Arthouse, horror thriller movies that mash up against the grime and filth of Artik 2019 make it sound good before you even watch it. The opening scenes will blow your mind but I must admit I found the rest extremely hard to swallow. I rarely watch screener films twice. I discovered, however, that the zone you need to be in, to digest this narrative is better the second time around. Arik’s trailer shows a very large long-haired, gravely-voiced man alongside a child. The clip flashes a giant hammer, dirt, and a dead body being dragged across a concrete floor. A massive harvester, cartoon drawings of violence, and course, lots and lots of killing.
“It’s not for me to understand, it’s up to me to accept. If you continue to search, you will continue to fail.”
“Artik” Explained
If you look at Artik 2019 as a straight-edged story, for me it quickly loses its appeal. Essentially it’s one giant psychopath who indulges in the abuse, torture, and death of anyone who crosses his path. He fails time and time again to find anyone who is even remotely able to fight him. Instead, I looked at it as a world of characters who represent the fantasy realm in which Artik has decided to lay his faith. The comic books are his bible, his wife is his Mary Magdeline. Together they run a farm with a bunch of children, and one, Boy Adam is stronger than the others and so is chosen as his protege.
Everyone else is almost simply unlucky. They have wandered into this parallel universe. Others were already painted into it somehow.
Serial Killers and Childhood Trauma
“You can’t have a hero that’s lost all hope.”
He’s a Guy Who Likes Killing
It all comes down to the victims he chooses. They are all smaller than him, not that it would be difficult to have less stature than Artik himself. He is a towering presence. Yet, each person he chooses to test is not what you’d think is hero-worthy. It’s also in the victims that you’ll feel the most disparaged at what this man takes from life. Artik’s beliefs become a mere subtext in existentialism. He is really just a guy who likes killing right?
“Artik” and his favorite slave Boy Adam, are on the hunt for a hero. I guess he figures two heads are better than one in the fight to discover a true champion. It’s these two characters working together that creates a split in the universe created. Remembering the opening scenes, it’s easy to see Boy Adam is merely a tortured soul looking for a way out.
He’s not looking for a way to become the next seeker of whatever it is Artik says he is searching for. His dutiful wife holds on to some sort of pretense. All she wants is to be somewhere less chaotic. She also wants everything to be clean. Without knowing her origins, one might easily think she is just another slave. She seems to have accepted her role in life.
“If all you ever knew was chaos, would you ever be able to change?”
Comic Book Obsessed Killer
It’s Tom Botchii’s directorial debut for a feature film that’s just a smidgen over an hour. Astoundingly, the director’s notes say that this prophetic unpleasant creation with the man, Artik, is based on his own father. The unlikely hero, Holton, tries to save the day. At the very least, he imparts some of his life experience onto Boy Adam. His character is based on an ex-girlfriend of his. These personalities aim to shine a light on drawing within and turning your negatives into something that pushes you on in life.
As a tone poem for escapism at its brutal worst, it’s easy to dislike a serial killer like Artik. Every person cast in this film does a fine job of portraying what happens within its walls. Artik’s score will make you feel as if you’re trapped under the earth. It’s only when you notice the farm is growing sunflowers that sometimes the prettiest things hide the ugliest truths.
Artik 2019 is rated
3.5 even in death the battle isn’t over of 5
Scary Movies With Serial Killers | Recommendations
What to watch next: Scalper (Extreme Violence) | Dark Glasses | Bad Samaritan (David Tennant) | Remnant (Australian horror with parallel universes) or Julia X.
Gayly Dreadful website had this to say about Artik in their review, thanks Gayly Dreadful.
Where to Watch Artik Movie
You can watch Artik for free in most regions. USA and Australia have the title on TubiTv. You can also watch Artik on Plex, Vudu, and Freevee. It is available on subscription platforms like Philo, Fubo, and Prime Video.
Watch Artik, Here’s The Full Trailer
- Writer/director: Tom Botchii Skowronski.
- Starring: Chase Williamson, Jerry G. Angelo, Lauren Ashley Carter, and Matt Mercer.
- RATED R
- TLG Motion Pictures, Have Not Films, and distributed Epic Pictures.
“Release the purity within.”
Artik
Director: Tom Botchii
Date Created: 2019-08-11 18:30
3.5
