THE CLEANSE (THE MASTER CLEANSE) (2016)

Studio:       Vertical Entertainment
Director:    Bobby Miller
Writer:       Bobby Miller
Producer:  Jordan Horowitz, Aaron L. Gilbert, Johnny Galecki
Stars:     Johnny Galecki, Anna Friel, Kyle Gallner, Diana Bang, Kevin J. O’Connor, Oliver Platt, Anjelica Huston

Review Score:

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Summary:

An average man with a disappointing life attends a purification retreat where purged negativity takes on a surprising form. 

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Depressed and disappointed with his life after losing his job and his fiancée, Paul Berger attends a selection seminar for “Let’s Get Pure,” a secretive self-help program created by Ken Roberts. At the selection meeting, Paul takes an interest in fellow applicant Maggie Jameson.

Paul is selected for the program’s purification retreat. Paul is hesitant to sign a liability waiver that mentions the possibility of death, but agrees to participate after learning that Maggie was also selected.

Paul is escorted by car to the retreat’s secluded woodland location. There he meets Fredericks, who has been participating in the program for several weeks. Paul and Maggie also learn that two other applicants, Eric and his girlfriend Laurie, were selected to join the retreat too.

Lily conducts the program. Each of the new participants is given four personally-formulated cleanse drinks that they are to consume before the end of the first day. Because of their horrible taste, Laurie is unable to finish her fourth drink while everyone else completes the first stage of cleansing.

Paul gets sick during the night and throws up in the sink. The next day, a small creature emerges from the sink’s drainpipe. The creature grows as time goes by. Paul nurtures his creature, realizing it is a physical manifestation of the negativity he purged from his system.

Maggie tries to leave the camp when she first confronts her creature, but Lily convinces her to stay. Eric spends time with his creature while Laurie is bedridden with an illness from having not completed her cleanse.

Paul discovers Fredericks in battle with his creature, which has grown into a more monstrous form with time, in Fredericks’ cabin. Fredericks insists that the situation is his to handle.

Maggie asks Paul to help understand her creature, as it seemingly refuses to bond with Maggie. The two of them discover that their creatures are drawn to each other and also reflect their individual characteristics.

Eric drinks Laurie’s last cleanse drink. His creature tries to eat itself.

Paul and Maggie continue getting to know one another. Paul’s creature unexpectedly bites his finger.

Ken Roberts arrives at the camp. Paul and Maggie are summoned to meet him. Ken interrupts his admonishment of Eric for not following instructions to force Maggie into personal reflection. At the conclusion of their conversation, Ken gives Maggie a blade and instructs her to kill her creature to complete the cleanse. Maggie is unable to do it.

Maggie runs into the woods. Against Ken’s command, Paul takes his creature as well as Maggie’s and goes after her.

Paul finds Eric in his cabin grieving over Laurie’s dead body. Horrified, Paul finds Maggie and explains that they need to leave immediately.

Ken and Lily catch up to confront Paul and Maggie. Ken says he will allow them to leave, but insists that they turn over their creatures. Paul takes Ken’s car keys and continues fleeing.

Fredericks is killed by his creature.

While Paul drives, Maggie checks on the two creatures in the backseat and discovers them merging into one monster. Maggie is bitten, causing Paul to swerve and crash.

When Paul regains consciousness, he sees Maggie trying to kill the fused creature by bludgeoning it with a rock. Paul screams for her to stop before reluctantly realizing it must be killed for their own good. With tears in their eyes, Paul and Maggie strangle the creature with their bare hands.

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Review:

NOTE: "The Cleanse" was previously titled "The Master Cleanse."

Every man, woman, and child is effectively on his/her own to make what s/he will of “The Cleanse’s” meaning.  Writer/director Bobby Miller’s movie is an introspectively intimate portrait, layered with metaphors of varying significance dependent upon how deep one wishes to dive.

Fired from his job, fired by his fiancée, and regularly disturbed by the cheap apartment symphony of rattraps and ribaldry, Paul Berger desperately needs a change.  A late-night infomercial for “Let’s Get Pure,” a self-help purification amalgamation of Scientology meets the South Beach Diet, seemingly offers a solution.  Paul isn’t keen on the liability waiver’s warning of possible death, but his attraction to fellow applicant Maggie bests prudent preservation instincts.

Eric and Laurie round out the roster of new program participants on this oddball retreat in the woods.  Each person is given a personally-formulated concoction of foul-smelling formula and after filling themselves with four jarfuls, stage one of cleansing completes.

That night, Paul’s rumbling stomach interrupts restless slumber for a vomitous trip to the sink.  The next morning, Paul has an unexpected new issue at hand when that bit of barf becomes a sentient slug smiling from a Fraggle Rock face.

Paul's purge of negativity has taken physical form as a curious creature with a mogwai-like purr and a cute craving for chocolate.  Maggie's has too, though her little thing has the same social reticence and uncertain self as the personality that birthed her.  Their mini-monsters soon grow, developing new shapes and behaviors that cease to be charming and start to become alarming.  Paul, Maggie, and the others weren't prepared for such a literal cleanse.  But another shock is yet to come when the camp’s idolized guru arrives to explain what everyone must do next to finally find purity.

Director Bobby Miller and "The Cleanse" permit you to process Paul's exploration of emotions as you personally see fit.  There's an obvious expression about letting go of burdensome blocks impeding achievement of satisfaction and success.  Emotional pain and psychological ticks require kid glove care upon first formation, yet when fed or left unchecked, they grow into overwhelming monsters that learn how to hurt you.  With this idea in place, that's when "The Cleanse" slinks slowly from the conversation, side-eyeing to see if anyone notices its absent participation in understanding the bulk of interpretation beyond that.

An atypical indie about a mild-mannered man expelling a Jim Henson monster under creepily comical circumstances, "The Cleanse" has an edgy appeal of contemplative commentary and arty auteur atmosphere.  Where the movie misuses its unusual allure is in spacing its characteristic quirks well far apart.  When its themes aren’t fully in the foreground, in-between scenes induce a mood of malaise where the film falls out of the eccentric groove in which its casually askew reality dwells.  In simpler terms, when it isn’t being weird, “The Cleanse” can be a drag.

Movie-wise, technical execution is top notch.  Creative designs and incredible animation bring each creature to life with inventive individuality.  It’s amazing to admire how much personality can come from the shape of a mouth or positioning of eyes on a puppet.  Building the monsters with practical FX adds a welcome retro sheen in step with the movie’s own offbeat sensibilities.

Also of note is a must-own score from a trio of composers combining on a memorably mesmeric soundtrack.  A colossal tip of the cap goes to Eskmo, Russ Howard III, and Rob Simonsen.  Regardless of what one thinks of the movie, its accompanying music is an incredible entity on its own.

Coming as no surprise after one glance at the cast list, “The Cleanse” features terrific supporting performances, as usual, from veterans Anjelica Huston and Oliver Platt as well as fresher faces Kyle Gallner and Anna Friel.  Johnny Galecki fans will be right at home in his familiar-feeling character’s skin, though Galecki could stand to sell Paul’s perpetually nonplussed state with something other than a set in stone eyebrow arch and forehead crease.

Don’t expect another “Bad Milo” (review here) with “The Cleanse.”  Its black humor of intestinal demonry is much more benign as the core of this cleanse takes a more serious turn.  As is the case with any self-help program, bear in mind that a large part of the burden is on you to take away what you wish from the movie.  “The Cleanse” can only carry itself partway to purity and anticipates your mind will take care of the rest.

Review Score:  50

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