Thorns For Flowers is quite the unexpected mind-trip; it oscillates between murder-mystery, crime drama, and occult thriller seamlessly, while also weaving in a twisted love story within its unique fabrics. Written and directed by Anthony de Lioncourt, Thorns For Flowers is his 1970s period piece that plays with reality and the psychology of memory.

Thorns For Flowers feels like a nineties fever dream; the amateur acting, the cheesy dialogue, the softcore porn lighting, the affected-studio production songs all made for a very distinct aesthetic. As someone who can appreciate ‘so bad they’re good’ movies, Thorns For Flowers is a visually stylish and narratively surreal film that makes for an interesting watch, however, for audiences who would not sit through a screening of Tommy Wassaeu’s The Room or do not care for Park Chan Wook’s Oldeuboi (Oldboy), Thorns For Flowers may not be for them.

With a serial killer targeting young women walking alone at night, the police reach out to a psychic named Leo (Vance Clemente), to offer his paranormal insights into their investigation — a service his mother provided. During the investigation, Leo meets Catherine (Samantha Strelitz), whom the police believe will be one of the next victims. As Leo and Catherine grow closer after bonding over their effed up childhoods, the two fall deeply in love. When their romance is interrupted by the discovery of a mysterious hole in the ground that is a mystical force, the two prove that they would sacrifice anything for each other.

Granted that this film is obviously an experimental, psychic crime thriller and leaps in logic should be expected, Thorns For Flowers‘ twist ending wasn’t hinted before it was revealed, so the leaps needed to follow the premise are tedious and the audience never gets to have an ‘ah-ha’ moment at the revelation. Also, though there are jump scares and the killer is styled very creepily, this thriller is on the slower side as far as pacing and does not even pick up during the big unveiling, making for a rather anti-climatic ending.

As Anthony de Lioncourt’s sophomore feature, Thorns For Flowers fits into the psychedelia theme that seems to be Lincourt’s wheelhouse. Though there were some problems that might lead back to his script, Lincourt’s unique aesthetic style and direction are noteworthy. The film also had the benefit of fine acting from Alissa Simmons in he part of Gretchen, her fierceness as a mother and as a woman brought much-needed seriousness and drama to the film. Otherwise, this was a slow-burner, with flashes of brilliance and B-movie charm.

MOVIE RATING — 6.5 out of 10 ☠️