Square Pegs

Compared too Ben Hicks other film project- Pea vs. Carrot- this is a far meatier affair. Square Pegs marks a far more ambitious effort in both narrative and scope. The film starts out simply enough with a rather mundane family's car trip through the city seen from the perspective of the eldest girl of the family. Then after the credits role it suddenly things cut to a rather dingy and bizarre restaurant that's more then just a restaurant. Here the audience gets its first glimpse of the entire family including the little sister with the rabbit ears as well as the pudgy mother. Things delve into the creepily bizarre as patrons float by and quick images of the restaurants chef (who has a creepy big nose works in a dirty kitchen right out of the next Saw movie) cut creating an uneasy atmosphere.

But this is no mere restaurant in Ben Hick's universe, but rather a final rest stop, in purgatory! At first this isn't merely apparent, but the not so subtle clues make it more and more apparent that this isn't just a regular restaurant. Somewhere between the steel legged waitress and the creepy doll men who don't talk but rather open their mouths to speak in baby voices it becomes readily apparent that Mr. Hicks is trying to construct a rather heavy mythology about the war of heaven and hell fighting for the souls of men with sin filled burritos. And no, I didn't just make that all up, it's all in the film (including the sin filled burritos designed to seduce the spirits of the weak). While this film is beautifully shot with some startlingly beautiful imagery the sign of a good story teller is to be able to get their message across with as little confusion as possible.

Square Pegs

Square Pegs

In a way I'm glad that this film exists and that Ben Hicks had the audacity to make it. I'm sure I'd think it was the most awesome thing on the planet if I sat down with Mr. Hicks and he ran my through each plot point and it's significance within his own mythology. But that's the thing, I don't have a portable Ben Hicks to pull out if I have a question, and the same goes for most people. I hope Mr. Hicks gets the chance to make more movies though, simply because theirs a considerable degree of craftsmanship and a unique voice worth hearing. Let's just hope his next feature is a little less cryptic.