Wounds

"How Deep Do They Go"

2019 1h 35m EN

💀

4.0

SKIP

★4.0TMDB · 881

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Disturbing and mysterious things begin to happen to a bartender in New Orleans after he picks up a phone left behind at his bar.

“How Deep Do They Go”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Armie Hammer
Will
Dakota Johnson
Carrie
Zazie Beetz
Alicia
Brad William Henke
Eric
Karl Glusman
Jeffrey
Christin Rankins
Mary
Benny Thrasher
Jason
Alexander Biglane
Garrett

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Babak Anvari
Writers: Babak Anvari, Paulo DeFreitas Jr.
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Babak Anvari, shot by Kit Fraser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Barwell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson and Zazie Beetz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "How Deep Do They Go".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5913798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Babak Anvari directs. Kit Fraser behind the camera. Christopher Barwell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Babak Anvari, shot by Kit Fraser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Christopher Barwell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson and Zazie Beetz carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "How Deep Do They Go".
7IMDB entry: tt5913798 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 15 themes, including "alcohol", "hallucination", "bartender", "cafeteria".

The technical file

Cinematography: Kit Fraser
Editing: Christopher Barwell
Production design: Chad Keith
Costume design: Meagan McLaughlin
Makeup / hair: Jennifer Jane
VFX supervisor: Brooke Lyndon-Stanford
Sound: Kobi Quist
Stunt coordinator: Kevin Beard
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Wounds (2019)

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Babak Anvari

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Sheldon Nylander2019-10-21
★ 2/10
This is what happens when filmmakers are more fascinated by imagery and concept but don't know how to couch them in a story. Armie Hammer is Will, a bartender in a New Orleans bar who witnesses a fight break out one night while some college kids are in the bar (seemingly unrelated). The kids leave behind one of their phones, which contains disturbing images. All the while, his girlfriend Carrie, played by Dakota Johnson, seems to be studying occult Gnosticism, which seems to be related to what the college kids are involved in. If you're looking for any kind of payoff in this film, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Literally, this film has no payoff. It’s more just a bunch of stuff that happens and then, BAM!, end credits. There are times that it seems like it’s going somewhere. In fact, it felt like there should have been much more interrelated stuff between different parts of the movie, such as Claire’s professor, Steve, being more developed. In fact, I definitely get the impression that this was supposed to be the case, but that it either ended up on the cutting room floor or remained concept-only. It’s possible that this happens in “The Visible Filth,” the short novel on which this movie is based, but since I haven’t read it I can’t comment on it. The film we get is not a good film, either. The acting alternates between melodramatic and completely emotionless with no inbetween. Seriously, Brad William Henke is so over-the-top, he makes Jeremy Irons look like he was on Xanax during the “Dungeons & Dragons” movie. Dakota Johnson just sleepwalks through her entire role. Armie Hammer feels like he tries a little too hard to be the everyman. The only actor that seemed believable with genuine subtlety in their role is Zazie Beetz, but her character is pretty much superfluous to the proceedings. Her character could have been cut with little to no change to the plot. What’s so terrible about this film, though, is the sheer frustration factor. It’s a great idea. I would have loved to see more and have the movie cleaned up to be more cohesive and have an actual payoff. But we’re denied all of this. I love the concept of basing a film around occult Gnosticism. However, it’s set in such a poor movie that by the end, I found myself wringing my hands less out of fear or feelings of bugs crawling on you (which you might get) and more out of frustration for failure to realize its potential and seeing very easily how it could have been saved. When you’re doing the filmmakers work for them, they’ve got a problem.
Gimly2019-12-28
★ 3/10
Millenial Armie Hammer, calls a group of Gen Z-ers, "Fucking Millenials". I was really disappointed with Wounds. Not about the above, just like... In general. Final rating:★½: - Boring/disappointing. Avoid where possible.
The Movie Diorama2020-01-17
★ 2/10
Wounds adds salt to the horrific lacerations by simply doing nothing with its premise. Metaphysical tears in a relationship, ‘The Visible Filth’, can deteriorate the mind and the soul of both individuals. The streams of sorrow and regret, taking control of thoughts and actions. An unfortunate circumstance that is experienced by the most enraptured of couples. So I’m somewhat confused. No wait, I’m terribly befuddled. Anvari previously directed an apparent debut horror masterpiece with ‘Under the Shadow’ (I’ve yet to see it...), and decided to venture into the Hollywood mainstream with this psychological mess. Only one question overwhelmed my brain during the final cockroach-infested scene: “What. In the actual. Heck?”. A bartender breaks up a brawl and picks up a lost mobile phone that was left by some underaged students. He happens to guess the password on his second attempt based on the screen smudges and slowly becomes possessed by something from the “tunnel”. The titular metaphor is one that requires little to no effort in depicting. Wounds in a relationship force the participants to become distant and more aggressive. That much is clear, and Anvari sets a melodramatic tone from the initial bar sequence that overpowers the “horror” elements. Then Hammer grabs the mobile phone, tests its durability by slamming it a decent six times throughout the film, and thus begins the narrative collapse. Irrefutably, without batting an eyelid, I can confidently say nothing happened in this feature. Absolutely zero progression. The final minute of filming replicated the initial minute in terms of development. Every single character was unlikeable. Every single jump scare was a bloodshot eye flashing on the screen in rapid succession accompanied by a piercing noise. The plot is near incomprehensible due to forced underdeveloped horror elements that had no resonation with the melodramatic moments. Gnostic rituals? Dimensional portal from a well-rounded man’s face? Profusely sweaty armpits? Thematically and literarily, the plot is nullified by unintelligent tendencies that irritate this wounded flick. Such a stellar cast wasted on a potboiler script. Hammer deserves better. Beetz deserves better. Johnson definitely deserves better. I’m at a loss. I really am. The inexplicable character choices, from refusing to hand the phone to the police to even unlocking the device in the first place, left me facepalming on multiple occasions. Oh, and serving underaged persons. Come on! The plot conveniences that make little to no sense, from the unexplained students in this cultish circle to the entire final five minute idiocy, hampered the psychological examination of a broken relationship. Is anything actually explained? I shan’t know as I drifted in and out of sleep for the conclusive thirty minutes. The amount of alcohol consumption? Adultery? Stealing? There really is nothing to admire here. A huge misfire for Anvari that has cemented this VOD original securely as one of the worst of the year. It was over an hour and a half yet it felt like three hours. That, in itself, has wounded me. The recovery will be long and arduous...