Fantastic Fest 2021: "The Beta Test" Is A Hilariously Fun Erotic Thriller
Indie filmmaker extraordinaire Jim Cummings returns with another twisted triumph that fuses genre elements into comedy gold. Splitting writing and directing duty with PJ McCabe (who makes his feature film debut and also co-stars alongside Cummings), the pair cook up a sharp, no-holds-barred satire of Hollywood that inhabits the form of an erotic thriller with horror leanings. Slick and controlled, The Beta Test is delightfully unpredictable and features another excellent performance from Cummings.
A married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, infidelity, and digital data.
The Beta Test is a scathingly venomous critique of the superficial nature of the Hollywood machine that also has a thing or two to say about the digital age and toxic masculinity. It’s a film about losing control, both of one’s life and career, and the consequences of being consumed by desire, and it explores its ideas with sure-handed precision. Thematically, it’s keenly focused on our modern times, but stylistically it harks back to the glossy thrillers of the 90s. You’ll find notes of Altman’s The Player, Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct, and Mary Harron’s American Psycho, with moments of tautly drawn Fincher-esque tension.
Cummings plays Jordan, a smarmy, soon-to-be married Hollywood talent agent who values money and power more than anything else. Although his clean-cut look and bleached-white teeth suggest he’s a man of luxury and success, this outward appearance is really nothing more than an elaborate facade, and it’s crumbling in the wake of a changing Hollywood system. He’s losing the high ground thanks to a multitude of factors, and to add insult to injury, he can’t even vent some steam by hurling insults at his female secretary anymore, either. Thanks, Harvey!
His constant need to maintain appearances and grope for success has put some distance between him and his fiancé, Caroline (Virginia Newcomb), which his wandering eye and lusty desires only further. When Jordan receives an ornately decorated purple envelope with a letter promising a steamy anonymous encounter with a “secret admirer,” his desires get the better of him. After making the fantasy a reality, he spirals into a frantic state of paranoia out of fear of being blackmailed, ousted, or worse, killed. As he tries to uncover the source of the letter and the identity of his admirer, he fall full force down a rabbit hole full of mystery, murder, and conspiracy.
The Beta Test masterfully balances a range of tones and takes you on a thrillingly unpredictable ride. It’s beautifully shot (with a budget of only $300k+, it looks like a multi-million dollar production), solidly written, and filled with the long takes that Cummings has become known for. There’s thematic, performative, and stylistic similarities that recall aspects of his previous two features, Thunder Road or The Wolf Of Snow Hollow, but Beta notably finds Cummings venturing a bit more out of his comfort zone. He’s still inhabiting alcoholics who fall off the wagon — albeit in a much more subdued way — but he’s shaved the ‘stache and turned in his gun and badge to give us a new shade to an otherwise familiar character.
Occasionally, there’s some awkward line readings and forced performances from the peripheral characters, but Cummings’ layered performance holds everything down. He gives off Patrick Bateman vibes in the way he hides behind a superficial mask of insincerity. He’s not obsessed with murder, but he is obsessed with lusty impulses, which give way to paranoid delusions. Instead of being driven made by the insignificant elegance of a rival’s business card, he’s haunted by purple envelopes and luxurious stationary.
He’s in the zone when he explodes in long-winded tirade and soliloquies that find him cycling through emotions, undulating between anger to apologetic, honesty and falsity. No one freaks out as eloquently or compellingly as Cummings, and the more dialed up he gets, the more enjoyable The Beta Test becomes. It’s simply a great joy to watch him flounder under the mounting pressure. We like take pleasure in seeing Jordan fall apart and sweat, but we also feel for him, too, because Cummings makes the suffocating pressure of Jordan’s circumstances so palpable.
Overall, despite its slight flaws, The Beta Test manages to be a highly enjoyable, deeply funny film that reaffirms Cummings’ abilities as a performer, as well as his penchant for seamlessly mixing genres and juggling tones. It takes a lot of interesting twists and turns, which continually ratchet the tension and culminate in a surprising crescendo. It doesn’t exactly stick its landing, but it still makes for a wholly captivating journey that delivers a wickedly fun, hilariously irreverent ride that doesn’t pull any punches. It’s a film that’s sure to grow on us over time. We immediately wanted to see it again, so we look forward to the film’s official release. Whatever Cummings does next, we’ll be there!
Recommendation: Cummings’ performance and the film’s unpredictably winding story make the The Beta Test a hilariously compelling watch. Definitely give it a watch when it releases on November 5th (Guy Fawkes day)!
Rating: 4 purple envelopes outta 5.
Craving more?! Check out the links below:
The Beta Test Q&A w/Jim Cummings & PJ McCabe from Fantastic Fest
The Wolf Of Snow Hollow review
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!