Macabre…ish Horror Review: Dave Made A Maze

 

 

Dave Made A Maze, 2017/ 1 hr 20 min

 

 

Dave’s (Nick Thune) an artist who wants to create something, so one day he builds what just seems to be a fort made of cardboard in his living room, it’s his passion project.

 

Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) returns home from her trip to find the fort in the living room and Dave inside. She comes out later, after her shower and Dave’s still inside the for and he says he’s lost.

 

Inside he says he cannot find his way out and he tells her not to come in. Annie, is annoyed and wants to tear it down once she finds out he’s been in there for three days. But Dave yells out, no. Even a minor touch creates a huge reaction out of the fort as if it is huge and cavernous.

 

Annie calls Gordon (Adam Busch) to come over and talk him down. Then Gordon calls a lot of their friends over after promising to only call Leonard (Scott Krinsky). Amongst them is Harry (James Urbaniak), the documentarist and his crew. Who decide to document this moment, eventually they follow Annie in, against Dave’s wishes.

 

Inside the fort, it is much larger, deeper and bigger than it should be. There are intricate traps and paper origami insects and animals that seem to be sentient and attacks them. The fort is a maze with long intricate corridors. It seems fun and childlike until people start dying.

 

It appears that Dave’s imagination has run amok and totally out of his control. People are actually being killed by traps and disappearing, assumed eaten. But not in a normal way, blood splatter and streaks, presents as strips of red yarn and red paper ribbons or confetti.

 

There are also footprints inside, or hoof prints that is rightfully assumed to belong to a Minotaur (John Morrison). When Annie tries to cut their way out, they just end up in another cardboard room, that should not be there. Meanwhile, the cameraman (Scott Narver) and boom operator (Frank Caeti) record everything.

 

But they do finally run into Dave. But he’s just as lost as they are, still. He uses his imagination to enter places that do not make sense like a shallow gift box that leads them to paper pipes, they slide down and exit as card board puppet versions of themselves.

 

Dave explains that while they may not be safe, their current paper puppet state will not be permanent. And they are still being hunted by the Minotaur.

 

Since they can’t find their way out, they can complete the maze, he’s still got a lot of supplies and believes if the maze is completed, the can create a way out. Dave notices the maze seems to be changing itself and growing, there are walls he did not build.

 

When they find a film playing in a corridor and walk inside, they turn into digital versions of themselves. There are also more of those intricate traps, namely a vagina trap that mesmerizes and lures onlookers in, Dave reached into it and drew back a cardboard hand.

 

Then they finally find the way they came in but upon exiting, there’s more cardboard maze. Once again Dave suggest completing the maze and trapping the Minotaur. Instead they take a rest and do the promised interview.

 

Soon the Minotaur finds them but they hold him off with a bath towel and a folding chair, fort rules apply. Annie wants to know if the maze has a heart, if so, they could destroy it and escape. But Dave purposefully did not make one for fear that his work might be destroyed.

 

They later find a cardboard Brynn (Stephanie Allynne), tied up in a trap and she keeps inviting them to high five her. And the longer the crew talk to her, the more terrifying she becomes. Meanwhile, Dave and Annie go off to find the beginning to build a chrysalis but they wander into some kind of trippy black hole instead. Where they repeat the same moment, over and over. The only way out is to break the pattern.

 

Once out, Dave and Annie start building the chrysalis, the power source, so they can escape. Meanwhile, the crew tries to distract and hold Brynn there, who turns out to be a hand puppet controlled by a giant hand. When the chrysalis is activated it transforms. It’s beautiful but they have to destroy it. And it works! The maze immediately begins falling apart.

 

Then those who survived crawl out of the pile of cardboard in the middle of the living room. They clean up the cardboard and put it out by the dumpster, the minotaur crawls out of the pile.

 

 

This fantasy adventure comedy horror was directed by Bill Watterson and I really enjoyed it. It was whimsical and odd with a great cast that includes Kirsten Vangsness. This is strangely imaginative and childlike in an adult way. I got to talk to the filmmaker and if you’d like to listen is click here! Or look for my podcast, Macabre…ish Cults, Classics & Horrors on every podcast platform. Enjoy!!

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