555
From the minds of Kate Berlant, John Early and Andrew DeYoung, 555 is an anthology miniseries of five short films that unfold in a stark, humid, surreality of Hollywood. These short, cinematic fairy tales are set in tinsel town, where status is everything and the stakes are high. The backdrop is big dreams, and in the foreground, the humiliations of clawing one’s way toward them. Each episode focuses on a fraught relationship between two characters, where ambition prevails over empathy. Among the wildly varied characters: a young Mama Rose type and her mute child, two sensual but ignorant acting students, an agent turned artist by tragedy and his partner who must watch his grotesque fall. Each episode zooms in on characters toiling in different corners of a Hollywood hellscape. Will greed, egotism, ignorance and desire consume them? Or can they escape dark fates by clinging to rare moments of tenderness?
Insights
Plot Summary
A young woman, a professional dancer, begins to experience strange and terrifying events after a cryptic message is delivered to her. As the occurrences escalate, she finds herself drawn into a dark mystery involving a disturbing local legend and a series of disappearances.
Critical Reception
555 received a mixed reception, with critics often highlighting its unsettling atmosphere and disturbing imagery, while some found the plot convoluted and the pacing uneven. Audience reactions were similarly divided, with many praising its unique brand of J-horror but others criticizing its narrative cohesion.
What Reviewers Say
- Praised for its nightmarish imagery and suspenseful build-up.
- Criticized for a narrative that becomes increasingly difficult to follow.
- Some found the film's adherence to J-horror tropes to be both a strength and a weakness.
Google audience: Audience reviews are scarce and varied, with some appreciating the film's creepy aesthetic and psychological horror elements, while others felt it was too slow or lacked a clear resolution.
Fun Fact
The film's title, '555', is a common Japanese prefix for fictional phone numbers, often used in media to avoid using real numbers.
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