I can’t say that I responded too much to director Becca Kozak’s short dark comedy, too much. While I dug the inherent creativity behind the premise, the movie really doesn’t offer much of a narrative. There’s a lot of gore and grue, and two characters that spend their time one upping each other in grotesque ways.
Created as part of the Run N Gun 48 Hour Film competition, Malady is a teen girl struggling with bulimia and gorges on food in her private time. When her mother has had the last straw, she decides to “cure” Malady’s bulimia with a little bit of… motherly love. But Malady finds it hard to quit her insatiable appetite and self destructive habits. I’m not even too sure what the climax means, as there’s an indication that Malady kind of, sort of, embraced her cannibalism.
There’s not even an explanation as to why she assumed bulimia could end her cannibalism. In either case, like director Kozak’s last films, “Binge and Purgatory” is based around a lot of gore as its centerpiece. It also may prove a tad offensive in its plot device of an eating disorder, but director Kozak unabashedly uses that as character motivation. Your mileage may vary, is all I’m saying. In either case, “Binge and Purgatory” is a miss of a short film. While I appreciated the grue and fearlessness, the pay off leaves a lot to be desired.