I'm a struggling filmmaker myself in a third world country, that's why I didn't want to keep looking for inspiration in films with budgets I'd probably never get myself. I chose to watch Krisha because I wanted to see how can a low budget movie get so many praise and oh lord, now I understand. It turns out all you need is a crap load of talent. Trey builds such a fresh and unique storytelling for what we can say is a story told too many times. I loved it so much I just had to re watch it again right away... 3 times in a row! I love the details of the characters, the tricky staging and movement. If you've worked with amateur actors, you should be very impressed with the scene where Krisha comes downstairs to find a really loud, crowded and messy living room. Trey gives a reason to the movements and actions every character makes, these details are telling the backstory. It's pretty smart to compare the scene where Chase and Logan are arm wrestling with the building tension and subtle "wrestling" in the conversation between Krisha and Doyle. It's not constructed in an obvious parallel meaning, so that was nice.This movie has a lot of layers you'd probably won't see at first. The first person who welcomes Krisha is Alex, the only one who doesn't know her in the family. He's the one who opens the door for her, not the other members of the family. They are far and unaware she's there. Then we see Robyn, who is behind the dog gates, they hug through this gates but then Robyn breaks them so she can be with her sister. She's letting her guard down and breaking the walls between them. Only after she does this, we see the other family members come to her and receive her as if nothing ever happened.When Trey comes, his first line is "What happened to the gates?". A truly smart question to make in a situation like this one. What happened to the emotional walls? He means.Another clever meaning for the dog gates separating and protecting the dining room, supposedly from the dogs. But then we find out the wine is hiding in this room. Might these dog gates also be there to avoid Krisha from entering that room?I could go on and on about the wonderful details I've been finding, but I can't keep writing because I feel the need to watch this movie for the 5th time.

Trey Edward Shults' feature film debut is a competently crafted drama that's brought to life out of almost nothing. It very much feels like a homemade video made during a family gathering, and the casual set of events that unfold in the movie only add more authenticity to it.Krisha tells the story of its titular character, an elderly woman with a troubled history who returns to her family on Thanksgiving as a reformed lady after being estranged from them for many years. But demons from her past threaten to ruin the family reunion and her own self-improved image.Written, directed & edited by Trey Edward Shults, Krisha instils a sense of foreboding from its very first frame and while it takes plenty of time to set up the whole premise, there is something sinister brewing beneath the surface at all times, and Shults is able to keep that aura alive throughout the runtime.There are plenty of long takes here, capturing casual conversations & stuff that one would expect in a social gathering yet each scene brims with a feeling that something could go wrong anytime. Performances are no slouch as Krisha Fairchild plays the eponymous old lady brilliantly and is nicely supported by others.On an overall scale, Krisha is well-crafted & firmly told but Shults takes a tad too long to switch to next gear and much of the earlier excitement fizzles away by the time earlier wounds open again. It's a good effort for a first feature and bit experimental as well but Krisha as a whole fails to leave a memorable impression. Worth a shot anyway.

I really wanted to like this film. I commend the filmmakers in trying to make a film that is different and relatable.The opening scene is inexplicably haunting. It is the sound of death and the face of a woman with pain and heartbreak and loss seared in her face, looking ready for death. And then the film starts and it is about Krisha coming to visit for Thanksgiving dinner. The whole film is based on that 1 or 2 days. I give the film 10/10 for atmosphere. It really builds up an expectation of something that will happen. But nothing really happens. I mean sure, it would be interesting for the family if this was a real-life event. But for a outside viewer, we need more darker secrets and twists. Otherwise it just seems like a Thanksgiving dinner in a slightly more dysfunctional family than most. But meh.. it's hardly breathtaking.So well done filmmakers for starting the film well and giving a good atmosphere. And the cast are fantastic. But this film needs a remake with a different middle and ending and it could then be something really amazing.

This is not going anywhere. Annoying music, annoying people. Very superficial acting. Nothing looks professionally done. You can make a home movie of your own Thanksgiving dinner, it should be better. 5 minutes of watching would have been enough, I pushed to 40 and I still regret that decision. I give a 1 for the good looking dogs. So we get the trick : raise $14K online, film your own family at Thanksgiving dinner in your parent's house, spend the money on the dinner, cigarettes and booze, there we are : you've become a filmmaker. Next time clean the house too, raise $100 more for a maid. Even difficult to write 10 lines for IMDb. End of it.