Sundance review: 'The Blazing World' is an arresting trip through a new kind of Wonderland, and a strong directing debut for actress Carlson Young

‘The Blazing World’

★★★

Appearing in the Next section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Can be streamed through the festival digital portal on Tuesday, February 2. Running time: 99 minutes.

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Actor-turned-director Carlson Young takes viewers on a trip through her own kind of Oz in “The Blazing World,” a visually striking examination of the thin line between life and death.

Young, best known for her stint on MTV’s “Scream: The TV Series,” plays Margaret, a young woman who is haunted by the death of her twin sister, Elizabeth, when they were little, when their parents (Dermot Mulroney and Vinessa Shaw) were fighting.

Now, Margaret is depressed and suicidal, feeling the unseen menace of a mysterious figure, played by the German actor Udo Kier, which would be enough to scare the crap out of anyone. When Margaret sees the man again, he’s standing by a portal — the same portal young Margaret saw him take Elizabeth through after her death. Margaret jumps in, which is where the creepy adventure really starts.

Young and co-writer Pierce Brown adapt the classic tropes of the young woman caught in fantasy land — one can feel the threads of Alice, Dorothy and Coraline woven through the narrative — as Margaret begins a quest to unlock the answers to Elizabeth’s death. Of course, the road runs through Margaret’s past, and surreal encounters with her parents and the roots of her depression.

Young creates some arresting images of the warped unreality Margaret traverses. She also makes the most out of limited resources; she filmed during the pandemic, creating a “bubble” for cast and crew in a resort in her home state of Texas. (One of her executive producers is Elizabeth Avellan, the producer behind Robert Rodriguez’ films.)

“The Blazing World” is a strong introduction to Young both as a dynamic filmmaker and as an actor who push beyond “scream queen” roles. It’s a movie that makes a viewer wonder where Young will go next.