Something in the Dirt

Name: Something in the Dirt
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy
Released: November 4, 2022
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Aaron Moorhead, C. Robert Cargill, Gille Klabin, Issa Lopez, Jeremy Harlin

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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4.6

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4.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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Something in the Dirt

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Movie Details & Credits

XYZ Films | Release Date: November 4, 2022 | R

Starring: Aaron Moorhead, C. Robert Cargill, Gille Klabin, Issa Lopez, Jeremy Harlin, Justin Benson, Liam Gavin, Sarah Adina Smith, Vinny Curran, Wanjiru M. Njendu

Summary: When neighbors John (Aaron Moorhead) and Levi (Justin Benson) witness supernatural events in their Los Angeles apartment building, they realize documenting the paranormal could inject some fame and fortune into their wasted lives. An ever-deeper, darker rabbit hole, their friendship frays as they uncover the dangers of the phenomena, theWhen neighbors John (Aaron Moorhead) and Levi (Justin Benson) witness supernatural events in their Los Angeles apartment building, they realize documenting the paranormal could inject some fame and fortune into their wasted lives. An ever-deeper, darker rabbit hole, their friendship frays as they uncover the dangers of the phenomena, the city and each other.… Expand

Director: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Playlist Jason Bailey

Jan 26, 2022

Their latest fusion of science fiction, character drama, dark comedy, and overwhelming paranoia, Something in the Dirt, feels like their most personal film – and not just because they wear so many hats, directing and writing and producing and editing and starring. Read full review

Collider Marco Vito Oddo

Nov 4, 2022

Benson and Moorhead have always been able to make the most of small budgets and confined spaces. Nevertheless, Something in the Dirt is the most minimalist project they ever created. Yet Something in the Dirt might be their most ambitious movie, as they dedicate two hours to an intimate study of meaning as the main motor of human life. Read full review

The Guardian Phil Hoad

Nov 1, 2022

Something in the Dirt is so high on its own conceptual supply that it doesn’t invest quite enough in the pair’s deteriorating relationship, and consequently starts to drag. But it wrings a mini-cosmos out of next to nothing, its delicately transcendent visuals – courtesy of Moorhead’s photography background – constantly signposting some higher truth just around the next corner. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Nov 4, 2022

Something in the Dirt has the gritty DIY-vibe of the no-budget world from which it sprang, and is both thought-provoking and crazy-making, just like the mood it presents. Read full review

William Bibbiani

Nov 4, 2022

Benson and Moorhead direct and shoot their film smartly, but their performances are what ground it and give it shape. It’s Benson’s moping alienation and Moorhead’s desperate need to believe in something — no matter how nonsensical, even if he knows he’s making it up himself — that resonate. Read full review

K. Austin Collins

Nov 7, 2022

Ultimately, Something in the Dirt doesn’t quite convince as a genuine mystery — and it doesn’t seem to be meant to. Having fun with the artifice of it all — the loose “documentary” format, the well-played and visibly signaled “clues” scattered throughout — seems far more to the point. Read full review

Screen Rant Nadir Samara

Nov 11, 2022

Something in The Dirt is a wild ride that will take one to the limits of reality and test one's patience. Read full review

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User Reviews

Badgerryan27

Nov 27, 2022

Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson back again with another starring and directing film. “Something in the dirt”. I am a huge fan of these guys and I was excited to see what they would come up after “The Endless” which is a criminally underrated movie. I'm mixed on this. Incredible acting withAaron Moorhead and Justin Benson back again with another starring and directing film. “Something in the dirt”. I am a huge fan of these guys and I was excited to see what they would come up after “The Endless” which is a criminally underrated movie. I'm mixed on this. Incredible acting with a once again great script have me invested in what was happening. I also loved the suspense and the mystery of the two characters pasts that they weren’t telling each other. On the flip side since you have to really sell these characters it can get a little slow for some people while all the math and science stuff happens it can be hard to follow at certain sections and it seems to take a long time to get going.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Dec 10, 2022

When a pair of Los Angeles friends/neighbors (actors/directors Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson) begin investigating a series of bizarre paranormal events in their apartment building, they believe they’re onto unlocking a grand, unified theory of everything, one that’s potentially dangerousWhen a pair of Los Angeles friends/neighbors (actors/directors Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson) begin investigating a series of bizarre paranormal events in their apartment building, they believe they’re onto unlocking a grand, unified theory of everything, one that’s potentially dangerous but eminently enlightening (and really cool). But, with each “revelation” they come upon, they sink deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of confusion and chaos that fails to provide them with clear answers and begins to affect their relationship. The result is an aimlessly protracted stream of consciousness exercise that extends into so many areas of allegedly profound exploration and supposed metaphysical significance that the overall narrative comes across like a combination of intellectual masturbation and navel contemplation writ large, punctuated by pointedly polite insults thrown toward one another about how each of them is wasting his life (talk about irony). While this Independent Spirit Award nominee for the John Cassavettes Award has its share of clever editing, inventive cinematography and moments of genuinely inspired humor, much of the film plays like a collection of half-baked ideas, inside jokes and failed attempts at lamely connecting profound insights that arose between its collaborators over an evening of bong hits. Whatever movie industry clout, filmmaking credibility and cinematic goodwill the directors may have amassed in their previous effort, “The Endless” (2017), they’ve squandered it here with this meandering, unfocused workshop on how not to make a movie. But, then, that’s probably best evidenced in one of the picture’s closing credits, which says that the film is dedicated to friends making movies together – and, based on the results of this offering, it’s readily apparent what that gets you.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Movieaddic

Dec 16, 2022

Geeeez after hoping for something to tie everything together i was extremely let down. This movie walked the line of possibly good and possibly terrible the entire movie. Then leaves you completely lost in the end. I want to say terrible but this is something wurst than terrible. A bad movieGeeeez after hoping for something to tie everything together i was extremely let down. This movie walked the line of possibly good and possibly terrible the entire movie. Then leaves you completely lost in the end. I want to say terrible but this is something wurst than terrible. A bad movie can be considered terrible, this is like a shiny waste of time.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Lucmides

Nov 6, 2022

Horrendous. This is not even a real film. It's a collection of ridiculous dialogs and pure nonsense overall. If a movie can't be made due to a major event like the pandemic, don't make. One of the worst films I've seen in the last 5 Yeats.

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

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