A slow burn — something that either turns out great or, on occasion, as something audiences despise and generally hate in films. There is no real winning ground when it comes to films as there are things about traditional movies that audiences either love or hate, too. It’s just about finding the right groove to tell the story you want to tell and create the world in which the story is told. Joel Potrykus (Relaxer) clearly likes to test how far he can push his audience, and Vulcanizadora (2024) is no different. It will certainly deter many audience members, but once it gets to its pinnacle, there quite literally is no turning back.
Josh Burge as Marty in Joel Potrykus’s VULCANIZADORA. Photo courtesy of Sob Noisse Movies/Factory 25.
Instead of breaking down plot right off the bat, I want to discuss the genius and disturbing content that Potrykus writes and directs in this slow burn that is surely going to linger long after the credits roll. There is something so absolutely disturbing and resonating with today’s current climate. The mental health crisis is real and we still, as a society, do not really talk about it. Things that occur in the movie (no spoilers) are surely more common than we acknowledge, maybe not to the same extent, but, regardless, still on a level that is shocking and resonating in a waynno one wants to mentally connect with.
Joel Potrykus as Derek in Joel Potrykus’s VULCANIZADORA. Photo courtesy of Sob Noisse Movies/Factory 25.
The movie focuses on two friends, Marty (Joshua Burge) and Derek (Joel Potrykus), as they aimlessly wander the woods, debating the meaning of life, looking for the right spot. Without getting too in depth about why they’re looking for the spot or what the spot signifies or what the meaning of the spot is, things get disturbing and bleak, and that is putting it in the lightest way imaginable. As the forest day ends, the audience gets to focus on a singular story with consequences and realities no one thinks about or wants to acknowledge in day-to-day life, but a reality some of us, unfortunately, cannot escape and run from, leaving a tense uneasy world for the audience to sit, stew, and fall into, one of hell to live in with Vulcanizadora.
Now the phrase “a world of hell to live with” seems like I did not enjoy the movie in any way, shape, or form, and that is emphatically wrong. The performances from Burge (Relaxer; The Revenant) and Potrykus are exceptional; they feel real, they feel grounded, and they feel like people we have in our lives already. Sure, they may be annoying, and sort of those people you may not connect with as much anymore, but we all have a Marty or Derek in our lives — or, in most reality, we are all part of Marty or Derek and we just don’t want to admit to ourselves. These characters are so real because of the way Potrykus writes them, but also the way he and Burge portray them. There is reality in these characters, and that’s what makes the movie impossible to shake.
Josh Burge as Marty in Joel Potrykus’s VULCANIZADORA. Photo courtesy of Sob Noisse Movies/Factory 25.
Joel Potrykus and, moreover, Josh Burge, are tasked with connecting with the audience after a horrible situation, reeling with the chaos that they single-handedly created, and the consequences of their actions. They make characters that are eerily similar to people we may have in our lives making Vulcanizadora a movie that is nearly impossible to shake. Potrykus has added a new fan of his repertoire of cinema, and certainly is going to be a name to watch out for moving forward for those unshakable moments that are going to cause audiences to squirm in their seats. Never has a movie felt so real and unsettling that it couldn’t be shaken off for days after the credits rolled.
Screening during Fantasia International Film Festival 2024.
In theaters May 2nd, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 Vulcanizadora webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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