Why Vulcanizadora Might Be the Most Unusual Pact Film You’ll Watch This Year
Vulcanizadora (2024) is a black comedy by Joel Potrykus.. Male detachment, guilt, and moral collapse. Starring Potrykus himself alongside Joshua Burge, this indie slow-burn drips dread and dry humour in equal measure. A bold entry into cult cinema territory, it’s a film that challenges, unsettles, and sticks with you.
Directed, written by & starring Joel Potrykus (as Derek aka “Solo”) | Oscilloscope | Opens May 2, US
I’ll watch anything weird. Vulcanizadora had the kind of bland synopsis that hides a feral little beast, which is usually a good sign. Writer-director Joel Potrykus stars in the film himself, as Derek, sometimes referring to himself as Solo. The movie opens on him and his friend Marty trekking through the woods, directionless but oddly deliberate. (Potrykus also teaches filmmaking in real life, a detail that bleeds into the film’s self-documenting structure.)
What’s striking is the tonal misdirection, the score kicks, the cinematography glows, and the whole time you’re waiting for something. The camera knows more than you do. It teases action, builds tension, and then lets it drain out slowly. You sit with the characters. You guess what’s happening. You get it wrong.
“See, this is what I’ll miss about life.”
— Vulcanizadora
Depression, Detachment, and a DIY Suicide Pact: Setting the Tone
There’s a rhythm to the way these characters drift, one chatty (Derek), one shut down (Marty). At first, it’s just Derek eating chips and narrating the vibe like a vlogger on a breakdown. He talks about his kid. He cries. He films things. He says weird, ominous stuff. He’s not stable, and the film knows you know that.
Marty, by contrast, feels stuck. He’s bitter. Detached. Maybe he’s been in prison. Maybe he’s just dragging Derek to some emotional cliff. He’s annoyed at the delay, seems like he’s waiting for the payoff. So are we.
There’s karaoke in the forest, glow sticks, Jägermeister, all the ingredients for something sad or offbeat, but not quite tragic. And then we see it: the helmet.
It’s introduced early. They fight over it. Derek’s already off his meds, already spiraling. The idea of performance and finality hovers, but isn’t fully stated. The tension works because it’s undefined. At one point, you think this is a meandering shaggy-dog story. Then you’re not so sure.
The Psychology of Silence: Cinematic Language in Vulcanizadora
The film’s aesthetic decisions reinforce the emotional drift. Long, still shots and static framing make you feel trapped in their perspective. The 16mm grain adds analog dread, like watching forgotten footage. Sound design is minimal, you hear chewing, crying, and wind. Scenes hold too long. It all adds up to unease. You’re made to feel the passage of time, to sit in it. That’s the point.
Potrykus plays Derek with fragile desperation. He’s performative but broken. Joshua Burge’s Marty remains unreadable, a man who might be lost, or might be calculating. Maybe both.
Vulcanizadora doesn’t ask to be liked. It doesn’t even ask to be understood. It just exists, frustrating, sad, weird, and somehow funny. You wait for something to happen, and then too much happens.
It’s a film about disconnection, guilt, and what happens when performance outlasts its audience. It’s about not being seen, even when you’re screaming.
If you’re curious about how this led to a strange little detour into vintage cinema history, including a dancer, a scarf, and a fatal flourish, skip ahead to the Bonus: That Strange Title section below.
Depending on your threshold for slow-burn discomfort, this could be:
- A modern cult classic in the making
- A misanthropic art film with teeth
- A near-masterpiece of moral collapse on no budget
Pick the one that sticks. They all fit – Vulcanizadora is Mother of Movies underground hidden gem of 2025
Mother of Movies Rating
Vulcanizadora earns 4 out of 5, last shots held too long. It lingers, unsettles, and refuses to move on, just like Marty.
⚠️ Spoiler Section: Plot Twist Breakdown | This is where you dive into the juicy spoiler content. The twist? The lead was the villain all along!
The helmet isn’t spontaneous. Derek brought it, yes, but the filming, the trip, the performance was all shared. Marty had his chance. He didn’t take it.
They both wear helmets rigged with fireworks. Marty counts down but doesn’t light his. Derek does. The helmet won’t come off. He screams. Then he dies.
This isn’t just a practical effect. It’s a metaphor made literal, one man’s performance art suicide, and the other’s retreat. From there, the film shifts into something colder, stranger.
After Derek dies, Marty walks away, half-buries the body, and then spends the rest of the film trying to get someone, anyone, to care. His dad shrugs it off. His lawyer ignores him. The judge lets him go despite his plea. He’s punished not by prison, but by being erased.
He stalks Derek’s son, tries to hand over the suicide letter and money, but no one listens. He’s not invisible, he’s ignored.
Marty then returns to the beach, still carrying the tripod from the camera, and digs a perfectly square hole. He sleeps inside it. At dawn, a family arrives to enjoy the water, unaware. Marty wakes, stands, and walks slowly into the ocean while Jeremy reads Derek’s suicide letter aloud.
That’s how it ends.
It’s not shocking. It’s sad. And kind of funny. And deeply upsetting. And somehow, it works.
Bonus: That Strange Title and a Connection to Isadora Duncan
While saying the name aloud, my mum said, “That sounds like Isadora.” We looked it up. Sure enough, there’s a 1968 biopic about Isadora Duncan, a dancer who died when her scarf got caught in a car wheel.
It’s not an obvious connection, but there’s a strange parallel: a performer making a final, aesthetic choice that ends in death. A flourish turned fatal.
Unintentional? Probably. But once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
It’s a rabbit hole we didn’t expect to go down, but one that added strange and surprising resonance.
Cast & Crew
Written & Directed by
Joel Potrykus
Produced by
Ashley Potrykus
Hannah Dweck
Theodore Schaefer
Matt Grady
Starring
Joel Potrykus as Derek aka “Solo”
Joshua Burge as Marty
Ty Paige as Jeremy
Chynna Radcliffe as Gina
Cinematography
Adam J. Minnick
Edited by
Joel Potrykus
Production Companies
Dweck Productions
Factory 25
Distributed by
Oscilloscope Laboratories – Want more from this catalogue? Check out Sometimes I Think About Dying | We Need to Talk About Kevin and VHYes. Just as dark and twisted as Vulcanizadora.
Why Vulcanizadora Might Be the Most Unusual Pact Film You'll Watch This Year | Mother of Movies
Director: Joel Potrykus
Date Created: 2024-06-08 21:53
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