The Pie Pipers — RIDDLE OF FIRE
By William J. Hammon, ActuallyPaid.com
Weston Razooli’s debut feature, Riddle of Fire, owes more than a little to the likes of The Goonies and the “Towelie” episode of South Park when it comes to its basic plot structure and characterization. But whatever aspects might have had a derivative genesis easily make way for one of the most nostalgic and wondrous throwbacks in recent independent cinema history. Combining a healthy dose of imaginative magical realism with some of the most impressive child performances I’ve seen in a good long while, this is a film that will easily enchant viewers while also offering a new spin on a classic format.
Presented as a “Neo Fairytale,” the movie very much lives up to that billing, giving the audience a story that is simple and plausible, but setting it in a version of the modern world where fantastical elements can happen. These moments can be open to interpretation, but half the fun is in how explicit they are with the magic itself.
The biggest example of this is the Enchanted Blade Gang, a family of poachers led by the self-proclaimed Faerie, Anna-Freya (Lio Tipton). She controls her brother Marty (Razooli) and Sisters Suds and Kels (Rachel and Andrea Browne) through the use of “magic words,” which her daughter Petal (Lorelei Mote) also knows. From a visual standpoint, this looks like something out of The Last House on the Left, where the character of Junior was manipulated by hallucinogenic drugs. But given the relatively family-friendly aesthetic of the picture, it’s so much more enjoyable and satisfying to think of this as actual mind control through witchcraft.
The plot revolves around three young children: Alice (Phoebe Ferro), who acts as a pseudo leader of the group, along with brothers Hazel (Charlie Stover) and Jodie (Skyler Peters, so young that his lisped dialogue has to be spelled out in on-screen subtitles). Tooling around the rural community of Ribbon, Wyoming (though it was shot in Utah), on their dirt bikes, the Three Immortal Lizards sneak into a warehouse and steal a video game console, expertly evading security and arming themselves with paintball guns in case things go awry.
When they get to Hazel and Jodie’s place, however, they find that the boys’ mother (Danielle Hoetmer), has locked the television behind a password as a means to encourage the kids to play outdoors. Mother Julie is sick in bed, however, and in order to learn the passcode, the kids must fetch her favorite blueberry pie from the bakery. When it turns out the shop is out of pies and the baker herself (Colleen Baum) sick at home, the kids begin a noble quest to procure the ingredients to make the pie themselves, eventually running afoul of John Redrye (Charles Halford) and the Enchanted Blade Gang when he takes the last carton of “speckled eggs” from the grocery store.
First and foremost, I absolutely adore these kids. More than the plotting, more than the 80s-inspired soundtrack that combines synth pop and medieval fifes, more than even the fact that this was shot on Kodak 16mm film, the lovingly foul-mouthed dynamic that Alice, Hazel, and Jodie share is the best throwback of all. There is just something so delightfully innocent and depraved about seeing a six-year-old sigh, “Sunnovabitch” and have it projected on the screen for all to enjoy.
Then there are the fantasy elements at play, which Razooli weaves in with a deft skill. Hazel and Jodie’s house is a solitary, bright red establishment that looks like something straight out of the Brothers Grimm. Julie’s bedroom is appointed and filmed in such a way that she looks like a sleeping princess. The password screen on the television could have been in Dragon’s Lair. The video game console itself is shaped like a castle parapet. Paintball guns are wielded like swords, the children’s bikes are their trusty steeds, the Enchanted Blade hunts a protected elk with “special” cartridges, as normal bullets won’t do. The speckled egg itself glitters like a treasure in Dungeons & Dragons. All of these touches combine to create a world in the here and now that’s dazzling in the face of its own basicness.
The movie isn’t perfect by any means. The third act drags a bit due to an odd character choice, and I’m guessing half the budget was spent licensing Player’s hit song, “Baby Come Back” for a bit that ultimately goes nowhere, but these are minor flaws in what is ultimately a grand fable. Just like any good fairytale, you can poke holes in the logic, but what will always matter more are the morals and the journey of the heroes. Riddle of Fire excels on both fronts where many big budget projects within this motif would utterly fail. Imagination requires only the slightest spark to become limitless. This film demonstrates that fact absolutely.
Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on March 20, 2024.
