (Samantha Turret). Both add a fun element to the movie, though I wish more was done with these characters and their radio program. They feel underutilized.

Meanwhile, cinematographer Gabriel Bienczycki , who also co-directed the film with Richard Karpala, deserves a heck of a lot of praise here. This is one of the most visually stunning films I’ve seen all year, be it shots of the starry night sky over the Southwestern desert, or the sprawling open road. Simply put, this is one beguiling film. It also handles the genres of drama and horror quite well. The narrative has coming-of-age elements, mixed with a road trip movie, and of course some scares and an impending sense of doom. There’s nothing necessarily bloody or gory here, but the witches are certainly a presence to be feared.

While the ending of Falling Stars is slightly befuddling, and the film could have done a little more to round out its mythos, overall, it has a tight script, eerie moments, and breathtaking images of natural landscapes. This is one of the most visually arresting and haunting films I’ve seen all year.

7.5 Out of 10