Deadline:
This trailer for Branded looks more than a little creepy with echoes of David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and even David Fincher. The premise? Mind control and global domination via advertising with subliminal messages that trigger irresistible appetites and urges to consume mass quantities. From Roadside Attractions, the English-language Russian production stars Ed Stoppard, Leelee Sobieski, Jeffrey Tambor, Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Max von Sydow. Written and directed by Jamie Bradshaw and Alexander Doulerain, Branded opens September 7th. You’ll see a lot of those smartphone codes that enable an interactive experience of the movie’s “alternative universe of out-of-control brands, consumer gluttony and insatiable materialism.”
Jeff of We Got This Covered wrote, "Branded is one of the strangest viewing experiences I’ve had in a while. Here we have a film that starts off seemingly wanting to deliver an important message about the dangers of advertising and consumerism before eventually turning into a complete train wreck. Whatever was on the writers/directors’ minds gets lost in a mess of bad writing, muddled tones, and a really silly performance from the lead filled with plenty of overacting. However, before we get to all that, let’s take a look at what little plot the film has."
Geek Binge: Over the weekend, a little movie opened in limited release called Branded. What, never heard of it? Well, I guess you’re not much for perusing cable at 2 AM, because it was surprisingly advertised pretty heavily with a bunch of cryptic and weird TV spots. It was one of those movies that came out of freaking nowhere, and for good reason: according to people who have seen the movie, it’s horrible. But a special kind of horrible. It’s weird horrible. It’s strange horrible. It’s the kind of horrible that makes you ask yourself just how this movie was made. In no way, shape, or form is it good.
And now more than ever, I’m dying to see it.
The writer-director team behind Branded, Jamie Bradshaw and Aleksandr Dulerayn, show only a basic comprehension of how to build a story on film, from the mostly lifeless performances to a pervasive narrator that invades the early part of the film and then disappears right when a lot of things start to need some heavy-headed explanation.
This is one of those weird but fun to watch movies.