I was a little bit skeptical going in, but thought it might be worth a watch just to see Jena Malone do her thing here.More than a bit surprised, this was a clever puzzle wrapped in an enigma that requires more than a bit of attention paid to subtle details sprinkled into what seems to be a jagged form of editing, but is remarkably well resolved in the end. Jena definitely delivers what may be her best character study yet, but that's not to take away from Douglas Smith, who did an equally plausible job portraying a young guy caught up in a seemingly impossible situation.I simply can't reveal what that "seemingly impossible situation" actually is, in that would be an obvious spoiler, but to discover just how far out that resolution is, you're just going to have to watch for yourself. Trust me on this one, it's worth the wait to find out.Along the way in this uniquely twisted adventure are all sorts of quirky characters, which at first glance might seem to be absurdly overdone cliché' character concept representations, until the actual context becomes more apparent. Then it all begins to make sense . . . sort of . . . until the very end.For some, this might take a bit of patience. There are moments which seem bizarrely out of context, or just don't seem to fit into what appears to be the story of the moment. But that's the key here. Time can be a fluid medium, depending on where one might happen to be in a yet to be fully defined version of reality.Having said that, there were some clumsy moments where the editing definitely could have fit together better, or scenes that appear to be more than a bit rough around the edges, but the given the uniquely original story and how it's told, a certain amount of forgiveness can be granted for such imperfections.Maybe not the best, but certainly not the worst of such attempts at this sort of genre'.A solid seven stars for me . . .

Anyway, this film was fairly fun if you like to think, figure things out. Like watching the 'best of' compilation of someone else's fever dreams. Bottom of the World delves under the surface, to the dark foundations that we embrace by night and ignore by day. This conceit is taken to a psychological level and into the disturbing unconscious mind of Scarlett (Jena Malone) and her creation of a new reality. The film leaves us with more questions than answers but hats off to trying to make something different and challenging to the viewer. I don't recall a film that was entirely a creation of the sub-conscious other than - Fight Club?

I had the pleasure of finding this movie on Netflix and watched it because I was extremely intrigued by the unique title and the interesting poster attached. I loved this film so much I actually made an IMDb account to leave this review. This movie came to me at the right time. It seems to me the producers have been doing the same sort of esoteric research I have been because I could follow the plot with no problems at all from the beginning.The movie is atmospheric, colorful, creepy and haunting, everything you could want from a visceral indie film. The movie is clearly a mixture between some real life truths mixed in with a plot device first introduced by the Twilight Zone episode "Stopover In A Quiet Town". If you had trouble following the plot of the story, watch "Stopover In A Quiet Town" and you will understand it a lot more. The acting is ,at velour, particularly from the striking male lead who carries the progression of the film largely on his back alone. If this were more popular I would love to see this film nominated for an Oscar, but there's no way this little engine that could would be given a fair shot.Now for those who watched the movie but were unable to enjoy it because they couldn't understand the plot: Spoiler alert.Its a simulation matrix. A large part of the first half of the film takes place in a parallel universe, or an offshoot tangent. The original universe was the one where Scarlett messed around with the paraplegic. He eventually died because of her actions, and she feels no remorse. The paraplegic in this original universe is actually Alex. You can think of it as his soul. When he died, that universe ended and their souls were brought into this alternate parallel universe to interact again. This time they are young lovers. But it is Alex's destiny to kill Scarlett in retribution for what she did, and in doing so, free her soul. The masked man Alex sees from the hotel is actually him, again, from a different parallel universe. This version of Alex has managed to somehow cross dimensions to interact with his other selves, whom he reveals the nature of their reality to. Every time Alex dies in a universe, he wakes up in an alternate parallel universe playing different roles, but always destined to interact with Scarlett, until he finally does the deed and kills her, thus freeing them both from the simulation matrix. The fact that the entire movie takes place in parallel dimensions/a simulation is hinted at all throughout the movie. They can't leave the small town to go to LA, possibly because LA doesn't really exist since they are destined to stay at the small town. That's why Scarlett feels "crushed" whenever they try to leave. The strange motel they check into is actually on the same location as where Scarlett tortured & killed the paraplegic, hence it is where their souls must dwell until they leave the matrix. The house Alex wakes up in after the pastor shoots him is ALSO in the same location as the strange motel, its just in an alternate dimension. The masked man (who is actually Alex from a parallel dimension" mentions "cities of pain buried underneath the ground" aka the different layers of each dimension all built on top of one another on the same place. The pastor tells Alex that it's true he is in a dream, but Scarlett's dream, then shoots him. This is true and proves a point: Alex can die a million times over, and the end result is that he will just keep waking up in a different dimension. He will only be released when he kills Scarlett, thus freeing them both from her sin. Its her loop, not his. Its truly an incredible film. If you didn't "get it" the first time, watch it again.

A complex puzzle about karma coming back and striking an individual after committing a sin. Redemption is never easy. My theory is that Scarlet imagines a world in which her victim survived while she's stuck in purgatory. I enjoyed the clues that are given along the way that hint at a non- reality. Watch closely or go back to see. This is ultimately Scarlet's manifestation brought upon by guilt/redemption. A different take on Heaven and Hell. This should be a MUST VIEW for anyone studying theology/religion.