Roman (2006)

Dir: Angela Bettis

Angela Bettis directs Lucky McKee (who also wrote the script) in this creepy older brother to his own minor classic, "May". He plays Roman, a loner who spends his time obsessing over minutiae in his apartment. One day he meets a girl (pixie-like Kristen Bell from "Pulse") and, uh, accidentally kills her. It's hard to explain the rest without giving too much away, but it aims for a quirky combination of black humour, heartfelt melancholy and a touch of the grotesque. Sadly, it's also not that great. I think it could do with some tightening all round; the script flags and becomes puzzlingly obscure at times. It's shot on some kind of digital video format and, aesthetically, fails to hook the interest. The editing is twitchy and I found my attention wandering a lot by the second half. I It's nice to see people making original, independent horror films, but I just found myself wishing this one had a bit more to it. **1/2