Microbudget Monday: Continuance (2018)

With a twisted premise, strong performances, and a killer ending, “Continuance” rises above its limitations to deliver witty, sadistic fun.

I love and applaud the passion, creativity, and DIY spirits of microbudget horror.

Though not always polished, patience with technical issues and obvious resource limitations can be rewarded by original, thought-provoking, sometimes shocking stories—the kind you get from films made with love and not necessarily for mass consumption.

Continuance is one of those films, shot on a shoestring budget of around $15,000 with a dedicated crew of just five people.

When it begins, it’s easy to be distracted by its flaws, including less-than-stellar sound design and a pervasive, passionless voiceover from Tony Gorodeckas, who plays eccentric, despicable lawyer Jordan Cassel.

It doesn’t help that Jordan, whose POV is the primary lens through which we see the film’s world, is a wildly unlikeable misogynist—a narcissist obsessed with perfection, order, appearances, and dominance.

From his self-indulgent narration to his meticulous skincare routine, the Patrick Bateman-esque Jordan is a man desperate to maintain control while the world around him crumbles.

He lives a reclusive lifestyle in his affluent California home with his new-age spiritualist wife Lynn (Teresa Suarez Grosso) and their young live-in housekeeper and caretaker (Noor Razooky). Her name is Maria Guadalupe Ramirez Sanchez, but the privileged and condescending couple call her Loopy.

After fat shaming the very thin and beautiful Loopy, Jordan describes (via voiceover) Loopy as someone who takes care of his—insidious pause—needs. It’s later revealed that Jordan is having an illicit affair with Loopy, along with his boss.

He sees women as pieces of meat and often harbors vile thoughts about them and what he wants to do to them.  We’ll soon learn that his darkness extends well beyond nefarious thoughts and sexism.

As the world outside teeters on the brink of economic collapse, Jordan and Lynn stay locked away in their fortress, passing judgment on the others considered beneath them while relying on a robust cocktail of drugs to get them through the day. 

We aren’t told what is responsible for society’s destabilization, though the potential cause is chilling given today’s landscape.

There’s a line where Jordan chalks it all up to a failed economy and decades of endless domestic conflicts—tribalism gone too far.

It’s also briefly hinted that it’s at least partially related to the rise of AI and a country divided between humanist activists and elites perfectly content to reap the benefits of technology that disenfranchises millions.

Though jarring at first, the decision to have Jordon provide a stilted, almost robotic voiceover may be an intentional and clever representation of our AI fears and the reality that our biggest threat won’t be from inhuman machines but from people who have lost their humanity.

Jordan’s put-upon wife, Lynn, isn’t exactly sympathetic either. While we fear the jealous Loopy may be intentionally tampering with Lynn’s drugs and supplements to drive her crazy, Lynn exhibits the same disdain for humanity as her husband.

The film explores the disingenuous nature of “white soman spirituality” that emphasizes self-centered “self-care” over concern for humanity.

Shot in 2018, the film predates the COVID lockdown, but its themes of madness resulting from isolation are resonant.

However, this is more a film about how privilege causes people to isolate themselves from the very real problems of those less fortunate, making them act (and, ahem, vote) only in their best interests while justifying their crimes.

Besides being a despicable human being, Jordan is also a cannibalistic serial killer.

Once that secret is revealed (there are more to follow), Gorodeckas is allowed to sink his teeth into the role. He delivers a gleefully unhinged and captivating performance, and the film becomes thrilling by leaning into its dark humor and gruesome sadism.

At about the thirty-minute mark, Jordan starts to unravel, and things get really good.

The plot is thin, as writer-director Tony Olmos (Hemet or The Landlady Don’t Drink Tea) focuses more on his deranged character study, offering a scathing indictment of those who put self-preservation ahead of society’s good.

It’s a bold choice to give us characters we can’t root for, but that’s entirely the point of the film. Though it’s primarily Jordan’s story, centered around a stellar performance from Gorodeckas, both Grosso and Razooky are given time to shine and more than rise to the occasion, especially in the film’s finale.

When things get dark, they get REALLY dark, and it’s a treat. Strong practical effects and some truly gory and unsettling scenes make for a visceral viewing experience.

Though it begins on a rocky note, Continuance delivers a killer final act, with a riveting final ten minutes that leans into the film’s nasty and twisted underbelly. By the time the film ends with a bleak warning to those who thrive by exploiting the vulnerability of others, reminding us that “every predator is someone else’s prey,” I was fully invested and utterly delighted.

Continuance has faced a significant uphill battle trying to make its way in the world, from a festival run cut short by COVID to production issues that stalled its widespread release for years.

Though not without its flaws, it’s a smart and satisfyingly sinister film that deserves better and is more than worthy of an audience.